Kenny's heart sank as he suddenly became overwhelmed with fear. He knew that whatever Atlas would say would determine Alden's reaction towards him. “What do you mean?” Alden, who was taken aback by Atlas's words, questioned curiously. Atlas smiled faintly at her brother's question before he replied, “I spiked the drink Olivia drank.”“Why? Do you think such a petty trick will make you the CEO of the company overnight?” Alden asked, his jaw clenched. Atlas chuckled at his words before he walked closer. “My little brother, I don't need to play dirty to win the directors over.”His eyes narrowed as he stared at Atlas, who was trying to provoke him. “Then why did you do that?” He asked, his angry eyes piercing through Atlas's. “The drink was meant for my girlfriend, who came to celebrate grandma's birthday with me, but unfortunately your wife drank it,” Atlas explained with a straight face. Alden burst into laughter at Atlas's words, wondering if he thought he was talking to a fool.
“Were you able to find out who the major shareholder was?” Chloe asked with a pale face. Today is D-day. Layla has to become the CEO so as to be her biggest supporter. “I couldn't. I informed my attorney about that, and he told me not to bother. Maybe the person who bought the shares isn't in the company. He might want to sell it back when the share price rises,” Layla explained. Her explanation makes no sense to Chloe. No one in their right state of mind will purchase shares with one million dollars just to sell them right back. “Layla, wake up. I am sure you wouldn't buy shares of a company with that amount just to sell them. It is 47% of the shares of a whole company and you expect that?” “Jeez, what is wrong with you? You are overly sensitive today. Do you know how much he will gain if he sells it when our share price returns to how it used to be? He will gain fifty million dollars!” Layla half-yelled. Chloe ruffled her hair. She couldn't believe Layla was not seeing the viv
A Few Hours Earlier…“I can't believe he wasn't going to wait for me to get dressed and give me a ride to the meeting,” Olivia said with a frown before coming out of the bathroom. She picked up her phone and texted one of her favorite makeup artists. She put on a simple casual gown before heading downstairs. “You are awake? I heard you aren't feeling well; are you fine now?”She smiled at Grandma Katherine's words, reminded of how her father used to ask her a ton of questions each time she was sick. “I am fine now. I was just stressed out,” she replied sweetly. “I am glad you are. I personally prepared lobster and rice porridge for you,” Grandma Katherine said before she led her to the dining room. She drew out a chair for Olivia, which she sat on shyly. “Make sure to finish everything. You have to eat healthy foods and make sure you rest frequently.”Olivia smiled at her words before she began eating. No doubt, she had never tasted a lobster as delicious as this one. She ate eve
“Mr. Jaden, I am sorry, I can't offer you the amount of money you want. Maybe if I talk to my husband, he might help out.”Seeing so many gazes on them including reporters, she decided to put up a little act. “Ol—”“I am sorry, my husband hates seeing me with another man. He is a jealous man,” Olivia interrupted him with a childish smile. Alden, who had been watching them, seized the opportunity to act like a doting husband. He walked away from where he parked his car and walked up to Olivia. With a cute smile, he asked, “Honey, who is this man and why is he kneeling down here?”“I don't really know. I don't know if he wants my help or the crowd's attention,” she replied with a pretty smile. “I will take it as he wants nothing,” Alden said and hold Olivia's hand before they headed to the spot he parked his car. “Don't worry, I will drive by myself. I will drive back home with grandma's car,” she said after she pulled her hand away from his. “Sure.” Alden replied and got into his
“What if I say yes?” Alden leaned closer before he asked with a faint smile. “You killed Brandon… So you really did that?” Olivia's voice trailed off as she questioned sadly, tears streaming down her face. Alden chuckled at her words, his eyes piercing into hers. “Do you have any proof that I killed him?”She clenched her fist, trying to stay calm. “I will look for the evidence!”"Why are you stressing yourself over him? Have you forgotten that he almost killed you? Have you forgotten how he took everything from you? Isn't it a good thing that he is gone?” He asked with a faint smile on his face, yet a serious tone. Unable to believe his reaction, she asked, “Alden, are you human?” “I can't believe you are comfortable saying such words,” she added as she cleaned her face, trying her best not to allow her emotions to control her. “You don't want to believe you hate him, do you?”“What are you? What gives you the damn right to think you can kill anyone?” She asked with tears welled
“Clarify what? All we have to do is stick to our initial agreement, isn't it?” She asked, sounding persuasive. He frowned at her words. He couldn't believe she was trying to change the topic of conversation. “I want to clarify the fact that you were the one who first approached me! You proposed a fake union first, and now you are trying to use my secret against me!”“I am sorry.”Staring into her brown eyes, his heart skipped a beat as he heard her apologize. Apologies always provoked him, but it was different when it came from her. “That aside, how did you know I was a sadist?” He asked, curious about how she found out what others didn't know. “I can't tell you my source just as I can't tell anyone about this,” she said and began walking away, but halted at his words. “If that is the case, I hope you don't think about your dead ex-husband. You can feel sad because of the past moments you shared together, but just know it was part of his scamming scheme. It was all lies.”“You w
“I guess you must be happy after ruining everything,” Chloe's voice echoed sadly after she found Layla. She spent about five hours looking for Layla, but she was not around— not at home or where they used to hang around. Layla's eyes widened as she raised her gaze to look Chloe in the eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but was lost for words. “Is this what you have under control? I trusted you, but you disappointed me when I least expected it!” She half-yelled at Layla. “And so? I can't believe you are yelling at me when I actually tried my best to make this work!” Layla yelled back at her, hiding the fear lingering in her. Chloe ruffled her hair before she spoke up, “You try to make this work? Anyway, I did not blame you; I blamed myself for trusting an incompetent idiot like you! At first, you ruined my party, ruined your father's reputation, now you ruined my plan.”“I hope not to ever see your face again. Go live the life of a loser with your dead boyfriend,” she paused brief
‘I can't believe Uncle Ryan would stoop so low as to use his only child. What a greedy man he is,’ Alden muttered to himself before he walked inside. Olivia, who overheard their conversation, approached him the moment he entered the living room. “Alden, what was that about?” She inquired.“I prefer you to be straightforward, Olivia,” Alden replied with a faint smile. She exhaled deeply before she began. “I heard everything. But why would you chase her away like that? She isn't her father, you know?”“Olivia, every child follows in the footsteps of their parents,” he replied coldly. “You have never been wrong about anything, except this,” she said calmly. “Okay, let's take for instance, are any of your parents a sadist? No, but—”“Olivia, I will take it as a death wish if you ever bring up my parents in any of our conversations,” Alden cut her off before heading to his room. She felt every hair on her skin raise as she heard his words. His gaze was serious, leaving her no room for