Chapter Twenty-Eight
Author: H.K
last update2025-10-26 21:07:56

“We won’t sign.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

Lila’s words fell sharply like a glass dropped in a silent room, and everyone froze.

Her palm was still pressed flat against the table, her knuckles faintly white. When she finally moved, it was only to reach forward, take the folder, and in one clean motion — tear it straight down the middle.

The sound ripped through the air.

Edward’s smile vanished at once. “Lila—!”

She didn’t even look at him. The torn halves fluttered from her hands and scattered over the polished table.

“You’ve gone mad!” Lena gasped. “That was a legal draft from—”

“From you?” Lila’s voice was cold, her tone almost too calm. “Then take it back.”

Lena’s lips parted, but nothing came out.

Edward quickly composed himself, folding his hands together. “Let’s not be impulsive. We’re all family here. You’re young, and you might not see it clearly, but what we’re suggesting is to save your father’s branch, not destroy it.”

He spoke with the ease of some
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  • Chapter Thirty Seven

    The house was already glowing when the guests arrived.Light from the chandelier poured across the long table, scattering against the glassware and cutlery. The servants moved quietly but clearly panicked due to the tension.Margot stood in the center of it all, radiant and restless. She had changed into soft silk and pearls, her hair swept up too neatly for an evening at home. The smile she wore was bright, unlike the usual sneers she always had when it came to Elias.Thomas was still in his study, speaking to one of the executives while Lila sat at the sofa, a tablet balanced on her knees, and her eyes focused on the open document. The muted hum of conversation from the servants seemed far away to her.Then the doorbell sounded.A servant went to open it.Silas stepped in first, a little hesitant, holding a small wrapped box. “Just a little something,” he said, offering it as he greeted Margot.Margot’s expression brightened instantly. “Oh, Mr. Ward! You didn’t have to—goodness, how

  • Chapter Thirty Six

    For a while, neither of them spoke.The room had emptied completely. The screens had dimmed to standby, chairs half-turned, the faint smell of coffee cooling on forgotten cups. The overhead lights had also dimmed, leaving a soft wash of amber over the table.Elias didn’t look up.He was still seated, one hand resting on the phone face-down on the table.Lila stood across from him, arms folded loosely, expression unreadable.“You knew, didn’t you?” she said again, softer this time.He exhaled slowly through his nose, eyes lifting at last. “Knew what?”She studied him. “About the data.”When she saw that he still didn’t get what she was hinting at, she elaborated, “I think you also felt that something wasn’t right. You were watching him like you thought something was wrong with that data… or like you were waiting to see if anyone would notice like you did.”Elias could not help being taken aback.She was perceptive, he’d give her that.He didn’t answer right away. When he finally did, h

  • Chapter Thirty Five

    The question lingered like smoke in the quiet conference room.Every sound in the room died.Even the hum of the air conditioner seemed to fade, leaving only the faint whir of the ceiling lights.Silas blinked once, twice.Lila’s gaze was steady. It was not accusing but not without doubt either. Around the table, several heads turned toward Silas, curiosity etched on their faces..Even Thomas, still half-smiling from a moment ago, paused mid-gesture. The faint glint of pride on his face slowly dimmed as he slowly leaned back in his chair curiously.Elias didn’t move.But his eyes lifted — just slightly — and found Silas across the table.The seconds stretched like hours for Silas, however.Silas swallowed. “I—well, the data was—” He stopped, forcing a short laugh that didn’t sound right. “I mean, it wasn’t exactly secret, was it?”Nobody answered.Lila’s pen rolled from her fingers and stopped with a soft click against the table. That tiny sound felt louder than any word.Thomas tilt

  • Chapter Thirty Four

    The conference room was full before nine-thirty.Several executives, PR leads and the two teams of the firm were present. Most of the seats were taken, their voices overlapping with the hum of excitement. The screens on the wall flashed live graphs of public sentiment climbing steadily upward.The red line that had fallen for days was now climbing, sharply, like it had just been waiting for permission.“Unbelievable turnaround,” someone murmured.“Mr. Ward’s timing was surgical.”“Looks like Halberg will survive this.”Silas entered, smoothing down his tie. His chest felt tight, but he kept the easy smile plastered on, nodding to whoever looked his way. The chatter dimmed as Lila finally entered with the representatives.. However, today, a middle-aged man walked alongside her.Most didn’t recognize him, but those who did instantly stood up at alert. Greeting resounded across the room in scattered chorus at once:“Mr. Beaumont.”It was Thomas Beaumont.As the official head of the seco

  • Chapter Thirty Three

    The morning came with noise.Silas woke to his phone vibrating off the bedside table. A dozen notifications were stacked over one another, tags, mentions, even private dms from journalists. He blinked, still half-asleep, before swiping the screen open.“Brilliant timing, Ward!”“Genius move. The statement’s perfect. Exactlt what we needed.”“You’ve saved Halberg’s image, man.”He stared blankly.What statement?He scrolled and was taken aback to find his own name was trending on the internal feeds of Halberg’s forum. The company had just released an official press statement through Aureus PR’s verified account.> “Following recent regulatory confusion, Halberg confirms full cooperation and transparency in the ongoing review. Through our findings, we’ve detected shady deals by some of our employees which resulted in the provision of fake and inaccurate maintenance records to the regulators with the sole aim of jeopardizing the company’s image to the public. The company will publish all

  • Chapter Thirty-Two

    The comment was casual, but the undertone was sharp enough to cut.A few heads turned toward Elias whom Silas was referring to.He still didn’t move.But his gaze finally settled on the man, assessing him. He had noted how Silas’s hands never stopped moving, his fingers brushing the edge of his pen, tapping once before each pause. It was nothing but a salesman’s rhythm. Silas smiled thinly. “No offense, of course. Just that the last statement might’ve been a touch… premature.”Elias’s team shifted uncomfortably as they all sneaked glances at his face concernedly. Someone cleared their throat.Elias’s expression didn’t change.He observed instead: Lila’s jaw tightening for half a second, the way she avoided looking directly at him. She wasn’t defending him but she wasn’t agreeing, either. That was telling.When he finally spoke, his voice was steady and calm like he was only talking about the weather.“Visibility without credibility is noise,” he said quietly.The room fell silent at

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