Bradley was very determined not to lose Calvin’s trust, and he’d even said that he’d share his location with Calvin to prove that he was exactly where he claimed he’d be, doing exactly what he’d said he was doing.It was the day the machines for the factory that Bradley had found in Slatfield’s Industrial District were supposed to arrive, and there had been some issues with communication between Calvin and the driver delivering the machines, so Calvin wanted Bradley to go and inspect everything.However, the sounds Calvin had heard in the background when he’d called Bradley made him doubt that the man was actually in the industrial district, and Calvin had clearly voiced that doubt, resulting in Bradley trying to prove to him that he wasn’t lying.Sighing softly as he remembered that day, Calvin raised a hand to his temple and pressed his fingers against it.“I should head over this weekend and clear t

The three of them walked around the side of the old classroom block, gradually getting closer to the source of the voices that Calvin had heard moments earlier.Soon, they got close enough to the rear of the old school building, enough that Jack could now hear the loud voices audible from somewhere behind the structure.Once they reached the edge of the building, Calvin and the others silently peeked over it.What they encountered was a scene that immediately looked like some kind of fight, although it was much more one-sided than an actual fight.Three young men were surrounding and beating up another student, while two others stood farther away from the group and simply watched everything happening in front of them.The two who were watching from a distance were familiar faces to Calvin, unlike the three guys who were ganging up on the unfortunate student and the student they were beating up.“Isaac and Mark,” Calvin muttered q

Calvin’s words held logic, and Ashley clearly agreed with what he was saying, but it only took a single glance at Charley to understand that he most definitely didn’t want to explain the internal details of the situation.Calvin also understood this, so he simply shrugged before saying, “Oh well, but like I said earlier, you guys’ only option is a buyout.”“If you don’t have enough money to keep your company afloat by the end of this week, then you’ll go completely bankrupt,” Calvin continued, laying out the situation plainly for Charley.“You’re already in debt to several banks, so I don’t think you’ll be able to borrow any money from them either, and I don’t think anybody within your father’s network is going to lend him the money he needs right now when he’s already carrying so much debt.From their point of view, there wouldn’t be much of a chance for

Time seemed to move slower than usual for Charley, as every minute that passed felt like it was taking forever to reach lunchtime.He kept glancing towards the clock throughout the morning, with his thoughts constantly returning to the situation surrounding Autumn Grove and whether Calvin would actually be able to help his father before Mark's family managed to force everyone else out of the running.Eventually, lunchtime arrived, and the moment the bell rang, Charley didn't even wait for the teacher to say anything before immediately springing up from his seat and rushing out of the classroom door. He hurried down the hallway towards Calvin's class, moving so quickly that he nearly ran into several students along the way before finally reaching the classroom.Calvin was still calmly packing his bags when Charley rushed inside, and the moment he spotted him, Charley immediately urged him, "Are you ready?! Then let's go! We need to get there as soon as possible!"

Hubert was barely able to stop himself from immediately shouting ‘YES!’ in response to the offer Calvin had just made to him.He really didn't want to leave Autumn Grove, the company he'd spent more than half of his life building from the ground up. He knew exactly what he'd endured and sacrificed throughout the decades he'd spent building the company, and the thought of simply losing everything he'd worked for was something he couldn't accept easily.However, Calvin's offer still seemed almost too good to be true.Calvin could see what was going through Hubert's mind simply by looking at his expression, and after pondering it for a moment, he glanced towards Charley before speaking."Charley, can you give us the room? I want to speak with your father in private."Charley had a concerned expression on his face as he looked towards his father, clearly uncertain about leaving the two of them alone together. But before he could say anythin