Vincent nodded. He had served Alec for many years. He knew of his abilities well. If he dared to go to the launch, there wouldn't be much to worry about.After Vincent left the office, Alec investigated the turf club that had just opened. He wanted to observe the geographical layout of the place so that he could figure out what they'd use to finish him off.He figured it out very quickly, but he was speechless.It was a cliff, again.They wanted to make it look like he had lost his footing and fallen into the water.They would be riding horses, after all, but horses had a rebellious streak. If they ran over the cliff, it would be pronounced an accident.He could tell that they had done this very secretively. Alec even suspected that this turf club was prepared specially for him. No one would choose a place like that for horses. A fool could tell that it was an accident-prone place.If he didn't prepare himself beforehand and figure out that they would hurt him, he might actually
Alec had already changed his clothes and selected his horse."Let's go." Luke trotted over on his ride, raising his eyebrows at Alec.Alec smiled and got up the horse's back. They went toward the racing track not far off.The race began quickly. There were quite a number of people watching them, curious to know about their relationship with each other.The media said that they were like fire and ice, but they didn't seem too bad.Alec rode on his horse. Luke suddenly neared him and said in a not-so-soft voice, "Do you know what day it is, Alec?"Alec said nothing. Luke continued, "It's the day that you die."Luke then whipped his horse so that his horse would surpass Alec's. He rushed toward the mountains.Alec smiled lightly, not expressing too much emotion. He knew Luke was intentionally provoking him, but he went over anyway. How could they have the chance to kill him if he didn't?The people around them watched them disappear into the mountains. They were surprised. "Why d
Luke felt embarrassed. It was indeed his plan. Although he had run it past his father, he had not offered any suggestions for improvement. It led to Luke thinking that his plan was perfect.But now, it seemed that his plan was far from perfect. He hadn't even investigated Alec's abilities."Don't you dare get too excited!" Luke gnashed his teeth and waved his hand. The people hidden in their surroundings rushed forward.He had other things prepared. So what if Alec was good at combat? He couldn't possibly win against everyone here.Alec was a little more impressed now that he saw Luke's other preparations. He wasn't as stupid as he thought.Although he looked relaxed on the outside, Alec knew he would have to put a lot of effort into knocking all those people out. What was more, he feared that he would lose much of his energy after he was done.As the thought played in his mind, he was already battling with Luke's henchmen. He was the only one fighting for himself against a group
Luke was a little upset about it. If Xavier had planned it without telling him, he didn't trust him.His grumbles ran deep, but he was smart enough to brush them off for now. Right now, what he needed to do was make Alec disappear. Everything else would follow.The gunshots were still being fired. Xavier had planned this well. There were several men hidden in the mountain. Alec was beginning to tire out.He had been careless. He hadn't thought that the Fausts would be so incredibly ruthless. Weren't they afraid of being caught? On top of that, Zeke was still the head of the Fausts. Weren't they afraid he would find out about them using guns?While Alec's mind drifted off, one of the bullets hit his thigh. However, he did not stop running. He had to leave quickly and escape their circle.His arm and thigh hurt really bad, but the pain made him even more alert.The head of the Fausts was indeed Zeke. Without his permission, Luke and Xavier would not have used guns.Everything was
Luke watched him jump. For a moment, he couldn't quite believe it. Was Alec submitting so easily without a struggle?He didn't think there would be a river waiting for him to swim in, did he?"Idiot!" Luke thought. Then, he said to someone, "Look around below. You must see his corpse with your own eyes.""Yes, sir!" His bodyguard nodded.Just before Luke was about to call Xavier, his phone rang. It was his father's secretary. He thought that he was calling to track his progress. Before the secretary could speak, he said, "Tell my father the plan worked. Alec is dead.""Xavier… something's happened to him." The secretary was panicking on the other end, his voice trembling.Luke's eyebrows raised. An unsettling feeling washed over him. "What happened?"What could ever happen to his father?"Xavier… he's been murdered!" the secretary said, his voice full of terror.Luke's phone clattered to the ground. For a moment there, he forgot to ask how it happened.News of the Fausts spre
Jenny was feeling a whirlwind of emotions. She was glad that they hadn't found him. Yet, she worried about him.She still had no clue what had happened. However, based on what they said, Alec was dead in their eyes, which meant he was in bad shape.She began looking as well, but the reality of it was grim. She had to focus on finding him on top of keeping herself hidden. It was slow progress. The only silver lining was that they had not found him either, so he could have survived.She was about to keep searching, but then her phone rang. She was stunned.On the quiet cliff, a single word uttered would have been loud. And this was a ringtone. Jenny was instantly discovered."Someone's there!""Look over there!"A swarm of security guards moved toward her. Jenny ran while talking on the phone. She felt even worse listening to Melissa's description of everything that had happened. Alec had even been shot before falling down the cliff!Her worry was boundless, but she didn't have t
