Chapter 609

Kingsland was a considerable distance from Brown City. They would fly to Brown City and proceed directly to the Lodge family residence.

They hurried to the Kingsland airport. Before boarding, Lily called Justin. His unusual silence immediately alerted her. Upon hearing she was returning home, he abruptly refused. "You don't need to come back. Just continue what you're doing."

"Justin?" Bewildered and angry, Lily retorted, "How can I not return at a time like this? Grandpa was fine. How did he pass away so suddenly? What happened?" She understood Justin's past reluctance to have her return home, but their grandfather's death made it impossible for her to stay away. She'd thought they'd resolved their issues last time, but why was he stopping her now?

The silence stretched. Before Lily could speak, Justin conceded, "Okay then. Come back if you want to. Are you coming alone?" Lily turned to Alexander. "Alex is coming with me."

"That's great." Lily heard a sigh of relief. "Be careful. Go straight home; don't make any stops." After further instructions, Justin hung up.

Lily pondered Justin's words, sensing something amiss.

"What's wrong?" Alexander asked.

Shaking her head, she replied, "I don't know. Something's off. He initially stopped me, then agreed."

"It's good news he agreed, isn't it?" Alexander nodded. "Besides, his approval doesn't matter given Grandpa's passing."

"His attitude was strange. He said not to stop, to go straight home. I feel something's happened."

Lily wasn't sure, not having yet seen the situation firsthand. But Justin's reluctance felt uncharacteristic.

After a moment, Alexander seemed to agree. "Edward, find out who's visited the Lodge residence recently, who's managing Mr. Lodge's funeral, and who's handling family affairs now."

Edward nodded and resumed his work.

Lily found Alexander's order odd. "The person managing the family? Justin's been doing that since Grandpa's health declined, leading to his retirement." She was certain; she didn't understand Alexander's request.

Alexander gave her a thoughtful look, glancing at his watch. "We can't be entirely sure. We have time to check."

Lily finally grasped the subtext. She recalled her grandfather's focus on family martial arts, neglecting the company's development, leading to a crisis.

Lily, then young and living with the family, vaguely remembered a dispute involving an uncle, who subsequently left for overseas. Justin, newly of age, had taken over, saving the family and building its current success.