Rising to the Top for Revenge

Chapter 9

The thunderous applause echoed in the hotel ballroom. VIP guests and rows of investors gathered at their respective assigned tables. In the dimly lit atmosphere, the sole spotlight shone on the stage.

"Honored guests! Tonight you will meet Mr. Warles, the leader of the major Warleslock Company Group who has survived through business innovations, drawing the attention of investors!"

After the MC spoke, Mr. Warles stood up from his seat and gave a brief wave to the guests and investors. His smile curved triumphantly.

"Wow, Mr. Warles' reputation is undoubtedly deserved. His journey in the business world has been so long that Warleslock Company Group became the second most influential company!"

Again, thunderous applause filled the room. The MC's words made Mr. Warles just laugh calmly while placing a hand on his chest, a sign of thanks.

"It's a pity we have to get the news that Mr. Ramirez, the leader of Centratama Group, is still in critical condition in the hospital," said the MC.

The faces of some investors looked worried. Those investors had chosen Mr. Ramirez as the leader with the best business innovations.

Meanwhile, in the front row, Mr. Warles smiled at his wife Mrs. Warles and Selena. But he hid that smile to avoid arousing suspicion.

"It's possible tonight we'll only see the figure of the one great leader. Since yesterday we've witnessed and heard about his business innovations, so...now let's welcome—"

The MC's words stopped when he heard a voice in his earpiece monitor. The MC fell completely silent, straining to listen to the voice.

The guests and investors watching the MC fell quiet too, looking confused at one another with questioning expressions.

"Ah, we've received shocking news today. Apparently someone wants to surprise the VIP guests and investors in attendance!" The MC spoke with a beaming smile.

Everyone in the room looked even more confused. Curiosity was clearly visible on their faces.

The MC walked to the right side of the stage to respond to a call from one of the event staff. The atmosphere then became filled with whispers of curiosity from everyone.

After a brief conversation between the MC and staff, the MC was visibly startled, stumbling backwards so all the guests could see his reaction.

"Good heavens, that surprised me. Okay. It seems the surprise coming tonight is no small matter," the MC said with an enthusiastic smile to the guests.

From the right side of the stage, the MC returned to the center. For a few moments the MC tried to catch his breath without diminishing the enthusiastic smile.

"We're going to call someone from Centratama Group..."

The curious expressions of Mr. and Mrs. Warles and Selena suddenly tensed up. The three of them simultaneously widened their eyes, looking around in anticipation of who would appear.

"The heir who has been hiding all this time has revealed himself. Let's call out...Mr. Dave Ramirez!"

When the name Dave Ramirez was mentioned, the Warles family was even more shocked. Selena spontaneously covered her mouth, eyes wide in disbelief.

"What is this? Dave Ramirez?" Selena muttered, suddenly feeling panicked.

Mrs. Warles immediately responded to Selena, "Isn't he your boyfriend?"

Selena turned towards her mother with a worried expression, then nodded.

Soon after, the man whose name was called walked to the center of the stage. Cheers and enthusiastic applause erupted loudly in the room.

Some of the investors and VIP guests were still stunned because they never knew Mr. Ramirez had that son. They only knew Mr. Ramirez had a son named Maximus Ramirez.

Meanwhile, Selena was increasingly shocked, her suspicion confirmed. Dave Ramirez on stage was her ex-boyfriend!

"How is this possible?" Selena asked in a soft tone.

Selena truly couldn't say anything. Dave 's appearance now was very different from Dave a year ago.

On stage, Dave stood with a proud smile. Dave fell silent for a few moments, observing the guests in the rows of seats.

Until finally, Dave 's gaze stopped on the Warles family, who still looked stunned. Dave curved his smile, feeling immense satisfaction in his chest.

"Honored VIP guests and esteemed investors, allow me to introduce myself. I am Dave Ramirez, the second son of Mr. Thomlinson Ramirez, or as you all know him, the founder of Centra Group..."

The room fell silent. All the guests watched Dave with eager, enthusiastic gazes.

Dave immediately gave a small laugh while letting out a long, relieved sigh.

"I'm so glad to finally be able to stand before all of you after years of not revealing my identity," Dave said before pausing.

Hearing Dave 's words made Mr. Warles grit his teeth angrily. Mr. Warles's gaze already showed great resentment towards Dave .

"Papa, how could we not know all this time that Dave is Mr. Ramirez's son?" Selena asked in a panicked tone.

Mr. Warles still glared angrily at the stage. He felt threatened by the presence of a member of the Centra Group family.

"You're right. We only knew about Maximus. Damn, I'd just felt relieved because Maximus wasn't interested in being the successor. I thought there would be no more competition," Mr. Warles replied.

Selena and Mrs. Warles immediately looked towards the stage with worried expressions. They never expected this to happen.

The problem was if Dave emerged as the heir to the company, it meant Warleslock Company Group would miss out on being the primary investment fund holder.

"So, I stand here as Mr. Ramirez's successor who can certainly take full responsibility for Centra Group's business innovations. Thank you."

After Dave 's speech ended, thunderous applause erupted again. Dave curved his smile even wider. At that moment, his gaze was on the Warles family, who did not applaud at all.

Dave felt an intense aura of competition from the eyes of each Warles family member. They seemed to regard his presence as a threat.

That was satisfying for Dave .

Dave 's steps moved from the stage. At the same time, Selena immediately got up from her seat and walked quickly towards Dave .

As Dave was walking towards the backstage, Selena, who had approached him, immediately grabbed the man's arm. Selena pulled Dave 's body to face her.

"Dave ," Selena called out when Dave looked her way.

Seeing Selena, Dave smiled calmly.

"Hi Selena. Long time no see. Is your life going well?" Dave asked.

Selena was still in awe watching Dave . She didn't know what to say.

"How is this possible? So all this time you were pretending to be an ordinary guy?" Selena asked rather fervently.

Dave nodded his head. Putting both hands in his pants pockets, he looked at Selena intently.

"That's right. I'm quite amazed at how the Warles family treats others behind the scenes. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Dave said.

Selena looked uneasy in front of Dave . After years together, this was the first time Selena felt such an intensely intimidating aura from him, even though Dave was smiling calmly at her.

"I apologize for all my treatment of you. I...never expected you to be the heir to Centra Group," Selena said.

From Selena's glistening eyes, Dave could tell the woman before him was enamored with him.

"It's nice to meet you again, Selena. I suppose your family feels threatened by my presence.”