When Luke heard that there was a helicopter on the premises, he nearly fainted.How could no one have told him about the helicopter? Wouldn't he have detected something amiss if he had known?Anger surged in his heart. But then, he looked at the emergency room not far off. He suppressed the anger. He couldn't rush over now. He could only pray that Alec was already dead. If he were alive, and his father was the one who died, Luke would faint from anger.Soon, the lights above the emergency room went off. The doctor walked out. "I'm sorry. We have tried our best.""What did you say? You fucking piece of trash!" Luke wanted to rush forward to hit him.With a loud bang, Zeke brought his cane down on the floor. Luke had no choice but to control himself.Zeke sighed, seeming older. "Make the arrangements.""Alright." The butler nodded. He couldn't imagine how something like this could have happened.Wasn't this the day of Alec's death? How could Xavier be the one who died instead?Z
Luke didn't retort. It was obvious now that Alec, indeed, had prepared himself. "Grandpa, why did he come even though he knew we would attack him? Isn't that just asking for trouble?"He couldn't figure out why Alec would do something like that. What was the point?"He is clever. He would not do something to endanger his life on purpose unless he had a reason." Zeke understood that about Alec.Luke only understood half of it. "What reason?""I don't know yet." Zeke frowned. He hadn't figured it out.Luke changed the topic. "Who killed my father? The surviving bodyguards said a group of people rushed in and started firing. They were chaotic.""Yes. It was chaos." Even the Fausts had chosen to assassinate Alec in the mountains. They were not as arrogant as Xavier's killers, who seemed to disregard consequences.Zeke stared into the distance, deep in thought. Luke was upset. "Are we going to take this lying down? We have to avenge my father, don't we?""Lying down?" Zeke smiled co
That afternoon, Gilbert called off his engagement to the Silveras. He did not pick up a single one of Lottie's calls. When he found Marigold, she was taking Caleb on a stroll around the neighborhood. It had been a while since she'd taken notice of anything related to Gilbert. She suddenly felt how nice it was to have her mental energy spent somewhere else, no longer being so hung up on that man. However, when Gilbert appeared before her, her heartbeat quickened. "Why are you here?" Marigold said, snapping out of her reverie. Gilbert smiled lightly. Without saying much else, he pulled her into an embrace. "Didn't you say that I could come to see you once everything is settled?" Marigold was stunned. She was in disbelief. "So, what you're saying is it's all over?" "Didn't you read the news?" Gilbert was speechless. "No. I didn't want to care." Every time she saw anything about Gilbert and Lottie, she felt miserable. She'd rather save herself the pain and block out anything
In the end, Esther went with Gilbert's suggestion. However, she did not trade Bradshaw Operation's projects with Jenny. She went with the Silveras. For one, she did not trust the Walters. On the other hand, the Silveras and the Bradshaws were going to be united through marriage. They deserved to be trusted more. Gilbert didn't mind. After all, if anything happened to the Bradshaws, the Silveras would not help. With those projects in hand, they would only fall further into debt. The plan was going smoothly. Gilbert had not gone to see Marigold once. He knew that before subduing the Bradshaws, going to visit Marigold would only endanger her. After all, Marigold was safe. Nothing had happened, and Caleb was growing up healthily. One month later, things began to feel off in Bradshaw Operations. After Faust Group received their money, they did not start the project. No one knew what they were doing. Esther was feeling antsy. She prodded Gilbert to ask if there was anything wro
That very afternoon, Esther and Gilbert rushed to Faust Group to sign the deal. Gilbert said he was worried that Alec would change his mind, so he urged Esther to sign it. Only through a written contract would they be able to relax. Esther thought it made sense and agreed to rush to Faust Group with Gilbert.In the meeting room, Alec looked at the two people before him, expressionless. "You have a good son, Mrs. Bradshaw." "I'm flattered. My son had Bradshaw Operations' interests at heart. He'll inevitably be a little insensitive. Please don't hold that against him, Mr. Faust." Esther smiled. She didn't mind Alec's sarcasm because it didn't matter. As long as Bradshaw Operations could truly benefit from this, she didn't care how much Alec mocked her. Alec smiled coldly and slid the contract over to her. "You may flip through it." Esther took it and read through it seriously.If this project succeeded, they would reap massive rewards. However, it required a massive upfront inv
