Chapter 413
Chapter 413
The following day, Thaddeus and Jareth, along with their elite squad, set off in secret towards Star
Ind.
The journey was anything but smooth. It was a clear day when they set off, but two hours into their boat
ride, a sudden storm hit, with dark clouds and heavy rain.
For the sake of stealth and safety, they didn’t opt for arge vessel, but instead traveled on yachts. This
ensured they were less conspicuous, faster, and could scatter if detected by the enemy, making it
harder for them to bepletely surrounded.
However, the downside of these boats became ringly obvious in the extreme weather.
“Mr. Abernathy! Mr. Fairhaven! What do we do?! Are our yachts going to capsize?!”
The crew from the Fairhaven group struggled with the wheel, but the yacht continued to rock wildly in
the storm, unable to maintain bnce, let alone move forward.
Suddenly, a huge wave rolled towards their boat, heading right at Jareth.
Jareth’s eyes widened in shock. Before he could react, his vision was blocked.
Thaddeus had thrown himself instantly in the path of the wave, shielding Jareth with his broad body.
The wave crashed into him with a force that would have knocked anyone else over, but Thaddeus, he
was as steady as a rock. This man had really the ability to capture other people’s heart with his charm,
even for men.
“Thad! Are you okay?!” Jareth immediately reached out to him, his pupils contracted.
“I’m good. It’s nothing,” Thaddeus replied, his lips curling up slightly, his eyes as bright as deep–sea
pearls.
Their eyes met, and Jareth blushed, “Damn it, Thad, stop looking at me like that. I think I’m falling for
you!”
“Thank Mari. If it weren’t for her, I’d really fear you’d fall for me one day.”
After saying this, Thaddeus quickly moved away, taking the wheel from one of the crew members and
started steering himself.
“What the heck! I was just joking around and you’d take it seriously?” Jareth scoffed, wiping off the
water from his face. He gazed at Thaddeus‘ firm and broad figure which could render people sense of
enough safety for a long while before letting out a self–mockery sigh. Deep down, he admired his best
friend more than anything.
Back then, he was pompous enough to pursue Evadne, and when she turned down his affection, he
got quite depressed for a prolonged time.
Now it seemed that Evadne did the right choice. Having been pampered by Thad, she could never fall
for him. Except, he didn’t feel frustrated, nor did he think it was a pity.
Instead, he needed to thank for this one–sided love; otherwise, he’d never meet his love of life, Mari,
the woman he would spend the rest of the time
with.
Mountainous sea was tumbling over, the situation dire, but under Thaddeus‘ helm, the boat navigated
steadily toward Star Ind.
Two hourster, their boat was the first to reach the ind. Half an hourter, the rest of the boats
arrived one after another.
By this time, night had fallen. Luckily, the storm had started to subside.
“Perfect night for some action. Let’s go, Thad!” Jareth tucked two of his guns behind his back,
excitement glinting in his eyes.
Rumors said that Mr. Fairhaven was well–known for his inclination to gamble with his life, which
seemed true. It looked like he had again overlooked the peril ahead of them.
“Do you think this is some sort of video game? You only have one life. If it’s lost, it’s game over!”
Thaddeus, dressed in ck tactical gear, looked rugged and wild. His hands, gripping the gun, were
veined and strong.
“You’re not the same as before. You have my sister now, and you’re not a lone wolf anymore.”
Jareth stiffened at the mention of Mari. Yes, he was a family man now, and he had something to lose.
His heart, once as hard as iron, had softened like
a sponge.
Mari had almost broken down because of Erica’s decease; if anything happened to him, what would
happen to his delicate, fragile wife?
“Mr. Abernathy, Mr. Fairhaven! Look! A helicopter ising!”
They turned to see a helicopter swiftly approaching. Everyone immediately went on high alert, guns
drawn and aimed at the helicopter. “No need to panic. It’s probably not the enemy,” only Thaddeus
remained calm and steady.
“How can you be sure?” Jareth asked in surprise
“If it was, they would have started shooting at us by now. The fact that they haven’t made a move
means they’re not here to kill us.”
Jareth nodded, “Makes sense!”
The helicopternded smoothly on the beach, causing a whirlwind of sand that blinded everyone.
Merely Thaddeus stood tall and steady against the wind, watching the handsome man disembark from
the helicopter.
The next second, his eyes widened in surprise.
“Holy cow! It’s your brother–inw!”
J
Jareth, seeing Cassius and his men approaching, dashed behind Thaddeus in shock.
Normally, as a prestigious “devil” who would scare those from both the legal world and the underground
gang, Jareth’d never fear anyone. Now he knew who scared him – Cassius, a man always exuding an
extremely intimidating aura.
