Mr. Fletcher still didn’t think they’d done anything wrong, even though the Vorizon Group was on the decline.
But even a weakened giant is still a giant, and they thought controlling Hyperion would be a piece of cake.
But Mr. Fletcher had forgotten one thing: Vorizon wasn’t the only supplier of the raw materials Hyperion needed.
Silas Hawthorne, who had been sitting to the side, spoke up. "In that case, leave the partnership with Hyperion Group to me."
"Our group can easily supply those raw materials."
Just as they were gloating, Silas Hawthorne’s words struck them right where it hurt.
All their threats were skillfully neutralized.
With Silas Hawthorne’s declaration, Hazel Sinclair felt free to go on the offensive again.
"Did you really think our company couldn’t function without you as a partner?"
"My Evelyn is so smart and capable, she’ll figure out how to produce those raw materials of yours herself in no time."
"So stop your whining. This engagement *is* being called off, and you’re going to pay Evelyn for emotional distress and damages to her reputation."
"If you don’t pay up, I’ll expose everything that happened here today online."
Hazel Sinclair stood up, pointing her finger right in their faces, showing them no courtesy whatsoever.
’Threats? Anyone can make those.’
’You think you’re the only ones who know how?’
"You—! Is it your place to speak here? Get out! Get the hell out!" Jasper Fletcher’s chest heaved with anger as he pointed toward the private room’s door and roared.
Crystal Hayes quickly patted his back to soothe him, her voice gentle. "Mr. Fletcher, don’t lower yourself to the level of such a crude person."
"No matter how capable Miss Kendrick is, she’s still a woman. Being so aggressive, she’ll never find a husband." With just two sentences, Crystal Hayes had painted both Hazel Sinclair and Evelyn Kendrick as crude, unbearable women who would never get married.
"Unlike me. I just feel for you, Mr. Fletcher. You’ve worked so hard, and these two just keep causing trouble."
Hazel Sinclair looked at her, a disgusted and repulsed expression appearing on her own exquisitely beautiful face.
"Is this just bad luck this year?" Hazel Sinclair leaned toward Evelyn Kendrick’s ear and asked.
"No." Evelyn Kendrick shook her head.
"And you’re still this unlucky? You should find a priest later," Hazel Sinclair suggested earnestly.
"If it gets any worse, you’ll have to start drinking some holy water."
Evelyn Kendrick looked at her, then gave an elegant eye-roll.
"Focus on roasting them. Say any more of this crap, and I’m cutting your pay in half."
Her one hundred thousand turning into fifty thousand? Hazel Sinclair was instantly alarmed.
She grabbed Evelyn Kendrick’s wrist, her tone exceptionally sincere. "Don’t you worry. I guarantee I’ll complete the mission."
With that, Hazel Sinclair immediately pointed at the two of them and began her verbal assault.
"A tree without bark is bound to die, but a shameless person is invincible. You lot are so thick-skinned you could use your faces as city walls—they wouldn’t even get scraped if you dragged them on the ground—and you still have the audacity to demand Evelyn not call off this engagement."
"What are you, made of gold or diamonds? Do you really think everyone adores your son like that bubble-brained homewrecker does?"
"Cheating, getting another woman pregnant out of wedlock, ruining Evelyn’s reputation... If Evelyn actually married into your family, were you planning to absorb all of Hyperion into your Vorizon Group?"
Hazel Sinclair had just blurted out that last sentence to make them seem even more shameless.
But seeing the expressions on the three of them, Hazel Sinclair instantly understood. ’They really were planning that.’
"Wow! You don’t just want to take what you can, you want to bleed the Kendrick Family dry!"
Hazel Sinclair’s eyes went wide, a look of shock on her face. Her voice rose uncontrollably.
Everyone present was sharp; their intentions were obvious to all without needing an explanation.
Jasper Fletcher hurriedly tried to save face. "What nonsense are you spouting? Our two families are joining in marriage simply to strengthen our bond. How could the Fletcher Family possibly have any intention of swallowing up Hyperion Group?"
Mr. Fletcher chimed in from the side. He stubbed out his cigar and looked at Hazel Sinclair. "Young lady, don’t just throw any accusation you can think of at us."
"If we had such intentions, may Vorizon go bankrupt."
Businessmen don’t usually make such oaths lightly. Hearing this, Hazel Sinclair scoffed. "Great. Then I wish the Vorizon Group a speedy bankruptcy."
Evelyn Kendrick put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth, and looked at the four of them. "You know my demands."
"Call off the engagement. And provide compensation."
"If you refuse, then just you wait."
After speaking, she stood up and said to the people beside her, "We’re leaving."
Mr. Kendrick grabbed his wife’s handbag, stood up, and left the private room first. Mrs. Kendrick, her face dark, muttered, "It takes all kinds to make a world. I’ve really seen it all today."
After standing up, Hazel Sinclair grabbed a nearby fruit platter. She just picked up the whole thing to take with her. "A cheater and a homewrecker. A match made in heaven."
"Make sure you have that baby. So it can inherit your vile and disgusting genes."
Aside from his initial words of support for the Kendrick Family, Silas Hawthorne had been silent the entire time.
Now, he rose to his feet. His dark eyes swept over the four of them before he spoke coolly.
"If you can’t meet her demands, I’ll make you."
"The Vorizon Group going bankrupt, was it?" Silas Hawthorne said softly, but his handsome face was completely devoid of expression.
"If you fail to deliver, I will make that statement a reality." After dropping this line, Silas Hawthorne turned and left, leaving the four of them staring at each other in stunned silence.
"This is outrageous!" Mr. Fletcher slammed the table and yelled. "A mere Kendrick Family thinks they can push us around?"
"But the Hawthorne Family is involved..." Mrs. Fletcher reminded him in a low voice.
The Hawthorne Family was one of the four great families of Veridia. If they wanted to deal with them, it would be child’s play.
"I have no idea how Chairman Hawthorne got involved in this." Jasper Fletcher’s expression was also grim. The plan to absorb Hyperion Group would have to be put on hold for now.
Outside the restaurant, after seeing off her "aunt and uncle," Hazel Sinclair immediately pulled out her phone and presented her payment QR code.
"Pay up, Mama Moneybags."
"Oh, and you can reimburse me for the taxi fare too," Hazel Sinclair said to Evelyn Kendrick with an especially sycophantic smile.
Silas Hawthorne watched this unfold, a single eyebrow raised slightly.
’So all it takes is money to turn two rivals into good friends.’
"Done fighting, you two?" Silas Hawthorne asked, standing nearby with his hands in his pockets and a faint smile on his face.
"What’s it to you?" Evelyn Kendrick was the first to snap back.
Looking at the man before her, Evelyn Kendrick seethed with frustration. ’Back then, if I hadn’t heard that Hazel Sinclair had gotten a boyfriend, I wouldn’t have gotten together with this damn scumbag just so I wouldn’t lose to her.’
Now, just looking at him made her sick!
’What did he mean, she was never his, Silas Hawthorne’s, girlfriend, but just a tool for him to gain relationship experience?’
’Was she, Evelyn Kendrick, that cheap of a woman?’