Back at the Emerald Ball, Mr. and Mrs. Lee are being congratulated by both enemies and friends. They had long since noticed their daughter sneaking out of the ballroom. Sometime later, slightly worried, a careful message from Mr. Lee to Dolores had been sent, which was swiftly confirmed that Izo was sound asleep in bed. (As for Izo’s associates, well, they weren’t worried. Izo had become their associate in the business and surely could take care of herself. Besides, this was a party and they didn’t have time to babysit each other around.)

Mr. and Mrs. Lee at seeing the late hour finally decide to leave the ball to suddenly halt at seeing Mr. and Mrs. Duke, a handsome tawny haired couple. The two couples stare at each other rather frostily, the two families had been rivals for several generations in the business industry.

“How are you?” Mr. Duke asked.

“My wife and I are fine, thank you. And you?” Mr. Lee crisply asked.

“We’re fine as well, but I was expecting to see your so-called daughter here,” Mr. Duke calmly replied.

Mr. and Mrs. Lee narrow their eyes at the statement. “My daughter chose to retire for the evening. But should you wish to see her, please, don’t hesitate to stop and visit Marchen Inc. Auction House. That is her own business and she is usually there,” Mrs. Lee coolly declared.

Mrs. Duke narrows her eyes and says, “Yes, perhaps, we will. But dear, you are looking tad old, you should use some of that beauty serum being sold at your daughter’s place. Wait, it didn’t work, did it?”

Mr. Lee places his arm on his wife’s shoulder reminding her to bite her tongue. Despite being furious, Mrs. Lee holds herself back as Mr. Lee says, “Well if you don’t have anything else to say, we shall be on our way.”

“Wait,” Mr. Duke hastily said.

Mr. Lee pauses and glances back at Mr. Duke, who holds out an old signed letter. Mr. Lee takes the note and frowns as he reads the signed notarized letter. “This can’t be true!” Mr. Lee flatly stated.

“I can assure you it is binding as our two fathers signed it. And as your daughter is now of age, I had no choice but to bring it out. As you can see, neither of us can avoid the written clauses,” Mr. Duke stiffly declared.

“I see, in that case, we shall speak more the subject tomorrow,” Mr. Lee coldly said as he handed the letter back. Mr. Duke gingerly took the letter back, before both couples marched away in opposite directions.

On the ride home, Mrs. Lee says, “We won’t have to comply with that, will we?”

“We don’t have a choice, it’s a binding agreement, which we both signed an agreement to abide by our father's wishes when we took over the family business. Our fathers were certainly clever like that,” Mr. Lee drily stated.

“I don’t think, Izo’s going to take it very well,” Mrs. Lee quietly said.

“What daughter ever likes her parent’s deciding anything for her?” Mr. Lee grunted in reply.

Mrs. Lee anxiously reaches over and grabs her husband’s hand tightly and says, “It will be alright, I’m sure of it. It will all work out in the end.” Mr. Lee faintly smiles at his wife’s attempts to comfort him and leans his head to rest against hers. The couple held their hands together the rest of the car ride home in deep thought of what to do about the situation. Because no matter, what their daughter decided, they would stand by her. This time around they would protect their child properly even if it meant losing everything.

*

Elsewhere in Emerald City, another scene was happening simultaneously. A rather angry beauty with glasses called, Sara Carpenter waited for a phone call that never came. Furious, the glasses beauty went to bed shortly before dawn without hearing any juicy details from Izo, her best friend about the Emerald City Ball. Vowing vengeance, Sara Carpenter went to bed carefully plotting on how to gain her revenge on Izo, who was currently sound asleep but shivered in bed. For the word’s often spoken by men are true, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.