“Ezra Howard?” Flynn said in surprise.

Then he hurriedly explained to Lucas, “Ezra is an extremely outstanding person among the younger generation of the Howards. He’s barely thirty, and he’s talented and promising. The Howards’ helmsman also values him greatly and has given him many of the Howards’ businesses to manage.”

After all, he had been in DC for quite some time, so he was naturally familiar with the core members of top families here.

Lucas gave it some thought. He had just asked the Howards to do him a favor yesterday, and now that a junior of the family came to visit, it didn’t seem appropriate to turn him away.

“Let him in then,” Lucas said.

Soon, a tall young man around thirty years old walked into Lucas’s office.

He had deep-set, handsome features thanks to the excellent genes unique to the Howards. His black silk shirt was slightly unbuttoned, revealing the fair skin of his neck. He seemed to be an unfettered young man.

There was a warm and gentle smile on his face that made him look very personable and friendly.

While Lucas was sizing up Ezra, Ezra was also sizing up Lucas curiously.

Lucas was slightly different from what Ezra had imagined. He was sharper and colder, like a sharp sword. The slightest carelessness might cause one to be injured by him.

Moreover, Lucas’s eyes were shrewd, and he seemed to be able to see through people’s hearts.

This made the gentle smile on Ezra’s mouth inexplicably stiffen.

“Are you Mr. Lucas Gray? I’ve heard a lot about you, but today is the first time we’ve met. It’s my honor!” Ezra had an affable aura. He smiled at Lucas and took the initiative to extend his hand.

But Lucas didn’t extend his hand and instead pointed at the couch opposite him. “Take a seat.”

Ezra immediately felt a little embarrassed. Facing Lucas, he felt very passive. It was as if his usually effective personable aura seemed to have lost its effect.

But he didn’t show it. He naturally retracted his hand and sat on the couch that Lucas pointed to.

“Mr. Howard, what brings you here?” Lucas asked, his tone rather cold.

Strictly speaking, Lucas was only in a cooperative relationship with the Howards, and they didn’t have any deep ties.

If not for the fact that Florence was Cheyenne’s biological mother, Lucas probably wouldn’t have had anything to do with the Howards at all.

“Mr. Gray, here’s the thing. I heard my aunt mention a little about your relationship with the Howards. Today is my grandfather’s seventy-fifth birthday, and the Howards will be holding a small banquet tonight. I’ve specially come to invite you. I wonder if you can make it tonight.” Ezra’s smile was gentle, and his voice was extremely pleasant and full of sincerity.

Lucas was slightly surprised.

Ezra’s grandfather was the helmsman of the Howards, and he was also technically Cheyenne’s grandfather.

It turned out to be his 75th birthday today, and the Howards had sent Erza, their most outstanding descendant, to invite Lucas to the birthday banquet.

Lucas thought about it and agreed. “I was planning to visit the helmsman of the Howards. Since it happens to be his birthday today, I’ll naturally show my respects.”

Lucas had come to DC this time mainly to deal with Maddy’s issue. But since he was here, he naturally wanted to resolve some other matters too.

For example, he had taken back control of the headquarters of the Stardust Corporation, deterred the Huttons, and obtained the Smiths’ allegiance.

Because Cheyenne’s mother was a Howard, Lucas had also reached a certain cooperation agreement with the Howard family. So even if it was just for Cheyenne’s sake, Lucas also wanted to interact with the Howards.

It was a good time now.

Hearing Lucas agreeing to go to the Howards’ birthday banquet, Ezra was very happy, and his smile deepened. “That’s great. I can go back to see my grandfather with peace of mind! Mr. Gray, I’ll wait for you at the Howard residence at seven tonight!”

“Okay.” Lucas nodded and then had someone send Ezra away.

After Ezra left, Jordan frowned. “Lucas, I keep feeling that the Howards have an ulterior motive for suddenly coming to see you.”

Lucas smiled at Jordan approvingly. “Not bad. You can see the problem now.”

Jordan chuckled. “That’s right! I’ve been by your side for so long, and I’ve more or less grown up! I just think that with the power you’ve shown in front of the Howards, they shouldn’t value you so highly. They even sent their most outstanding younger generation to invite you over.

“Anyway, it just feels like something is wrong.”

Lucas suddenly recalled the story Florence had told him before, the story of Cheyenne’s father being killed by the Howards’ helmsman.

At the time, Florence didn’t seem to be lying at all and seemed to be showing her true feelings. This meant that Cheyenne’s biological father had really been killed by the Howards.

In this sense, the Howards were Cheyenne’s enemies.

Judging from this, the Howards didn’t seem to be one to be trifled with.

“Hmph, no matter what their goal is, I won’t be polite to them if they dare to scheme against me!” An icy cold aura emerged from Lucas’s body.

…

At six o’clock in the evening, Lucas and Jordan arrived at the entrance of the Howards’ manor on time.

As one of the eight most powerful families of DC, the Howards naturally had many guests coming to celebrate the 75th birthday of the helmsman.

In the parking lot by the entrance of the Howards’ luxurious manor, there were all kinds of luxury cars. The guests who came were all wealthy and noble. It was indeed a luxurious banquet.

Lucas led Jordan to the entrance of the Howards’ manor. Just as they were about to enter, two uniformed guards suddenly stopped them.

“Excuse me, Sirs, please show us your invitation cards!” the guards said coldly.

Jordan immediately frowned. “What did you say? Do we still need an invitation to enter the Howards’ manor tonight?”

The guards glanced at them and sneered. “Of course! The Howard residence isn’t somewhere that anyone can just enter, especially since it’s the birthday banquet of our helmsman tonight. No one is allowed to enter without an invitation!”