As Fred listened to the others praise him while criticizing Oliver, he felt immense satisfaction. Over the past few years, Oliver had done an admirable job running the company, and Fred had not found an opportunity to unseat him as CEO.With this latest mistake, Fred was determined to take advantage of the situation and claim the position for himself.No... He intended to make the Raynor Group change its name to Burridge!"I can help the company through this crisis," Fred said. "But if Mr. Raynor has another impulsive moment that harms the company's interests, there might not be anyone to cover for him next time.""Mr. Raynor did lead the company through significant growth in the past, but someone who would jeopardize the company's survival over a woman is unfit to be a leader. Don't you all agree?"The shareholders, no fools themselves, quickly understood that Fred wanted to replace Oliver.With Fred's 30% stake, he was indeed the most viable candidate to succeed Oliver as CEO
Oliver frowned. "Dad, let me explain. I—""Shut up!" Hugh snapped, cutting him off. "I'm here to clean up the mess you made. Since you clearly lack the ability to manage the Raynor Group, it's better to let someone more competent take over than to watch you destroy the company."Oliver stared at his father in disbelief, unable to process what he was hearing."I've worked hard for the company these past few years, and you're kicking me out over one mistake?" he asked, his voice heavy with frustration.A flicker of emotion crossed Hugh's face before he turned away, his expression hardening."If this were just a simple investment failure, I wouldn't be so severe. But the fact that you caused such heavy losses over a woman is something I absolutely cannot tolerate!" Hugh said.The room fell into an uneasy silence. The shareholders, stunned by the intensity of the confrontation, held their breath. Most had only suggested Oliver resign in the heat of frustration, hoping to give him a
When Oliver received Nyla's call, he was in the middle of packing up his personal belongings. Despite working at the Raynor Group for five years, there wasn't much that was solely his.His voice, as always, was gentle. "Nyla, what's wrong? Shouldn't you be in the lab right now?"Nyla felt a sting in her nose, and her voice grew hoarse. "Oliver, did you get forced out of the Raynor Group because of me?"Although she tried to keep her emotions in check, Oliver could still hear the slight tremble in her voice, as if she were on the verge of tears.He remained silent for a couple of seconds before replying softly, "This has nothing to do with you. I've been wanting to take a break for a while, and now's as good a time as any.""Liar!" Nyla snapped.She wasn't naive. She knew how much effort and ambition he had poured into his work—things he never openly shared.Taking a deep breath, Nyla spoke softly but firmly. "Oliver, I'm sorry. This is my fault. I'll find a way to make it right.
As soon as Gerrard finished speaking, he felt the temperature in the room drop several degrees.Damon's expression had darkened noticeably.Still, Gerrard asked, "You really don't remember anything? Nyla was your nephew's wife. Even if you don't remember her name, surely her face should have left an impression."Nyla was beautiful—the kind of beauty that was hard to forget. Although Gerrard had only met her once, her image remained vivid in his mind.Damon's face grew colder as he tried to recall the name and face of Clark's ex-wife. Yet, his mind was blank.In his memory, Clark had brought his wife to family gatherings after their marriage, but right now, he couldn't recall a single detail about the woman. Even the events of Clark's marriage and divorce felt hazy.Damon had never been close to Clark.After Damon's car accident, Richard had sent Clark abroad for some mistake, and Damon had stopped paying attention to him. He had only learned about Clark's divorce much later. Sin
The moment the words left Damon's mouth, he regretted them.His expression darkened instantly. He had no idea why he had said something that sounded so much like petty jealousy toward another man.Nyla was caught off guard as well, freezing for a moment.Before she could respond, Damon added coldly, "Don't get the wrong idea. I just figured since you went ahead and had my child on your own, you must really like me."Nyla pressed her lips together, her gaze indifferent as she looked at him."You're overthinking it, Mr. Sumner. The fact that I gave birth to Buddy was an accident, and it had nothing to do with you. I don't like you," she replied.Damon let out a snicker. "Good. Any man liked by a woman like you is unlucky."Nyla's face darkened. She hadn't expected the amnesiac Damon to be so vicious with his words."Mr. Sumner, I'm here to talk about Oliver, not to discuss which man I like," she said."He tried to compete with Prospectus Technology for a project and lost, costin
Everyone turned to look toward the door. The first thing they noticed was a pair of long legs, followed by Damon's cold, imposing face.His gaze landed on the hand clutching Mason's collar.Regina felt a chill run straight through her spine, and she shivered. Instinctively, she let go of Mason.At that moment, she had a terrifying sense that Damon might just chop off her hand. It was only a gut feeling, but his glare alone filled her with fear.Nyla hurriedly caught Mason, her gaze full of concern. "Buddy, are you okay?"Mason nodded. "Mommy, I'm fine…"His eyes kept darting toward Damon, an unusual glimmer in them.Whenever other kids had bullied him in the past, it had always been just his mother standing up for him. He had dreamed that one day his father would show up out of nowhere and make those bullies pay for hurting him and Nyla.Now that his father had truly appeared, his feelings were complicated.On the one hand, he wanted his father to protect him and Nyla. On the
The teacher didn't understand why the CEO of Prospectus Technology was claiming to be Mason's father. However, she knew that if she allowed Regina to continue her tantrum, her own job might be in jeopardy.Regina remained oblivious to her silent warning. She glared at the teacher and said coldly, "You don't need to say anything more. My son was beaten up so badly this time. I must make that little bas— Mason pay for it!"Damon smiled—anyone familiar with him would recognize this as a sign of his growing fury."And what kind of price do you want my son to pay?" he asked.Regina mistook his question as a sign of fear and sneered. "He should get on his knees and apologize to my son, promise never to lay a hand on him again, and compensate us for 15,000 dollars in medical expenses!"Damon nodded. "Is that all? Shouldn't your son also get a full check-up? There might be some internal injuries that aren't visible."Regina was taken aback, clearly not expecting Damon to be so cooperativ
Regina looked up in shock as Noah pushed through the crowd, his face filled with anger.A wave of guilt flashed in her eyes as he approached. She scrambled to her feet, flustered."Honey... why are you here?" she asked weakly.Noah's expression was dark, his voice tightly controlled to keep from shouting. "If I hadn't come, who knows what kind of scene you would have caused? Can't you just stay home? Do you have to come out here and make a fool of yourself?"There was no hiding the disgust in his eyes as he looked at Regina, who had once been his employee.After a work dinner one night…Regina managed to get into Noah's bed but then disappeared the next day. He searched for her for a while but eventually gave up when she couldn't be found.To his surprise, she showed up at his door six months later—pregnant, with a fetal sex determination report in hand. Noah's mother had always wanted a grandson and threatened to disown him if he didn't marry Regina.Reluctantly, Noah agreed t