Leo Gambino A Thousand Foes

018 Utter Humiliation

The Langford patriarch's roar blasted through the phone loudly. Victor jerked it away from his ear, terrified it would burst his eardrum.

It was a nightmare for the young man. Always pampered and spoiled, Victor did not remember the last time he was scolded. Never in his life had his father shouted at him like this.

Tears of pure frustration stung his eyes. Langford Enterprises had poured everything into this deal. How could it collapse so fast?

Victor did nothing to provoke Simon. Yet one moment, they were ridiculing Leonard together; the next, the SVP had thrown him out like a stranger. He had no clue what went wrong.

"Dad, I did everything I could—" he began in a hoarse voice.

"I don't care what you did!" his father cut him off, the man's fury boiling through the speaker. "We were supposed to sign the deal with the Consortium and carry out a hostile takeover of Sophia Harrington's company, too!"

"Get us back on board with Simon before you dare step foot in the Langford estates again! And take care of Sophia too! Come back empty-handed, and I'll strangle you myself!"

The line went dead. Victor's head lowered in shame and frustration. With a heavy sigh, he turned towards Simon, who stood silently in the corner of the hall. "Mr. Mercer!" he called out desperately, trying to pencil in.

Two burly guards instantly blocked his path. "Get lost! Or are you looking for a beating?"

"How dare you speak to Victor like that?" Felicity screeched at them. "He's still the heir of Langford Enterprises!"

"So what?" the guard scoffed. "You two had better leave before we decide to teach you a lesson. Troublemakers like you don't learn without biting dust."

Felicity's face twisted in rage. "Just who do you think you are? You're just lowly security guards! Aren't you afraid Victor will deal with you after work?"

The two guards broke into mocking laughter, patting each other for support. "Didn't you hear the guy's father swearing to kill him if he failed? The way I see it, he might not even survive the night."

The other guards standing by also joined in on the laughter, pointing at Victor with ridicule.

Felicity spun towards her fiancé, looking defeated. "Did your father really say that?"

Victor ignored her completely. His desperate gaze stayed locked on Simon.

"Mr. Mercer, please! At least tell me what I did wrong. We'll make it right!" he called out, trying to push past the guards.

They shoved him back hard, making him stagger. "Get lost, troublemaker!"

But Victor refused to give up. "Mr. Mercer, remember your promise! You can't just go back on your word!"

He took another step, ready to be dragged out if necessary. It was better than facing his father's wrath. At that exact moment, two figures strolled back into the conference hall, chatting casually.

Victor froze mid-step. One of them was Leonard. The other was the CEO, Valery Frost.

He rubbed his eyes, convinced he was hallucinating. But he clearly wasn't. His blood turned to ice.

Everyone assumed Valery had dragged Leonard away to punish him for pretending to be the Chairman.

Why was he walking beside her completely unharmed? And why were they hanging out together like partners? Was Felicity's ridiculous theory accurate?

What the hell was happening? Felicity followed Victor's gaze and froze beside him.

There he was—Leonard, her loser ex, looking relaxed and talking to Valery as if she were his subordinate. The CEO nodded and offered courtesy gestures.

What was going on? Leonard was supposed to have been beaten within an inch of his life. Instead, he looked perfectly fine, chatting comfortably with one of the most powerful women in Nexus City.

Something inside Felicity snapped. Her mother's words from yesterday rang in her ears—Leonard had latched onto a new sugar mommy. She was now thoroughly convinced of her earlier theory.

Jealousy and envy surged through Felicity like poison. No way this was possible!

Leonard was the pathetic stray she had thrown away. How could he end up with this stunning, successful, untouchable woman?

Valery was everything Felicity had always dreamed of becoming—powerful, admired, a role model, a queen reigning over the world.

Leonard was supposed to stay beneath her, begging for scraps, clinging like a lost puppy. How had he gotten close to someone even more beautiful and influential than she could ever be?

Felicity's face darkened. Her fists clenched until her nails dug into her palms. She could not allow this farce to go on.

Her role model could not be involved with that worthless loser.

Before the guards could react, Felicity, being slender and nimble, slipped past them and stormed straight into the hall. She screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Miss Frost! Listen to me, Miss Frost!"