At this moment, Thaddeus and Cassius locked eyes, a palpable tension in the air.
“President Ashbourne, what brings you here?” Thaddeus‘ eyes were sharp, his voice cold and stern.
“We share the same goal. Is there a need to ask?”
Cassius didn’t have a good impression of his former brother–inw. Even though he now knew of
Thaddeus‘ true feelings for Evadne and his remorse, and that he would never marry another woman
aside from Evadne, the Ashbourne family was known for their stubbornness. Even if they felt one way,
they wouldn’t show it
In other words, they were proud.
Moreover, Thaddeus had once ruthlessly abandoned his sister, who had waited for him like Penelope in
Homer’s Odyssey, faithfully waiting for three years despite his absence.
She even risked her life for him on the battlefield and almost became a cripple.
No matter what, he would not easily change his attitude towards Thaddeus. Evadne was a star in the
sky, and if he wanted her, he would have to risk his life.
“I’ll take care of Ward. You don’t need to worry, President Ashbourne,” Thaddeus said, his expression
grim. He was not going to back down.
“I’m Evadne’s big brother. After all, this is the Ashbourne family business. I can handle it. There’s no
need for you to interfere,” Cassius said, not backing down either.
“Jareth, let’s go.”
Thaddeus didn’t want to argue any longer; he was ready to leave.
“If I remember correctly, didn’t you tell my sister that you were going on a business trip, Mr.
Abernathy?”
Cassius’s icy voice was like a thorn in Thaddeus‘ side!
He turned around abruptly, but Cassius just smiled at him, “If Evadne finds out that you lied to her, even
though you did it for her, do you think she will be angry with you or not? I’m afraid, she will be furious.”
“Don’t tell her!” Thaddeus felt a surge of panic. He rushed over to Cassius, his voice pleading,
“President Ashbourne, everything I’ve done was for Evadne. But I’m afraid that if she knows I’m hunting
down Ward, she’lle to me in a fit of desperation. I can’t let the woman I love be in danger, never!
But if I don’t take care of this issue personally for Evadne, then what kind of man am I? What right do I
have to protect her?”
His words were filled with deep emotions, moving everyone who heard them.
Cassius’s handsome face tightened slightly. Even Jareth couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for
his best friend.
“President Ashbourne, I know, you still hate me for causing Evadne so much pain, for cruelly
abandoning her.”
Thaddeus‘ eyes started to redden, his voice hoarse, almost begging, “I’m doing all this to make
amends. I’m willing to risk my life to get back everything she wants, even if none of you forgive me.
Just don’t let Evadne risk her life, you know her better than I do as her brother!”
He was really afraid that Evadne would be angry with him. Their rtionship was just starting to
improve; he didn’t want everything to go back to square
one.
But what he feared more was her getting hurt.
Cassius had only teased him, but he hadn’t expected to hear such heartfelt words from him.
So, after a moment of contemtion, he said seriously, “Fine, you can proceed, but you have to work
with me.”
While Thaddeus was ready to strike an attack, things in Elmsworth were not so peaceful.
Today was the day of important cooperation meetings between the Abernathy Group and Aether
Dynamics. Frederic and the group’s senior executives had arrived early in the conference room to
prepare. On such an important asion, Thaddeus was the only one missing.
The reputation of the Abernathy Group, due to Elspeth’s previous operations, had plummeted, even
reaching the international media! It was a real disgrace.
The stock price had also fallen for three consecutive days, causing people to panic.
The Abernathy Group, known as a top financial group, may not be affected by domestic projects, but it
was a different story for overseas projects.
At this critical moment, the Ashbourne family of Skyrim, the Chambers family of Elmsworth, and even
the Fairhaven family, could possibly take advantage of the situation and carve up the Abernathy
Group’s market share abroad!
At a time when Thaddeus, as CEO of thepany, should be steadying their morale, he was nowhere
to be seen, which was incredibly shocking!
At the moment, Frederic sat at the head of the conference room, his face dark and emitting a chilling
aura.
The senior shareholders were buzzing below.
“It’s gettingte. Mr. Thaddeus isn’t going to show up, is he?”
“Can’t be. Mr. Thaddeus is known for his diligence, he hasn’t missed a meeting in years. As long as the
universe doesn’t explode, Mr. Thaddeus has to show up to work.”
“That was the old Mr. Thaddeus, now? Hmph, who knows.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Right now, Mr. Thaddeus is busy courting the daughter of the Ashbourne family, always spinning
around her skirt. He doesn’t have time to work. I guess
15.15
he’s too busy making the youngdy happy; maybe they’re even taking a romantic bath together?”
A wave of snickers spread through the room.
