“Mr. Pierce, we are very sorry. It’s our fault entirely! We apologize for offending you and affecting your health. You can punish us in any way you see fit. Please forgive us!” The two of them apologized humbly, admitted to their mistake, and begged for forgiveness.Dustin gazed at them indifferently from behind his mask. He did not respond, so Damien and Alex felt terrified. His silent, imposing manner made them tremble in fear. They had never experienced such a person before. “Forget it! In consideration of my friendship with Terry, I won’t bother with this.”“Thank you, Mr. Pierce.” They thanked him profusely.The three members of the Yeager family sighed in relief. Once forgiven, everything else would be easier to discuss. “Mr. Pierce, could you please reconsider the Yeager family’s collaboration with your company?” Zack asked carefully.Dustin remained silent as he stared at them indifferently. Even though Zack was in the habit of acting high and mighty, that gaz
Today was Terry’s ninetieth birthday. The Yeager family villa was lively. It was decorated with lights and colors. Not only was it a birthday celebration for the ninety-year-old Terry, but it was also a celebration of the fact that the Yeager family was about to rise to unprecedented heights. On this big day, the Yeager family members smiled and felt joyous. There were many guests attending the birthday banquet. The Yeager family had climbed the ranks recently and had connections with a major figure from a wealthy family of Summerdale. Combined with the enormous profits from the Nevernight City Project, every family was eager to flatter them. At around 6:00 a.m., the Yeager family was busy. By 10:00 a.m., they started welcoming guests. One after another, the luxury cars drove over from afar and parked on the avenue outside the Yeager family villa. Almost all the famous families in Hattan sent their important representatives to attend the banquet with precious gifts.Th
“Don’t worry. We’ll take our time,” Kendall said nonchalantly. As he glanced around idly, he caught a familiar face in the rearview mirror. “Haha…” He chuckled coldly. He pushed open the car door and stepped out. He headed toward a cheap-looking car behind him. “Patricia, it’s been a while.” Kendall approached Dustin and Patricia’s car and greeted Patricia with a big smile. Patricia forced a polite smile in return. “I heard you left the Yeager family. Are they going to let you in today?” Kendall asked. “It doesn’t matter. That’s still my great-grandfather. I have to go,” Patricia said, though worry flickered in her eyes. “How about you come in with me? They won’t dare say anything too harsh if you’re with me. At least they’ll show me some respect.” Patricia glanced at Dustin. “No, thank you. We’ll manage on our own.” She rejected the offer. Kendall’s disdainful gaze flitted toward Dustin. “Why are you still with him? What’s he good for, other than dragg
Damien stood at the entrance of the Yeager family villa with a broad smile to greet the incoming guests. “Sir, a 10-thousand-dollar Volkswagen just drove up,” a servant leaned in and whispered to him. “10 thousand?” Damien frowned. Today was the grand 90th birthday celebration for Terry Yeager, the great-grandfather of the Yeager family. Every guest here was rich or powerful, with even the lowest-end cars costing at least a hundred grand. Who would dare bring a cheap car? Was this a joke? There was no way anyone of such low status could be invited by the Yeager family. Sure, some people came uninvited, but even they had a certain social standing. “A cheap car like that, and they dare drive it to the front of the villa?! They’re tarnishing the Yeager family’s image!” Damien’s expression soured. “You take care here. I’ll handle them myself,” he said and headed outside toward the car. From a distance, he spotted the Volkswagen inching forward leisurely. “Stop tha
“Enough with the nonsense! Get out of here now! The both of you! And stay far away so you don’t bring shame to the Yeager family!” Damien barked harshly. “The Yeager family is about to soar to new heights and is destined to rival the most powerful families. Meanwhile, you two will be stuck struggling in poverty for the rest of your lives. You’ll never step through the Yeager family gates again. “Trying to crawl back now? Too late. Get lost!” Patricia opened her mouth to plead, but Dustin stopped her. “Damien, I hope you remember every word you just said,” Dustin said coldly. “Oh, I’ll remember. What are you trying to say? That I’ll beg you to come back to the Yeager family someday? Dream on! “Now, get out!” He stepped forward and was ready to throw them out. “What’s going on here?” a voice interrupted suddenly. The crowd parted to make way for the newcomer. “That’s Adrian! The general manager of Duscia Corporation!” someone whispered as they recognized him.
