By late afternoon, Marvin was still at Villa Winston. Besides catching up with Gennifer and Axel after so long apart, he had another purpose. Marvin had deliberately waited for Russel to return and Raymond to arrive.
Just before five in the afternoon, a luxury Ford entered the villa grounds. The car stopped quite a distance from Marvin's old Audi, as though its owner didn't want to park too close.
"That bastard's car. He should've parked outside the gate," Russel grumbled with a sneer.
His face revealed two conflicting emotions.
On one hand, he felt relieved that Winsoil had managed to secure enough oil to last for the next month. On the other, curiosity and unease continued to haunt him. Even now, he still didn't know who had ordered The Oxy to send such a huge amount of crude oil when Winsoil hadn't even submitted a bid.
The moment Russel entered the family room, his eyes went straight to Marvin.
His expression instantly turned sour.
"You're still here?" he snorted. "You shouldn't be in this house. You'd better go home! Our family doesn't accept ex-convicts!"
Gennifer immediately stood up.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Russel?!" she snapped angrily. "Marvin is my lawful husband. Of course he has every right to be here."
Axel spoke up as well.
"He's my brother-in-law too. We've never held his past against him because it doesn't affect us in any way."
Russel cast his two siblings a sarcastic glance.
"I refuse to have a terrorist for a brother-in-law. Be careful. Who knows? Maybe he brought a bomb into this house."
A bitter smile appeared on his lips.
Marvin merely straightened his black shirt before replying calmly.
"Shouldn't you be happy right now, Russel? A billion dollars' worth of crude oil has already arrived at the Winsoil refinery. So hurry up and call your friend. I can't wait to see Raymond lick the soles of my shoes."
Hearing that, Russel's anger immediately boiled over.
"How dare you! Who do you think you are, talking to the Harvard heir like that?!"
He raised his hand and pointed at Marvin.
But Marvin didn't care in the slightest. He even turned his face away.
"Did I ever falsely accuse him?" he replied coldly. "Or accuse him of doing something that sent him to prison?"
There wasn't the slightest trace of fear on his face.
Russel gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Although he looked furious, everyone knew it was all bluster. He had never truly dared to confront Marvin directly.
Meanwhile, Marvin wasn't intimidated in the least, even though his opponent was the heir to the Harvard family.
To him, the next few months would be a turning point for the Rock family. When that happened, their family's wealth would surpass Harvard Corp.'s.
Annoyed, Russel immediately called Raymond and asked him to come over.
Less than fifteen minutes later, a red Porsche stopped in front of the villa.
Raymond got out carrying a small red box.
After entering the family room, he placed the box on the table and smiled warmly.
"Gennifer, this is specially for you."
But before Gennifer could touch it, Marvin had already taken the box.
He opened it slowly, then shook his head.
"Oh, come on. Silver and white gold."
Marvin smiled disdainfully.
"They're genuine, sure, but cheap."
His gaze shifted to Raymond.
"Harvard heir, aren't you ashamed to give a beautiful woman like Gennifer such a cheap trinket?"
The room instantly fell silent.
Cheap?
A trinket?
Everyone was stunned.
The commotion even brought Derick and Elena downstairs from the upper floor.
"What's going on?" Derick asked with a frown.
Marvin immediately raised the ring box so it was clearly visible.
"Father-in-law, take a look. This stranger gave my wife a cheap gift. It's an insult—not just to me, but to the Winston family as well."
Raymond's face flushed red.
"Hey, ex-con! Do you know that ring cost ten thousand dollars? That much money would be enough to feed someone like you for five years!"
He was completely enraged.
Elena quickly took the ring and examined it carefully.
"Wow! It's beautiful."
She looked at Marvin in disbelief.
"Have you gone crazy? How can you call something this expensive cheap?"
Derick examined it too.
A few moments later, he nodded.
"There are only about fifty rings like this in all of Chemisland. Marvin, have you forgotten that the dowry you gave Gennifer was less than a thousand dollars?"
Now everyone's attention was fixed on Marvin.
Gennifer, who had been happy since that morning, slowly began to grow anxious. She trusted her husband, but Marvin's words were becoming harder and harder to understand.
No one had ever dared speak to the heir of the Harvard family like that.
Yet Marvin did it without hesitation.
Axel was shocked as well.
He knew Marvin as an intelligent man who was good with words. But something was different today.
Marvin's courage felt far greater than usual.
Axel quickly understood why.
Revenge.
Marvin harbored a deep grudge against Raymond. Raymond might still hold more power for now, but Marvin seemed certain that the situation would soon change.
Meanwhile, Gennifer grew even more anxious.
"Honey..." she said softly. "If you don't like the ring, just put it down. I won't accept it either. Please stop talking like this."
Her voice trembled.
Raymond then sat beside Russel and glared at Marvin.
"Do you think getting out of prison means you can say whatever you want?"
He crossed his legs arrogantly.
"Take back what you said, or I'll tear your mouth apart."
The threat didn't shake Marvin in the slightest.
He answered calmly,
"Keep that ring you're so proud of. Compared to the Gloriest Flower I gave my wife, it's absolutely worthless. That flower cost as much as fifty rings like yours."
After saying that, Marvin sat back down beside Gennifer.
Raymond grew even more irritated.
He stood up and picked up the bouquet near Gennifer.
"This flower is fake!" he shouted with a crooked smile.
Marvin turned to Elena.
"Ma'am, you know a lot about flowers. You've been looking at it this whole time. What do you think—is it real or fake?"
Elena snorted softly.
"It's real."
Then her gaze turned cold.
"But we don't believe you were the one who sent it."
Russel immediately nodded in agreement.
As far as he was concerned, there was no way Marvin could afford a five-hundred-thousand-dollar Gloriest Flower.
Derick and Elena thought the same thing.
They were convinced there had been a delivery mistake.
Seeing their reactions, Marvin merely gave a faint smile.
His gaze shifted to Raymond.
"You can't even tell the difference between a real and fake Gloriest Flower?" he taunted. "That's pathetic for a Harvard heir."
Raymond's face instantly flushed red.
Never in his life had he been humiliated like this.
What hurt even more was that the person humiliating him was Marvin Rock—the man he had always considered worthless and beneath him.
That afternoon, for the first time, Raymond experienced what it felt like to become the object of ridicule in front of every member of the Winston family.