“But seriously, the group is facing internal and external troubles. Our reputation is already poor, and
without Thaddeus attending such an important meeting, won’t the other group think we’re neglecting
them? Can we even negotiate a deal!”
The whispers reached Frederic’s ears, causing the hand resting on the table to slowly clench into a fist,
his brows furrowing even tighter.
Just then, his phone vibrated Frederic nced down with a gloomy face, and was momentarily taken
aback.
The caller was his eldest son, Chad Abernathy.
Seeing that there was less than five minutes before the remote video meeting started, Frederic didn’t
have time to talk to him, so he flipped the phone
over.
The meeting officially began.
Everyone was actually not very hopeful about this negotiation. After all, even the group’s CEO hadn’t
personally attended; who would want to cooperate with such an insincere group?
At this moment, the screen lit up, and the video call between the two parties was connected.
Ever since Thaddeus took over as CEO, he had been the one to negotiate all major meetings and
projects over the years. Frederic would only attend for the sake of maintaining appearances. As the
chairman, he had gradually stepped back and allowed the younger generation to take the stage.
So, at that moment, he was naturally on edge, leaning slightly forward, ready for whatever was to
come.
A secondter, an image appeared on the big screen.
In the picture were the President of J Group, William Morris, and his eldest son who is also the CEO,
Junior William. And sitting beside them was a man unfamiliar to everyone present.
“Who is this guy?”
“I don’t know, but don’t you guys think he looks a bit like Mr. Frederic Abernathy?”
“You’re right. He does look like him.”
Frederic’s shoulders shook, his eyes wide open in astonishment.
It was Chad?! How was he with Morris?!
Seemingly unaware that the video conference had started, Chad was still cheerfully chatting with them,
seemingly very familiar with each other.
“Chad!”
Frederic was still bewildered, his well–prepared speech totally disrupted.
At this moment, Chad was the first to react; he nced at the screen and waved casually to his father,
“Hey, dad. Long time no see.”
Everyone gasped, “Dad?!”
Could it be that this handsome and noble man was the Chairman’s eldest son, Chad Abernathy, who
hasn’t appeared in the country for over a decade?!
Meanwhile, William turned to Frederic with a smile, “Mr. Abernathy, I think we can discuss our
cooperation in depth.”
Immediately after the meeting ended, Mr. Murray ryed the news to Hamilton.
“Our strategic cooperation with J Group has been established.”
“Oh? So smoothly?”
Hamilton was quite surprised, but, of course, he was pleased about the news, “Then tell him to fly over
to meet William ASAP, and sign the contract to avoid any potential issues.”
“The contract has been signed already, right on the spot!”.
This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.
“That fast?!”
Hamilton was astounded, “J Group has never had any connection with us privately, and as far as I
know, many domestic financial groups are striving to cooperate with them, offering quite attractive
conditions. Why would they agree to partner with us so easily?”
Mr. Murray’s eyes flickered, his voice lowered, “The contract was signed on the spot by Mr. Chad who
is currently abroad with William. And this cooperation is not really negotiated by Mr. Frederic/but by
Chad.”
Hamilton’s pupils contracted, his expression darkened.
“Today during the meeting, Mr. Chad Abernathy showed up out of the blue, sitting next to the people
from the Morris family, which surprised us all. Even you didn’t expect that Mr. Chad Abernathy, the one
who has been recuperating and barely paid attention to any social interactions, would have such good
terms with the Morris family, let alone Mr. Frederic Abernathy.”
Apparently, Mr. Murray was insinuating something, which Hamilton totally understood.
“Mr. Murray, do you think Chad might suddenly return to Elmsworth someday?”
Mr. Murray pressed his lips tightly, unsure of what to say.
“Where’s Thaddeus? He’s been missing these days and doesn’t even participate in the group’s
meetings.”
Hamilton, with a frown and an irritated tone, said, “His territory is almost captured, and he has no sense
of crisis. Does he think being a CEO means he can take it for granted?! How can he be so naive!”
“Mr. Thaddeus’s not in the country right now. He has gone abroad.”
“What?! Where has he run off to?!”
Mr. Murray looked helpless, “I have no idea, and I couldn’t find out either. But I’ve contacted Alva
secretly, and Alva said that he has gone to do something for Ms. Ashbourne. And it’s a very important
thing, one that he had to attend to personally!”
Hamilton was stunned for a moment; then he sighed lightly, his anger subsiding a bit.
Anything regarding Evadne, even if it was a trivial matter, was a big deal in the eyes of his obedient
grandson.
He understood, because back in the day, he had also doted on Thaddeus‘ grandmother to the point of
giving up his inheritance to be with the woman he loved.
“Murray, I’m afraid Thad’s future won’t be smooth sailing. After all, there can’t be two tigers on the
same mountain.”