System: From Trash Son-in-Law to Billionaire

Chapter 6

The Grand Luminary, a five-star restaurant perched atop a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper, was filled with New York’s elite that evening. Massive crystal chandeliers reflected luxurious light across the dance floor and round tables laden with premium dishes and wines worth thousands of dollars.

Tonight was a crucial night for Cheryl Cole Ashford. The supreme female CEO of Ashford Global was hosting a strategic dinner banquet to announce the company’s internal restructuring as well as the signing of a new major logistics partnership.

In a corner of the grand hall, Seraphina Monroe and her younger brother sat with tense and slightly haggard expressions. After their primary contract had been unilaterally canceled by Ashford Global’s mysterious shareholder that morning, tonight’s banquet was the Monroe clan’s only remaining lifeline. They had managed to slip in after desperately seeking emergency assistance through Evan Vanguard’s family connections.

“Seraphina, make sure you act pleasantly in front of Miss Cheryl later,” her younger brother whispered while adjusting his tie, trying to hide his nervousness. “If we can win Miss Cheryl over personally tonight, our position will be secure. We need to find out who that bastard investor is who canceled our contract.”

Seraphina merely nodded stiffly, gripping her champagne glass tightly.

“I know, Keith. We have to save our company.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere inside the restaurant hall fell completely silent as the VIP double doors opened.

Cheryl Cole Ashford walked in wearing a formal black evening gown paired with minimalist diamond jewelry. Her aura was so overwhelming that every businessman in the room bowed respectfully.

However, the attention of the entire hall was not focused solely on the Business Goddess. It was also drawn to the man walking confidently beside her—not behind her as a subordinate, but at her side as an equal partner.

The man wore an exquisitely tailored Savile Row suit, radiating a cold and untouchable aristocratic authority.

Keith Monroe’s eyes widened so much that he nearly dropped the champagne glass in his hand.

Meanwhile, Seraphina froze in place, her breath catching in her throat as though all the oxygen in the room had suddenly vanished.

“D-Daniel?!” Keith half-shouted, his voice filled with disbelief, shock, and spontaneous contempt. “How can this piece of trash be walking beside Miss Cheryl?!”

Cheryl and Daniel stopped in the middle of the hall, not far from the Monroe family’s table.

Daniel looked at Seraphina and Keith with an expression as blank as a board, as though the two of them were nothing more than insignificant pebbles on the side of the road.

The rude outburst immediately caused Cheryl’s brows to knit together.

Her gaze instantly turned ice-cold.

“Watch your words. You are shouting in front of my most respected business partner.”

Keith let out a hysterical laugh, his face reddening as he assumed Daniel was pulling off some massive fraud.

“Miss Cheryl! You’ve definitely been deceived by this bastard! Business partner? The man standing beside you is Daniel Leonard, a former poor café waiter who was divorced by my sister this very morning because he had no money! He’s nothing more than a piece of street trash! How could he possibly stand in a place as honorable as this?!”

Seraphina stepped forward as well, forcing an arrogant expression as she tried to curry favor with Cheryl.

“Miss Ashford, what my brother says is true. As a fellow businesswoman, I feel obligated to warn you not to be taken advantage of by this lazy man. He must have rented that expensive suit just to deceive you.”

Hearing that, several businessmen nearby began whispering among themselves, looking at Daniel with suspicion.

Daniel remained silent.

He did not respond with a single word. Instead, a faint smile filled with mystery and deep mockery appeared at the corner of his lips.

His calmness only made the atmosphere even more oppressive.

Clink.

Cheryl placed her wine glass onto a waiter’s tray with a slight motion, yet the effect was enough to plunge the luxurious restaurant hall into complete silence.

Her sapphire eyes became as sharp as razors as she looked at them one by one.

“Rented a suit? Deceive me?” Cheryl’s voice trembled with absolute authority, sending chills down everyone’s spine. “You truly are a group of fools without eyes.”

Cheryl turned slightly and respectfully gestured toward Daniel.

“Allow me to formally introduce him to all of you,” Cheryl declared, her voice echoing throughout the hall. “The gentleman standing beside me is Mr. Daniel Leonard. He is the new owner of 40% of Ashford Global’s controlling shares, which he purchased this morning in a cash transaction worth billions of dollars. He is our highest-ranking investor, the holder of absolute decision-making authority, and my greatest ally!”

BOOM!

Cheryl’s words struck like a bolt of lightning crashing directly onto Seraphina and Keith’s heads.

Seraphina’s face instantly turned as pale as a funeral shroud. Her body trembled violently, causing the champagne in her hand to spill onto her expensive gown.

Owner of 40% of Ashford Global? Billions of dollars in cash? The ex-husband she had discarded like trash?

“T-That’s impossible... There must be some mistake...” Keith stammered, his knees suddenly weakening until he had to grip the edge of the table for support. “He’s just a café waiter...”

“And one more thing, Miss Monroe.”

Daniel finally spoke.

His voice was deep, steady, and filled with emotional pressure that tightened around Seraphina’s chest.

“I am the ‘mysterious investor’ who ordered the cancellation of every cooperation contract involving the Monroe clan this morning. I’m the one who severed the lifeline of your business.”

Seraphina stared at Daniel with eyes wide open in horror.

Shock, humiliation, and overwhelming fear mixed together inside her chest.

The man who used to prepare breakfast for her now stood at the top of the world as a financial giant who controlled the life and death of her company.

“Mr. Daniel,” Cheryl said, glancing at her personal assistant, Rohui, before turning her gaze back to the Monroe siblings. “Do you have any further instructions regarding these ill-mannered people?”

Daniel looked at Seraphina one final time that night with a cold and unfamiliar gaze.

“Rohui, remove Monroe Consulting and every clan associated with them from the global logistics industry partner list permanently. Do not allow them to obtain a single cent’s worth of contracts in this city.”

“Yes, Mr. Leonard,” Rohui replied firmly.

“Daniel! Please don’t do this! We can talk this through!” Keith panicked, finally realizing that their foolish words had just destroyed the last remaining breath of their family’s company.

Daniel paid no attention to the desperate plea.

He turned around elegantly and looked at Cheryl with the warm smile of a victor.

“Miss Cheryl, shall we continue signing our documents in the private room? The atmosphere here has suddenly become very dirty.”

“Of course, Mr. Daniel,” Cheryl replied with a sweet smile she had never shown to any other man.

Daniel strode forward beside Cheryl toward the main VIP room, leaving the hall with the bearing of a true financial king.

Meanwhile, Seraphina Monroe collapsed onto the floor, mourning the destruction of her business under the mocking stares and cynical whispers of New York’s elite.