In the following days, Gilbert headed over to Faust Group infrequently during the day. To others, he was there to talk business with Alec. But in reality, it was a different scenario altogether. Vincent brought Gilbert a cup of coffee in Alec's office. Because of all the times he'd been there, Vincent knew what he wanted without having to ask. Alec had a cup of coffee placed before him, too. Everyone thought that Gilbert was trying to convince Alec to give him one of the shares, which was why he always came there, but that was not the case. The collaboration was a set-up. As long as the Bradshaws signed the deal on the project, they would not escape unscathed. Gilbert had planned this for a long time just to trick the Bradshaws into accepting the project. However, the scheme had to be executed perfectly. Since Gilbert buttered up the project in front of the Bradshaws, Alec had to feign disinterest in his collaboration. Otherwise, it would seem suspicious if Alec, a smart ma
After the engagement party, Gilbert officially had a stronghold in Bradshaw operations. Because he was already very capable, he had a lot of supporters. No one challenged him in the company. Most of them sucked up to him because they knew that if things went well, he would be the heir of the company.Gilbert didn't really care about that. He didn't even want to be there for long. He knocked on Esther's door and walked into her office."Come, sit." Esther was all smiles when she saw him. It was more sincere than before.She used to doubt him a lot, but now, although she still had her reservations, she mostly believed in him. In her eyes, no one would reject the chance to inherit Bradshaw Operations. This was basically manna from Heaven. Gilbert just didn't know it back then, and now he did. Gilbert sat down in front of Esther and began reporting the information he had gathered, as well as his thoughts on Bradshaw Operations and his plans for the future.When he presented the inf
Gilbert and Lottie's engagement party was held at Bardoff Grand Hotel on Saturday.A ton of people showed up to their engagement party. After all, the Bradshaws and the Silveras were pretty big names in Bardoff City, and plenty of the other families knew of their true wealth. They all came to attend the party. Jenny and Alec had both received invites. Jenny was Gilbert's sister, and on top of that, they represented the Walters and the Fausts. It was to be expected. At first, Jenny didn't want to go. The party held no meaning to it. It was just a show put on for Esther. It would be a complete waste of her time. However, she was talked into it by Alec. It would be weird if she didn't go. Zack brought Janet to the party. He found Jenny and was in a daze. "Wasn't Gilbert courting Marigold? Why is he engaged to Lottie?" Jenny rolled her eyes. "What have you been doing, Zack? You're really bad at keeping up." Gilbert had been courting Lottie for a while now. If Zack paid attention
Gilbert drove to Jenny's villa, but he was in no rush to get down. He didn't unlock the doors, either. He obviously wanted to talk to Marigold. But Marigold evidently didn't want to. "I want to take my child and leave." She was afraid. What if Gilbert and Lottie married and took her child away? She no longer believed in love. The only thing she believed in was her child. Gilbert tightened his grip when he heard that. "Marigold, the engagement is only for Esther to see. I have no feelings for Lottie." "Who knows? People change. You said you didn't have feelings for me, too." Marigold found this all very amusing. Perhaps this was fate. Gilbert wanted to keep explaining, but Marigold did not give him the chance to. "Just let me and Caleb leave. If what you say is true, you can come to find us once everything is over." And if Gilbert didn't come looking for her, the truth would unfold itself, and she would give up all hope. Gilbert understood that Marigold had already made
Marigold was miserable throughout dinner, but she persevered till the end without being too dramatic. After dinner, they walked to the entrance of the shopping mall.Gilbert went to get the car. Lottie stood with Jenny and Marigold. Watching Gilbert leave, she turned toward Marigold. "I heard that you used to like Gilbert very much." "It's all in the past. It's not worth mentioning." Marigold didn't want to talk about it. She was afraid that Lottie would see that she still liked Gilbert. Most importantly, she was afraid that Gilbert's plan would be ruined. Lottie smiled. "That's true. The past is the past. You're such a nice person. You'll definitely be able to find someone better suited for you in the future." Marigold pursed her lips. Gilbert soon brought the car over. Lottie was about to get into the car, but before she did, she suddenly turned to Marigold and said, "Gilbert and my engagement party will be in a few days' time. If you have the time, you're more than welcom
Everyone was shocked to hear her speak so suddenly. Lottie was stunned, and she explained, "You've misunderstood. That's not what I meant. I just think that if the child follows his father, it'll help him develop better, and you'll be less stressed." "I don't need your concern. I can raise my child alone," Marigold snorted. She did not hold back at all. Lottie looked unpleasant. Gilbert had no choice but to step in. "We'll have our own child together. And whoever likes it the most will get to keep it." Although they knew that Gilbert had meant this for Lottie to hear, Marigold found it extremely upsetting. She looked at Gilbert, and for a moment, she was unable to tell if he was being genuine. She thought of all that Gilbert had said to her last night, saying that he didn't like Lottie and had no intention of marrying her. But he looked to be truly in love. Marigold didn't think she could tell if he was faking it. "I'm sorry. I need to go to the restroom." Marigold didn't w