The banquet hall was brimming with guests. Morgan led Dustin and Patricia in through the back entrance and deliberately chose a discreet spot for them to sit. “Don’t let Uncle and the others see you, or they’ll throw you out,” Morgan said before hurrying off. She had her own duties to attend to. As time passed, most of the guests arrived. Damien stopped greeting visitors at the door and returned to the banquet hall to mingle with the crowd. A moment later, the frail and elderly Terry was escorted out by Damien and his brother, Percy. Leading the way was Zack. The entire room stood up immediately to show their respect. They helped Terry to the seat of honor at the table. Zack took a seat beside him while Damien and Percy sat to either side. At the back of the hall, Patricia raised her head to look at the elderly man at the seat of honor. His frail body and vacant gaze made her heart ache. “Dustin, my great-grandfather doesn’t seem to be reacting at all,” Pat
“The heir of the Pierce family personally attends the Yeager family’s birthday banquet… What an honor!” The Yeager family members stood tall and proud amid the murmuring guests. It was such a prestigious moment for them. They accepted the gift with gratitude and invited Adrian to take a seat. Next, Kendall stepped forward. “Kendall from Dhillon Enterprises presents an ancient carriage statue worth 50 million dollars.” Kendall’s smile broadened as staff carried in the item. “Such extravagance!” The guests gasped. Most gifts were worth a few million, maybe over ten million if generous. But Kendall’s gift was valued at 50 million... It even surpassed Duscia Corporation’s 30-million-dollar gift. It was a whole new level of generosity. Kendall stole the show, and no one else could compare. “Hahaha! Thank you for the generous gift, Dhillon family!” Zack beamed with joy. “The Dhillon family is ridiculously wealthy to give such an expensive gift…” “You don’t
“Pfft!” Laughter erupted in the room before he even finished. He had just taken forever to unwrap a tiny bead the size of a bean and even claimed it was worth 80 million. How dare he? The price was astronomical. It far exceeded Kendall’s 50-million-dollar ancient carriage statue. No one believed him. If he had said it was worth a thousand, maybe they would have believed him. “Is this guy a complete fool? He must be here as comic relief.” “No doubt about it. He’s just here to liven up the banquet.” The entire room was mocking him. Even the Yeager family members and Kendall were stunned. They could not believe it. A bean-sized bead? This was beyond absurd. “I overestimated him,” said Kendall and sneered. This fool could not even muster the dignity to make himself look good. How could anyone compare him to Kendall? They were not even in the same league. “Idiot! As expected, he’s completely embarrassed himself,” said Damien and cursed silently. The Y
The Yeager family members looked at each other at a loss.What the hell was the CEO doing? Everything was so elusive and confusing. They were unhappy, but they dared not show it. While they remained silent, Dustin slowly sipped his red wine, picked up a napkin, and wiped his mouth. “No signing,” he said indifferently. The Yeager family members looked over at him.“What did you say?!” Zack yelled at him with a dark face. Why was he speaking?Did he even have the right to speak? It was an extremely important collaboration. Even if Terry was protecting him, Zack could not care less. Dustin must be out of his mind since he dared to interrupt such an important discussion. “Shut up! This isn’t your place to speak!” Percy shouted. The Yeager family members were furious. They were afraid that Dustin’s reckless words would ruin the deal. “You think just because you say, ‘no signing,’ it’ll be done? Do you think you’re the CEO of Duscia Corporation?!” Damien yelled at him. He
“What’s going on with our great-grandfather? Dustin is not even related to our family. How can he treat him better than us?”A few members of the Yeager family stood on the side awkwardly while watching Dustin and the others chatting happily. Damien whispered in dissatisfaction. They could not bear the sight of this, and they felt very resentful.“Stop talking!” Warren snapped.“Don’t worry, he won’t remain so arrogant for long. Dad favors him. So? In this society, ability speaks louder than anything else,” Zack said in a low voice. “A man who lives off an inheritance without a proper job… even if he has some luck and inheritance, he’ll squander it away in no time. Then, he’ll struggle to get by. Dad will see the truth in time.“Besides, who knows how long Dad can stay conscious? Do you really think that kid can make Dad young again? I don’t believe in such an absurd thing.“Dad is already very old. We should just go along with this for now. They’re lucky they get to hang around
Dustin did not say anything. Terry was smart indeed. Zack and the others were blinded by the lure of great benefits. A while later, some voices were heard. It meant that the guest had arrived. Percy led Adrian inside. “Dad, this is Mr. Adrian Pierce, the general manager of Duscia Corporation. We always communicated with him about the collaboration,” said Warren as an introduction.Terry nodded, and he looked closely at Adrian. “This young man is not someone ordinary.” His eyes gleamed sharply as he recognized Adrian’s extraordinary presence. Different people, depending on their status and identity, carried themselves with different temperaments. When Terry was young, he used to work in Summerdale and meet many upper-class people. Adrian’s temperament was on par with the young heirs of Summerdale. “I’m Adrian Pierce. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Yeager.” Adrian walked to Terry and bowed respectfully.This shocked the Yeager family. Adrian had such a high status, but he
