“Ari… Ari…” Unable to think, Joseph could only set his hopes on his daughter. Arianna held his trembling hands. “Calm down, Dad!”She looked up at an employee. “Ask the after-sales manager to tell the reporters that we’re a huge company and we won’t be dodging any questions. Still, we can’t comment on whether there are problems with the perfumes and are pending the lab report.“If our perfumes caused the issue, we will take responsibility and compensate accordingly. However, we will take legal action if they spread rumors before the lab report is out. Also, get the PR department to issue a notice saying it’s business as usual, and we will soon offer a reasonable explanation to the public regarding the perfumes.”She calmly gave the instruction, and the employee who came to give them updates hurried away. It was only then that Joseph grew calmer as if he knew he could count on Arianna to solve every problem. “Ari, I’ve run out of ideas and can only count on you now. Please save t
Arianna did not know what to say to her father. How could he be so naive at his age? Joseph was still worried about his precious son even after he had made such a mess and asked her to handle it on his behalf. If she were the one in trouble, her father would never have done so much or gotten so anxious for her sake. To him, a daughter was meant to sacrifice herself for the family.“Get Mr. Hall to my office.” She pressed the intercom button and said it coldly. …Leaving his company's parking lot, Joseph saw a suspicious car follow him and let out a cold smile. After getting the chauffeur to drop him off in an alley, he walked to one end, made two turns, and hailed a cab to get to Elizabeth’s house. He had to travel like a spy, but there was no other way. When he opened the door and stepped into the house, he saw his precious son playing with his phone on the sofa. Seeing him like this, Joseph suddenly flared up. “Look at yourself! How can you still be playing with your pho
Having been with him for so many years, Elizabeth could easily tell if he was truly angry or was faking it. She calmed down after realizing something was amiss and only pouted as she rose to her feet in anger. “Mom!” Damian rushed over to help her and looked at his father. “Dad, I know it’s all my fault, and this is my responsibility. However, someone has set me up on purpose. I don’t believe there’s a problem with the perfumes. Someone must have done something to cause me trouble.”He suspected that Arianna sabotaged him, but after some careful thought, he believed that only his own people could have tampered with the manufacturing of perfumes. Even if Naomi Schiffer had no bad intentions, someone could still mess with the perfumes during their delivery to the lab. However, he was stuck there and could not do anything except make wild guesses. Joseph snorted. “You’re still not admitting that there’s a problem with the perfumes? To ensure everything was considered, I’ve had
Damian felt as if he were falling into a bottomless abyss with nothing to hold on to, and even if he managed to grasp something, it was nothing but a poisonous snake. “Enough! What good would saying that do? We have to come up with a solution!”Joseph also felt something was amiss but could not tell what it was. “I’ll come up with something, but first, I've got to visit your uncle. He must know the current difficulties the Tanner Corporation is experiencing.”Joseph knew he had to seize the opportunity to tell Derrick about Benedict’s death. If he could take over the Tanner Corporation, he wouldn’t need to bother about the old-timers on the board, and perhaps he could turn things around. More importantly, he could save his son. With that in mind, he knew he had to leave immediately. “I've got to get going.”“Dad, let me come with you!” He was getting restless at home and did not want to stay there. “Please!”“What for? You can’t be seen in public!” He scolded. “I can put on m
“Are you two blind? Don’t you know who I am?!” Joseph roared, thinking the bodyguards were not showing him respect. The most important question was, who were they? Joseph had never met them before.“Sorry, no visitor is allowed to go in.” Remaining severe, the two bodyguards showed no trace of emotions and were indifferent to his yelling.“Do I need your permission to visit my brother? I’ll report you guys to the police for false imprisonment!” Joseph tried to barge past them as he spoke. As the bodyguards held him back, Damian seized an opportunity to slip past, but one of the bodyguards quickly seized him.“That hurts! Ouch!” As he whined, Joseph stopped to check on him. “Damian, are you alright? How dare you hurt my son?!”“Please leave!” Barring the way, the bodyguards said unceremoniously.“Fine, just wait!” Joseph thundered and held up his phone to make a call. Joseph knew his brother had already shut off his phone long ago and was only doing it for show. Yet, he could
As Stephanie had guessed what Joseph was planning to do, he was stunned for a moment before he caught himself quickly. “How could you accuse me of such things? What was that about me wanting my brother to die sooner? He’s my brother, for f*ck's sake! How could you say something like that?”“Since he’s your brother, you guys have come repeatedly to harass him, huh? First your daughter, then you and your son?” As Stephanie glared with her hands trembling in anger, she finally lost her usual calm.Taken aback, Joseph did not understand what she said about his daughter. After thinking about it, he asked tentatively, “Ari came?”“Drop the act! Ari came over just two days ago. We thought she meant well and simply wanted to visit her uncle, but she ended up…” Shedding her tears, she snarled, “Now that the doctor has saved his life, you two have come to claim it. No matter what, I won’t let you guys see him!”Speechless, Joseph and Damian shared shocked expressions. Damian recovered so
Joseph and Damian remained silent as they left the hospital. When Damian got into the car, he began, “Dad…”“Perhaps what you said is right,” Joseph said in a grave tone. He had been thinking about everything that had happened with mixed feelings. Joseph could not deny that what Stephanie told him had disturbed him greatly. He had never thought Arianna would come here and ask for his brother’s seal.‘Why would she need the seal? She said she wanted to run the business on Derrick’s behalf. In other words, she wants to take over the company. She promised to take care of her brother and help him run the business.‘However, she does things differently. I can’t believe that the daughter I’ve raised, the one I thought had been obedient to me, would do such a thing. What else could she have done?’Damian was surprised by his father’s response and knew he was disappointed. “Dad, I was right, wasn’t I? It’s not that I’m prejudiced against her, but it’s the other way around! Look, if she cou
Thinking of what Stephanie said, Joseph became incensed. ‘Oh, Ari, you’re so capable, aren’t you?” His first thought was to head straight home. Pulling over, he almost leaped out of the car and rushed inside the house. “Arianna Tanner!” Shouting her full name, he wanted her to give him an answer right away. “What’s the matter?” Eloise came out from inside, holding a cup of freshly made lemon tea. “She’s not home. Why are you so angry?”“Why? It’s all your fault that Ariana has become like this!”When he did not see Arianna, he lost it and slapped Eloise. Eloise was caught off guard and had no time to react, so she took the full force of the smack to the face, and the cup she was holding shattered as it fell to the floor.The slap was heavy, and Eloise’s face became swollen immediately. Still, she did not cry or throw a tantrum and simply shot him an icy glare. “What do you think you’re doing?”“I…” After hitting her, Joseph grew calmer and felt sorry for a brief moment se