Chapter 91 - Dominated by the Fear of Trending

Paige glancedcast a furtive glance towards the door before carefullygently tucking Mrs. Sackler into her blankets, and. She then stepped lightlytiptoed out of the room before speaking., her voice barely above a whisper. "What sort of is causing such a commotion is this? What's happened?"

? What has happened?"Pearl replied, "I responded, her voice laced with concern, "I had called Julian asking, urging him to pull back, right? Butretreat, but I didn't expecthadn't anticipated that the Sacklers would call insummon reinforcements. Now, you've got we have two groupsfactions at each other's throats; ifloggerheads. If this blows up, it'll shoot rightescalates, it will catapult straight to the top of the trending news."

Pearl remembered thatPearl's mind drifted back to a recent night—not long ago— when their peoplegroup and an unknown group played a high-stakes game of chickenfaction had engaged in a perilous standoff on the streets, paralyzingbringing traffic throughoutin Northwind.

to a standstill.The fear of dominating the trending news search was still fresh in her mind; the last thing she wanted was for it to happen again. And if it did, no need to guess who'd be dispatched to managea raw memory; she dreaded a repeat of that incident. If it did occur, there was no doubt about who would be tasked with managing the fallout— - her. As if she wasn't already overwhelmed with her daily workload.

Paige said confidently wasn't already overwhelming.Paige, exuding confidence, retorted, "They should just pull backretreat, shouldn't they? Surely the Sacklers wouldn't dare stopobstruct my people from leaving?"

withdrawing?"She couldn't imaginefound it hard to believe that the Sacklers going head-to-head with would confront her over such a trivial matterminor issue at this point.

stage.Pearl countered, "But Julian isn't someone who backsone to back down easily. He was readyprepared to withdraw, but if the Sacklers are barring the way, he's not going to cave."

Pearl knew Julian a lotblocking his path, he won't capitulate."Pearl understood Julian's character far better than Paige did.

HearingUpon hearing this, Paige's expression tightenedhardened. "I'll go check it out."

"I'm coming with and assess the situation.""I'll accompany you, Xanthe," Pearl chimed in.

interjected.Without a chauffeur, Paige drovetook the wheel of her Viper, with Pearl awkwardly settling into the passenger seat despite the difference in, disregarding their workprofessional hierarchy.

Upon arrivalWhen they arrived at the Sackler estate, there was indeed a crowd had indeed gathered at the entrance.

Paige kickedswung open her car door and strutted straightstrode directly into the fraymelee. Raising her voice above the clamorcacophony, she announced, "Seems likedeclared, "It appears everyone has a lotan abundance of sparefree time on their hands to be causingcreating such a ruckus!"

disturbance!"All eyes turned to Paige.

Julian hadn't expected Paige to show upanticipated Paige's arrival at this moment. Even thoughjuncture. Although he had been puffing himself up ready for a confrontation, he deflated a bitslightly at theher sight of her, reverting to his usual composure.

No matter whatdemeanor.Regardless of Julian's attitude was, he belonged towas part of Paige's crew, and she was there to support her own without question to back up her own.

.When Julian reached Paige's side, she immediately examinedassessed the situation, looking directly ather gaze landing on the personman who appearedseemed to be leading the opposition.
The man towered above most He was a towering figure with a broad, muscular build, his sinews were distinct and pronounced.

Yet, clearly defined.However, when Paige approached him, she blatantly ignoreddisregarded his imposing figure.

intimidating stature.Paige carriedexuded an aura of confidence, and she spoke with a casual expression, addressed him casually, "The temp that Xena hired?"

Temp? That was an insult, at least toa slight, especially considering the man's impressiveformidable physique.

Everyone looked intimidating appeared menacing and tough, but in Paige's mouthwords, they were suddenly reduced to mere temps.

The muscular man did not take kindly to bristled at Paige's disregard. He stepped forward, tryingadvanced, attempting to use his imposing size to intimidate her, who appearedseemed rather diminutivepetite in comparison.

Paige simplymerely clenched her fist, "Cut theEnough talk, bringlet's get on with it on."

