When the crowd saw the noblewoman’s face, there was obvious confusion on their faces.

Even Eric, Jordan, Maddy, and Lucas were surprised.

The person who came over was Florence, the current helmsman of the Howards!

Eric narrowed his eyes and questioned in a threatening tone, “So it’s Ms. Howard! What’s the matter? Are you so free now that you want to interfere with my family’s affairs too?”

Florence’s voice had arrived before she did. She was clearly targeting Eric to defend Jordan.

Moreover, Florence even brought five of the Howards’ top bodyguards, making Eric feel that something was amiss.

One of his purposes in bringing his subordinates to the Stones was to capture the murderers of his son to avenge him. The other was to take advantage of the opportunity to pressure the Stones and obtain maximum benefits. It would be best if he could encroach on all the Stones’ assets so that they would become a vassal family of the Bransons and do their bidding from now on!

Just a moment ago, Eric felt that the Stones were an easy target because Carlos, the family head, was just a weak and incompetent fool who was easily controllable.

But why did Florence appear here with the Howards’ bodyguards?

Do the Howards also want a slice of the pie?

But even so, Florence shouldn’t have targeted him to protect the punk who killed his son!

Just as countless thoughts flashed through Eric’s mind while he pondered what Florence’s goals were, she said with a smile, “Eric Branson, since you’ve already decided to get your subordinates to harm my goddaughter, of course I have to interfere.”

Goddaughter?

Florence’s goddaughter?

Everyone was shocked. But after thinking about it for a bit, they immediately figured out that Florence’s goddaughter was probably Maddy!

Even Maddy had a trace of surprise in her eyes, but she soon understood that Florence had said that because she needed a reason to help her!

Eric’s face turned gloomy, and he sneered. “Ms. Howard, since when did you have a goddaughter?!”

“Do I need your permission to recognize my goddaughter?”

Florence was now the head of the Howards, and her status was much higher than that of Eric, the future helmsman of the Bransons. Thus, she retorted curtly without any politeness.

“Maddy, don’t worry. No one will dare to touch you with me here!” Florence said to Maddy domineeringly.

Maddy smiled sweetly. “Alright, thank you very much then, Godmother!”

Her demeanor and expression looked extremely natural, as if she and Florence were already very close to each other.

Seeing the interaction between the two, the Stones were flabbergasted!

They had no idea when Maddy actually had such a powerful godmother!

Florence was the current helmsman of the Howards, one of the eight top families!

She had an even higher status than Eric!

If they had known that Maddy had such a powerful godmother, they wouldn’t have agreed to let Maddy marry Eric’s intellectually challenged and violent son.

At this moment, Carlos felt as though a sledgehammer had struck his head. His body stiffened, and he stood rooted to the ground with his mouth wide open!

Maddy actually recognized Florence as her godmother! The person who was the most shocked was none other than Carlos!

He had never imagined that the unfilial daughter he had driven out of the family had such good fortune!

At this moment, he suddenly recalled what Maddy had said to him previously. She said that she would settle the matter with the Bransons on her own and wouldn’t involve the Stones.

When Maddy was driven out of the family and disowned by Carlos, she had said to him, “Don’t regret it.”

Was the reason she had the confidence to say this because she had long become Florence Howard’s granddaughter?

If he had known earlier, Carlos would have never done the things he did earlier!

But it probably wasn’t too late now. No matter what, Maddy was his daughter. Once they dealt with the Bransons, he would apologize to Maddy and let her return to the family. Given the relationship between Maddy and the Howards, the Stones would be able to gain the support of the Howards in the future and rise to greater glory. It was a blessing in disguise!

The thought of it made Carlos’s heart burn with excitement.

At this moment, Maddy was no longer the unfilial wench that he had called her previously. She was now his promising and competent daughter!

Eric looked extremely sullen. Florence was clearly here to protect Maddy, so he didn’t dare to act rashly.

After pondering for a while, Eric made up his mind and decided to compromise. “Since Maddy is your goddaughter, I’ll take a step back and not hold it against her.

“But that man over there is the culprit who killed my son. I must take him back to the Bransons and use his blood to pay homage to my son!”

Eric felt that he had already made a compromise and thought that Florence would definitely do him a favor so that they would both have an out.

After all, the Howards and the Bransons were among the eight most powerful families in DC, so it would be best if they didn’t get into a conflict.

But Florence didn’t have the slightest intention of giving Eric an out. She smiled and rejected, “I’m sorry, but this young man is my daughter’s fiancé, so I won’t let you harm him!”

“You! Eric immediately flew into a rage. “Ms. Howard, don’t go overboard! I’ve agreed to take a step back because of my respect for your family, but it’s not because I’m afraid of you!”

In his opinion, he had already agreed to spare Maddy for Florence’s sake and take only Jordan. If Florence played by the rules, she shouldn’t interfere.

But Florence was so domineering that she actually wanted to protect the two murderers of his son. It was way too overboard!

For a time, Eric’s face was extremely gloomy as he glowered at Florence.