Chapter 513 Favors Are Limited
At noon, James and Hestia left the police station.
James tried to shake Hestia off, but she clung to him relentlessly, refusing to let him go. After learning about his plans to open a tea shop to compete with the Garcia family, she dragged him straight back to the storefront.
After briefly questioning Christopher, she made several phone calls.
Within an hour, three renovation teams arrived—one handling the façade, another the main hall, and the third the operations area.
Hestia expedited the renovations according to James's requirements.
Next, she had an advertising company deliver signage with the "Great Grandma's Black Tea" logo already designed and sized, exquisitely crafted and clearly expensive.
James didn't want to owe too many favors, but Hestia insisted, saying it was her way of thanking him for saving her and her mother's lives.
Seeing how determined she was, James relented and brought his parents over to familiarize themselves with the tea shop.
In less than an afternoon, the tea shop took shape. It would be ready to open in three days at most—perfectly timed to coincide with the Garcia family's weekend 30th anniversary celebration.
The bustling activity at Great Grandma's Black Tea naturally caught the attention of Mrs. Garcia and Beckett.
"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"
In the Garcia family council chamber, Mrs. Garcia slammed her cane against the floor upon hearing the news.
"Who does that woman think she is? What gives her the right to open a tea shop? What expertise does she have?"
"And to brazenly open it right across from our company—is she deliberately trying to humiliate the Garcia family?"
"Who gave them such audacity?"
Recalling their previous confrontation, she longed to strike both James and his mother with her cane.
"Mrs. Garcia, Michelle has always been vindictive," Githa interjected. "Since she couldn't get what she wanted from us, she's decided to break ties completely and challenge us openly."
"Thank goodness for your wisdom years ago, Mrs. Garcia—seizing back those shares when you did. Otherwise, the Garcia family fortune would now be in James's hands."
"I truly regret not eliminating her back then," Mrs. Garcia revealed her vicious side before turning to Beckett. "Weren't you supposed to deal with them? How have they managed to humiliate us right at our doorstep?"
Beckett immediately defended himself, "Mrs. Garcia, Michelle's family is too cunning."
"They secretly installed cameras at Cloud Residence and recorded Githa and me striking first. The police couldn't charge James with assault."
"Instead, they wanted to hold my wife and me accountable. If I hadn't been acquainted with the police chief, I might have been detained for days."
"I also spoke with Jett to ensure no tea company could register for a month, specifically to prevent Michelle from opening a tea shop against us."
"But somehow, James managed to get his registration approved anyway—'Great Grandma's Black Tea.'"
He spread his hands helplessly. "They're clearly determined to fight us to the end, and I suspect someone is backing Michelle's family."
"Fight us to the end?" Mrs. Garcia snorted heavily. "Who do they think they are?"
"Twenty years ago, I reduced her to a homeless dog. Twenty years later, I can still crush her into the ground."
"Use all our connections. Spare no expense to shut down Michelle's shop. Find some pretext to have them all arrested, and identify whoever is backing them so we can deal with them too."
"I refuse to believe that the mighty Garcia family cannot handle three outsiders."
Her face showed anger at Michelle's defiance, but even more, fear of Grandma's Black Tea entering the market.
Everyone knew that if Michelle's level-eight tea gained traction, it would dominate the entire tea market and the Garcia Group would collapse.
This spark that could ignite a wildfire—Mrs. Garcia was determined to extinguish it before it spread.
Beckett nodded repeatedly. "Understood."
"Mrs. Garcia! Mrs. Garcia! I've found who's supporting James!" Githa suddenly exclaimed, opening her Facebook account. "It's Hestia, Lavinia's daughter!"
"Hestia?"
The name wasn't unfamiliar to Mrs. Garcia. After a moment's reflection, she narrowed her eyes.
"Isn't she Allan's girlfriend? How did she get involved with James?"
"Is James cuckolding Allan now?" Her expression darkened. "When did we become so easy to bully?"
"Mrs. Garcia, that's not what happened," Githa quickly clarified. "Allan recently found a new love interest and has grown distant from Hestia."
"Hestia, seeking revenge, has taken up with James. She not only bailed him out at the police station and helped with his registration but is now renovating his shop."
She showed Mrs. Garcia her Facebook feed, which clearly displayed Hestia directing the construction crews and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with James.
"I see," Mrs. Garcia's expression softened. "She's being foolish, trying to find validation through this affair. Still, we can't be complacent."
"Horizon Vista Properties is one of Sovereign City's top real estate companies. Though Lavinia isn't the controlling shareholder, she is the company president with extensive connections."
"If Hestia fully supports James, Grandma's Black Tea will eventually open, causing serious trouble for our company."
She emphasized each word, "We must eliminate any chance of Michelle's family gaining a foothold."
Beckett stepped forward eagerly. "Mrs. Garcia, what should we do now?"
"Cut off their support," Mrs. Garcia's eyes gleamed. "Summon Allan back. Give him ten million dollars and a mission."
"Tell him to get his act together. Whether he wants to or not, he must win Hestia back at any cost. Ideally, they should also finalize their wedding plans."
"If he fails to reclaim Hestia from James, I'll remove him from the list of heirs and freeze all his assets."
She surveyed Beckett and his wife. "Do you understand?"
Beckett and Githa's eyelids twitched nervously. "Understood. We'll call Allan immediately."
Privately, they marveled at Mrs. Garcia's shrewdness—she had immediately identified the key issue. Without the Jones family's protection, James would be completely vulnerable.
---
After the Beckett couple left, Mrs. Garcia waved dismissively, sending everyone else away. Then she took out a different phone.
She hesitated for a long while before finally dialing a number.
"I want you to kill someone," she said dispassionately. "But before you kill him, extract the formula for the level-eight tea from him."
Silence hung on the other end of the line. Finally, a raspy voice responded:
"Favors eventually run out. Are you sure you don't want to save this one to protect your own life someday?"
"I can pay."
"You can't afford it."
"There must be a price. Name it."
"One thousand pounds of gold!"
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