A day passed in the blink of an eye. In the evening, Dustin and Patricia drove to the Yeager family villa. When they got out of the car and walked to the entrance of the Yeager family villa, they saw Percy waiting at the door. When Percy saw them, he turned livid, and his face darkened. “Uncle Percy,” said Patricia in greeting. “Hmph! So, you still recognize me as your uncle,” said Percy coldly and glared at Patricia. Patricia remained silent. Percy glanced at Dustin. His gaze shone with hatred. Patricia used to be very obedient and never dared to go against the Yeager family members. But lately, she had become so insolent even toward the patriarch of the family. Percy thought that Dustin must have led her astray. “Today, your great-grandfather invited you over for a meal. You’d better behave at the dining table and make him happy,” Percy said. “We will,” Patricia said. “Well, why are you so stubborn then? The Yeager family has agreed to let you return, yet you in
“The Tonra family sent me here to prepare to take over Hattan. We will start from the market in Hattan before we develop the market in the south. The future profits are immensely worthwhile. I’m determined to build a huge business kingdom. “Honestly, these families in Hattan are just so-so. I don’t take them seriously at all. But Duscia Corporation is fine. You just invested a hefty 2 billion right off the bat. That’s quite impressive.” Crispin smiled. “I came from the Southwestern region. I didn’t bring many workers, so we’re lacking some manpower. You’re an expert. Why don’t you work for me? I’ll make it worth your while. How about it?” He confidently offered a job to Dustin and waited for his response. Dustin stared at him calmly. “Regardless of your background, you look quite ambitious to me, but you don’t have sufficient capabilities. Hattan has limited you. If you work for me, your future will be promising!” Adrian found that amusing. Such rich spoiled brats were
Dustin observed what was going on at the front desk on the security feed on his screen. Adrian arrived at the front desk. “Mr. Pierce, you’re here.” The receptionist nodded at Adrian, and Adrian nodded back. Crispin and the driver, Nicholas Olson, assessed Adrian. “What a self-important person the general manager of Duscia Corporation is! How dare you make Mr. Tonra wait downstairs?” Nicholas asked in displeasure. Adrian did not spare the driver a single glance. He could not be bothered to speak with an insignificant staff member. If Dustin had not given him the orders, he would have chased these two out already. “You’re the general manager of Duscia Corporation, Adrian Pierce, yes?” Crispin looked at Adrian contemptuously. “I’ve never heard of the Pierce family having a person with your name. You’re quite capable of fooling the families of Hattan so easily with the same last name.” Thinking that he had dirt on Adrian, Crispin smiled very tauntingly. “What are yo
“I find it all quite interesting. This Duscia Corporation, this fake rich kid… Let’s go take a look.” “Yes, sir.” At around 2 p.m., the Lamborghini stopped at the entrance of Duscia Corporation. The young man walked into the building with his driver. “Hello, sir. How can I help you?” the receptionist asked. “This is the son of the Tonra family of Articora. Have the person in charge of your company come and welcome him,” the driver announced loudly. “Do you have an appointment?” the receptionist asked with a smile. “What?” The young man, Crispin Tonra, immediately frowned. “What kind of receptionist are you? Haven’t you heard of the Tonra family of Articora? Mr. Tonra of the ultra-rich Tonra family doesn’t need an appointment to come to your company. Go and tell your boss about his arrival. Have the person in charge rush over here to welcome Mr. Tonra,” yelled the driver at the receptionist. “I’m sorry. The person in charge of our company is very busy. All guests mu
The great Dhillon family of Hattan was destroyed just like that. It was said that Kendall had become a useless cripple and would have to spend the rest of his days relegated to bed. He could not even move, and there was nothing that could be done to treat him. The other families in Hattan thought that it was the ultra-rich Cabello family of Summerdale that had done this. They were impressed at how powerful the Cabello family was and pitied the Dhillon family. It was true that one could not afford to offend a family like that. After spending a day at the hotel, Dustin took Patricia back to their apartment in the suburbs. The place had been cleaned up and was immaculate. All the damage from the fight had been fixed, and everything looked good as new. Patricia was a strong woman. Thus, she recovered from her ordeal very quickly. She even went to work right after. Dustin went to Duscia Corporation, and Adrian reported to him. “It’s impossible for the Dhillon family to mak
A life like that would be worse than anything. To put it crudely, it would be a luxury for Kendall to be able to kill himself. This was the consequence of daring to hurt Patricia. Dustin went to stand before Patricia and reached out to touch the red veil surrounding her. With a plop, the light burst like a bubble, and Patricia landed on the floor. “Dustin,” Patricia called. She threw herself into Dustin’s embrace. She cried softly as she held onto Dustin tightly. “You’re alright,” Dustin said comfortingly as he patted her on the back. Patricia did not speak. She clung to Dustin without letting go. She had just realized that she could not live without Dustin in her life. Before that moment, she had been so worried about Dustin and wanted him to leave without coming in. It would not have mattered if she had died because of it. She finally understood. She had long accepted Dustin into her heart. After a long time in Dustin’s embrace, Patricia finally cal