Many people pricked up their ears, stealthily listening for any stir from Daisy’s side.A few who were on good terms with Bianca Irving and had some inside scoop already knew the banquet was essentially meant to pave the way for Hill Group. But in the current climate, to openly side with Hill Group—weren’t they afraid of retaliation from the Sanders family?They didn’t dare to gamble, yet curiosity pricked at them.Stuart Thompson and Sullivan Parker, on the other hand, seemed completely unbothered by the Sanders family, chatting lively with Daisy.At this juncture, Daisy was genuinely grateful for their public support. She covertly murmured a thank-you to them.Stuart Thompson and Sullivan Parker waved it off with easy generosity. They were already in the same boat—shared glory, shared ruin—and the course was set. Any more politeness would only be inappropriate.“Miss Daisy, we’re family now.”“That’s right, Miss Daisy. We don’t split hairs among our own. Anyone who comes for us—we’l

Daisy flushed scarlet at Adrian’s laughter.“What are you laughing at?”Seeing the faint ire on his fiancée’s face, Adrian sobered at once, all earnestness.“Miss Daisy, you have to do it like me—louder. That’s how it works.”She remained unconvinced.Adrian cupped his hands and called out again at full volume:“We are going to win—”“Miss Daisy is the best—”Daisy hesitated. He urged her again and again.“Go on, try it. You really can.”She drew a deep breath and gave a resolute nod.“I will win!”Her voice still wasn’t loud, but it was far stronger than before.“Keep going!”Grinning, Adrian prodded her on. Daisy raised her hands to her mouth like a makeshift megaphone.“Hill Group will win!”“We will prevail!”“I can do this!”Each shout rang louder than the last. Adrian smiled, satisfied.“Well? Still feel stifled?”Daisy shook her head, delighted. The weight in her chest had lifted clean away. Her cheeks were flushed from excitement, and Adrian immediately reached out to pinch on

Despite Eleanor Davidson’s prim reminder, the reporters weren’t about to pass up a scene that promised conflict. No one spared Daisy a glance. What they wanted was the headline: the four great families joining forces against Hill Group.Russell Sanders didn’t bother to hide the leering mockery in his eyes. He raised his voice at Daisy across the hall. “Daisy, this is what you get for refusing me. You chose that pauper Adrian—what has he ever brought you?”Adrian chuckled, unruffled. “If not me, should she have chosen you—a cripple in a wheelchair who can’t even stand?”Russell’s face went rigid, fury blazing in his eyes. Adrian, unmoved, checked his phone. By his reckoning, the people he’d called should be arriving any minute.Right on cue, as he lowered the phone, their reinforcements appeared.“Thank you all for your patience!”A resonant voice carried through the hall. A refined middle-aged man stepped into view, ignoring the four families entirely as he headed straight for the VIP

Cold sweat slicked the backs of Russell Sanders and his companions. This was a blatant, glaring callout.What caliber of people were these? Skyline City’s top leaders—number one and number two—figures from both business and politics. How were they supposed to fight that?Patrick Davidson was stunned as well. He refused to believe that a mere Hill family, a mere Hill Group, could command such favor.And then, in the next moment, it made a terrible kind of sense.Mayor of Adams, Henry Hamilton, and Finn Thompson went down the line, shaking Adrian’s hand, exchanging cordial greetings.Were they all here for Adrian’s sake?Each person nursed a different thought, but none of them could shake the same question: why?Adrian was just a junior employee at Hill Group.Even if he enjoyed a bit of fame as a so-called “miracle doctor,” for all they knew he was a charlatan conjuring tricks.Patrick Davidson was at a loss for words. Even now, watching Adrian, loathing him as he did, he couldn’t help

Lorenzo Watson slapped his thigh and let out a chuckle. “I told you—my master never fights a battle he isn’t sure to win!”Henry Hamilton shot Lorenzo a silent sidelong glance. He’d wanted to say the same himself. On second thought, though, in a setting like this, all he needed to do was watch.Vincent Wallace had known from the start how formidable Adrian’s formula was, but seeing it made into a real product shook him anew.“Dr. Doyle, indeed!”He could find no words grand enough for what he felt. What woman doesn’t love beauty? What woman can say no to becoming more beautiful?He was all but certain now: every problem facing Hill Group would unravel with ease.On stage, agreements and indemnities were already forgotten.Nothing seduces like visible beauty.“This feels like a dream—can it be real?”“Same here! I’ve had injections at the clinic, and they didn’t do this!”“I regret every tweak I ever got. I could have become beautiful the natural way!”It wasn’t just the girls who’d t