There was no sense in a."A brawl was pointless, especially since it could end up on the internet and soonquickly become a trending debacle. Better that she took fiasco. It was better for her to take matters into her own hands.

RationalizingArguing with someone as brawnymuscular and brainlessmindless felt like an insult to her intelligence and wit for. For Paige. Action, action was fastera quicker and more efficient at solving problems.

problem-solver.Paige's swift, decisive strike came before the man could fully graspcomprehend her technique, hitting him hard in the side.

He was utterly caught off guardcompletely taken aback, not expecting such painforce from a seemingly delicate woman.

In response, the man prepared to retaliate with a vicious move.

Julian, who was watchingobserving from a distance, felt his adrenaline surging,surge and was about to jumpleap into the fray without a second thought.

Paige, while warding offdeflecting the man's attacks, noticed Julian about to enterjoin the fight.

If Julian joined ingot involved, the Sackler family's hired help would notwouldn't just sit aroundstand by, they'd join as wellin, rendering Paige's visit pointless.

futile.Without hesitation, Paige shouted, "Julian, back off!"

stand down!"With a stern faceexpression, Julian warned, "Xanthe, he's going for the kill."

Paige easilydeftly parried the man's moves, then executed a graceful backflip, her high heel connecting with the man's chin.

The impact made the man howl in agonypain and immediately loseextinguished his fighting spirit.

Paige dusted off her hands and gave Julian a look,, her eyes meeting Julian's with a confident glint. "The next hundred deadly moves wouldn't stand a chance against me, what's. What's there to worry about?"

she challenged.Julian was truly astoundedleft in awe by Paige's action. Justaudacity. Her moves, as he had thought, her movesanticipated, were simplestraightforward, sharp, and to the point, intendedprecise, designed solely to resolvesolve the issueproblem at hand without any showboating.
At that moment, Julian had already positionedunnecessary theatrics. He found himself standing beside Paige., his admiration for her skills evident. Despite recognizing Paige's capabilitythis, he lowered his voice.

, his tone filled with concern."Such matters could have been dealt with by me. There was no need for you to intervene personally intervene. Your status..."

Paige glanced at Julian, her gaze steady. "All matters related to the Sackler family must be resolved swiftly and simply."

With that, Paige clappeda decisive clap of her hands and, she signaled Julian with a look,. "Let's go, it's time to head home."

They didn't want to wastehad no intention of wasting any more time here.

Without exchanging pleasantries with anyone from the Sackler family, Julian hadthere.Julian, having arrived earlier with a contingent that assertively surrounded the Sacklers.

, refrained from exchanging pleasantries with anyone from the family. Now, as the group was preparingprepared to withdraw, they encountered Xena's people. Paige, arriving personally, had directly facilitatedPaige's personal arrival had expedited their departure.

As Paige's group left, Xena stood behind the window upstairs, her expression extremely sour. In a fit of fury, she swiped at the curtains she had been toying with and said angrily,, her voice seething with anger. "Who did she learn from? How is she so adept?"

Xena wasXena's plan had been thwarted in her plan, and Paige had justsimply walked away.

Margaret crept upapproached Xena silently from behind Xena without a sound,. "Xena, have you ever thought aboutconsidered joining her if you can't beat her? Regardless of her not being a Sackler, she's still your sister by blood. Mrs. Sackler is still alive, and no matter what, as long as she acknowledges her as a mother, she'll have to recognize you as her sister."

Xena turned away from YasminMargaret, her face filled with bitter resentment.

Acknowledge Paige as her sister?

What a joke. If she accepted Paige as her sister, would she have to accept Raymond as her brother-in-law?

That would mean she would never have a chance with Louis.

Before she could finish her thought, Margaret continued before she could finish,. "She's now a Carnegie lady, and it's clear that the Carnegie family is protecting her status. With such a sister, Mrs. Sackler wouldn't allow the Sackler Group to crumble."

As Yasmin spokeUpon hearing these words, Xena suddenly turnedspun around, her voice loud and urgent,. "Grandma, do you know what you're saying? You were the one who supported me in trying to undermine Paige’s marriage, banking on her divorce from Raymond so that Elijah and I could marry smoothly. And now you want me to bond with her as sisters, to have sisterly affection?"