The Billionaire Twins Need A New Mommy!-Chapter 783: The Cardinal’s Promise

"Hand over Lola and everyone else... or let’s call off this meeting abruptly and see who here comes out alive."

Another moment of silence fell over the meeting room as everyone fixed their eyes on Atlas. Draken couldn’t help but let out a snicker, rocking his head in agreement.

Draken turned to the cardinal. "Sounds good!" he intoned. "Let’s see who comes out of here alive!"

A glint flickered across Draken’s eyes as his mouth twisted into a grin. "And once I’m the one who walks out of here, this entire church... is going to fall."

The cardinal drew a deep breath. "I’m afraid I can’t do that—"

"Right now, my men are taking positions all across your territory," Atlas cut in coldly. "In ten minutes, if I don’t walk out of here with my wife and my people, they’ll assume I’m dead."

He paused, his gaze unwavering. "In ten minutes, blood will spill."

"You bastard..." Draken snickered as he glared at Atlas, though he didn’t doubt him. Not one bit.

"Pfft—" Suddenly, Iris stifled her laughter with the back of her hand covering her lips. "Oh, apologies. I didn’t mean to interrupt the conversation."

Slowly, she lowered her hand, smiling. "Atlas Zorken, do you really think we did not know that?"

"..." Atlas furrowed his brows while Draken frowned.

Then the latter barked, "Of course, we know you figured that, you dumb bitch. You think you can pick a fight with any of us and expect no retaliation? Hah! But... so what?"

"What I am saying is, his entire plan," Iris revealed calmly, silencing Draken, who truly was born with a foul mouth. "We know. The cardinal knows all of it—from the smallest detail to the grandest strategy. Even the whereabouts of his men in the Holy Land."

Her smile stretched wider. "And we’ve already made preparations for that." She jerked her chin toward Atlas. "You should blame your phone for that, Mr. Zorken."

"You—" Draken’s breath hitched as he snapped his head toward Atlas. "Hey, don’t tell me you didn’t know about this?!"

"..." Atlas swallowed slowly and took his phone out of his pocket, staring at the screen.

Seeing his quiet reaction, Draken ground his teeth in disappointment. He wanted to curse Atlas for missing something like that, but then the cardinal spoke.

"Not just his phone, but yours as well, Mr. Draken," the cardinal remarked, watching Draken’s eyes dilate. "Or rather... everyone’s in this room."

"For months now, I’ve been observing everyone’s movements. I hope you do not think badly of it," the cardinal continued with a shallow sigh. "I was simply hoping I’d find a reason to change my mind. Hoping I was wrong that the heads of the founding families had not sunk so low."

He paused, looking at them sternly. "Sadly, none of you gave me any reason to reconsider."

"You are all sinners, driven by greed and selfishness," he added. "So, the Church has made its decision."

"Cardinal," the chairpeople — the elderly who were bound — could only stare at him with worry. "How could you...?"

"You self-righteous bastard," Draken snickered, then turned to the unconscious woman across from him. "Hey, Marceline! Are you still unconscious?! You should be hearing all this nonsense bull crap!"

At the same time, Marceline let out a groan as her fingertips twitched. She weakly reached for her stiff nape before pushing herself up. Her head throbbed painfully as she opened her eyes, ever so slowly. Once she took in where she was, her brows furrowed.

"You..." The first person she saw was Draken’s blood-soaked face, as if he’d been thoroughly beaten. Not the sight she wanted to see the moment she opened her eyes.

Then her eyes landed on Atlas, and her teeth clenched.

"You—"

"Marceline!"

She paused when she heard a familiar voice from among the bound elders of the council. She whipped her head toward them and froze, eyes widening at the sight. Then her gaze drifted past the elderly to the other two figures: the cardinal and Iris.

"Hah..." A ridiculing laugh escaped her as the full picture finally formed in her mind.

She wasn’t stupid. If anything, Marceline was sharp enough to grasp the situation quickly. Even though she knew Atlas was the one who brought her here, she also knew Iris and the cardinal had their hands in this.

"Yeah, that’s right," Draken let out a chuckle, his anger making his head throb as veins bulged at his temples. He shifted his gaze from Marceline to the cardinal. "Wait until you hear the nonsense they’ve been spewing." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"It’s not nonsense," Iris argued calmly. "Your sins are things you committed without shame. And thus, this is what you had coming."

Marceline laughed but ignored Iris, shifting her gaze to Atlas. "So, this is why, huh?"

"..." Atlas drew a deep breath, not even bothering to look at her. If anything, he kept his eyes on the cardinal. "First, you asked us to relinquish control over our territories. And now, you’re claiming you had no plans of letting us live."

"What?" Marceline scoffed. Everything she was hearing sounded absurd. "What is this? Relinquish what?"

"That motherfucker is asking all of us to abolish the secret society and give up control of our territories," Draken snickered, filling her in on only what mattered. "Then, after we do that, he’s planning to kill us, anyway."

"Pfft—" Marceline covered her lips before bursting into laughter. Her reaction mirrored Draken’s almost perfectly. "And why would I ever do that?"

"You do not have to," Iris answered with a sweet smile. "The cardinal was simply offering it as a final test. However, even at the very end, all of you remained true to your corrupted selves."

"Shut up, little lady." Marceline’s smirk faded as she turned her gaze to Iris. "I may not have particular feelings toward you, but do not make me start disliking you."

Then Marceline paused, something clicking in her mind.

"Hold on. Don’t tell me... you’re the one who ordered your husband’s death?"

No answer came, but that silence was enough.

Marceline let out a mocking laugh and smirked diabolically at Iris.

"And you call us corrupted?" Marceline taunted. "How could you order your husband’s death when you vowed to love each other till death do you part in front of the altar? Aren’t your actions the same as what you call corruption, greed, and selfishness?"

This time, the smile on Iris’s face faded. "I am not like you. I did it to save my husband from further corruption."

"Hah! Hahaha!" Marceline laughed harder, joined by Draken’s echoing laughter. Their combined laughter sounded downright diabolical. It clearly did not please Iris.

"If your husband were here, he’d be laughing at your naivety," Draken mocked, glaring at Iris, who managed to irk him like no other. Not even Atlas irritated him as much as she did.

As for Atlas, he remained silent, staring at the phone in his hand.

The cardinal, unfazed by the echoing laughter—something he had expected—kept his eyes on Atlas.

"I will keep her safe, Mr. Zorken," the cardinal finally said, watching Atlas lift his gaze. "Even though I cannot promise that I will allow you to walk out of this room, I give you my word—your wife will remain unharmed."