The old man had taken on different identities throughout the years, so no one would figure out who he was, and this was why he must be careful to make sure nothing went wrong. He returned to the study with his lamp and looked at his butler standing outside. "What's going on?" he asked hoarsely. His hands were so thin and wrinkled that they were hard to look at.Judging from the cold sweat beading on his forehead, the butler feared him. "The young master is outside. He's worried about you, so he insisted on visiting you. I was afraid that he'd see things he shouldn't, so I made noise on purpose."The man surveyed his butler carefully before pushing the inkwell back into place. This also made him look at himself in the mirror—skin hanging loosely from his bones, an ugly figure, eyes filled with geriatric tiredness.The mirror shattered after he struck it with his walking stick. He said, "Find out from the Laynes when the item I need will be ready."The old man's shadow, hidden in t
Georgina's first encounter with her blood granddaughter Lily was fraught with tension. Though she had considered shutting the door on Lily, the girl's tearful pleas—her eyes swollen and red—halted her."I just wanted to see you, Grandma. Why do you dislike me so—is it because of my mother? My mother and I are different people, Grandma!"Lily was great at acting. As someone who had lived another life, she knew how to make Georgina's heart soften. "Am I no longer your granddaughter in your heart, Grandma? Weren't you and Grandpa excited when I was born?"The elderly residents of the neighborhood pitied her, and they advised Georgina to let her in first despite the misunderstandings between them. After a brief hesitation, Georgina decided not to think so poorly of Lily.Lily didn't ask Georgina for anything. She gave Georgina some supplements and helped her tidy up the herbs at the clinic before massaging her legs.Before leaving, she said, "I'll visit you again, Grandma. You sho
A company would change drastically whenever someone new took office. No one could say for sure where the new CEO's first strike would be aimed at. Every department was discussing Aria, but none of the employees had seen her face before. Aside from the Carvers, the media was more wary of Landon. Without Landon's permission, no reporter dared release a front-facing photo of Aria. It was known that the washrooms in a large-scale company was where the gossip was at, and that was true for Carver Group as well.Aria had overheard two employees putting lipstick on say to each other, "Do you think the new CEO will be adept in managing the company?""Who knows. I heard that she's pretty young. You know as well as I about the situation of our company. There are so many shareholders; who would listen to her?""None of them, probably. She came out of nowhere after all. It's none of our business anyway; we're just ordinary employees. If things don't work out, we can just leave."Aria walked
The low-level employees were all freaking out, as none of them expected the new CEO to come over for an inspection. They were all stunned as Aria passed by, followed by Keith. Keith appeared to be refined and gentle, but there was a terrifying, intimidating coldness that only employees could pick up on. This was especially true for those in the secretariat; a chill ran down their backs upon the sight of Keith, and everyone who was discussing between themselves clammed up immediately. They'd assumed that the new CEO would be meek and uptight, seeing as she was from the countryside, so they were all pleasantly shocked when they saw Aria for the first time.They had never met anyone who was more intimidating than both Keith and the bodyguards. Even Mindy had paled in comparison to Keith when she had visited the company. Aria, on the other hand, proved to be unforgettable, both in appearance and the way she conducted herself. Wearing a black leather jacket, a white shirt, and a high
They concluded that Aria was quite smart. One day had only passed since the banquet, and yet she knew who everyone was. Even if Warren was helping her, this didn't discount the fact that she had a shockingly great memory. She had also thrown the pen with great accuracy. The shareholders were old, not stupid. Aria was more than she looked on the surface, and if they were smart, they would have some self-preservation instead of doing anything dumb.Hugo West was a crafty old man. "I didn't expect you to know about me, Aria. You really do take after Mr. Carver Senior in this aspect—you care about us old men."He was saying this on purpose to flatter Aria, who smiled. "I was worried that you'd be tired, Mr. West. If you have any good news, share it with Mr. Chary in private."Hugo was on Owen's side, so he wanted to rope other shareholders into expressing his stance. He didn't expect to be interrupted before he could start. He could only pat his bald head and guffaw. "Jon here has s
Upon seeing this, Owen said angrily, "What are you doing, Aria? Those are all your elders!" "Did your grandpa not tell you this? It is most important that we commit this to memory—we're only here all thanks to the shareholders who followed in the Carver family's footsteps. "Open the door this instant!"As the fury rushed to his head, Owen forgot everything Ian had told him, which was not to act impulsively. Today was the new CEO's first day in the position, and Owen should act normally so that no one could find any fault with him. Aria stopped rapping her knuckles on the table. As she raised a brow, Owen felt the intimidating weight of her gaze on him. "We're in the middle of a shareholder meeting, Mr. Carver, and you're just a manager."She called Owen a manager, which made him furious. Warren wasn't doing quite well during the past few years, and he'd only join shareholder meetings if he were able to, which meant that Owen had been the one sitting at the head of the table.
Owen was scary in that he remained polite no matter what he thought about the subject matter. Even if he'd lost his composure, he could adjust accordingly. Ian was right. He wasn't in a hurry to vie against Aria for power. He should wait patiently for Aria to make a mistake.He'd also brought some documents with him, which were about Aria's academic status. Aria was indeed a talented designer, but her academic credentials were nothing to shout about. Owen chuckled. He wasn't in a position to bring the matter up himself, so he had given some of them to Hugo. After being suppressed, Hugo noticed that Owen was looking in his direction. He'd waited for so long to be vindicated, and so he quickly said, while fishing some documents out of his briefcase, "Before the meeting starts, I want to ask our new CEO some questions."He continued, looking at Aria, "These documents are about your life in Southbury. You've never learned business management, and you're still a student in a vocatio
"You should be familiar with these accounts, Mr. West." Aria's smile widened. "The other shareholders should take a look too."None of the shareholders dared say anything.Hugo wanted to explain. "The accountants are in charge of these accounts. Also, some of the investments here were made after we all agreed on them. I'll call over those involved now.""You don't need to go to all that trouble," Aria added blandly. "You seem to forget that Mr. Watson has already told the police to investigate this matter."Hugo shot up from his seat. He was too anxious to remain seated. He'd thought that Aria was humiliated after his joke, but now he was at risk of losing his position as a shareholder. He might also be sent to jail if the police investigation uncovered anything incriminating. "Mr. Carver, say something! Mr. Carver!" Hugo called out to Owen, whom he'd been helping the past few years, even if it meant that he couldn't support some of Warren's decisions.Owen wouldn't leave him al