Chapter 114 A Terrible Presentiment


    Horace''s eyes glinted and a faint smile signifying triumph crept up his lips.


    "Vernon is an incapable businessman. After keeping hispany running for so many years, he failed


    to sustain it and resorted to fraud. Now he''s in prison and has no way out of it. He''s just lucky he has a


    capable daughter willing to go to such lengths to save hispany," Horace remarked.


    Narrowing his eyes, he gazed at the door from which Cassandra had left. ''She''s such an innocent


    woman. As a young person, she had the audacity to spare no effort to protect her father''s hard work, ''


    he thought to himself.


    However, Horace had everything well nned.


    Though the Qin Group was on the brink of copsing, it still had a chance of things turning to their


    favor, if managed properly.


    Four years ago, he infused the much-needed investment into the Qin Group, which paid him back soon


    with a great deal of interest.


    Because Vernon treated his employees well, his people were loyal to thepany. From what Horace


    knew, currently, all the managers of thepany were still struggling to keep it alive, refusing to leave


    for better opportunities.


    That was, perhaps, Vernon''s greatest asset of his lifetime. It was just that, he would unfortunately have


    no more chance to utilize it.


    At this point, Cassandra had no one to back her up except for the Tang family. The only thing Horace


    had to do was gain her trust. By then, if he offered to help her run thepany, he would probably


    obtain her consent. After that, he could then acquire Qin Group by the name of ''helping'' at an unfairly


    low price. That would be an almost no-risk business deal.


    After reading the confidence and victory on Horace''s face, Jill finally realized what was on his mind.


    Her smile turned cunning.


    "Well, it seems that I should be nice to her for the time being!"


    As she grinned, Jill calcted what she could do to earn Cassandra''s trust quickly.


    "Don''t be so suspicious. Act like your normal self. If you abruptly change your attitude towards her,


    she''ll be skeptical."


    With a wave of his hand, Horace made sure to exin to her not to make a rash act.


    A clearer n began fermenting in his head. Instead of pressing Cassandra directly, he would slowly


    take control over her with little tricks.


    On the way to the Tang Group, Cassandra was driving her new car under the beaming morning sun. It


    waste winter, after which, early spring would arrive, just as her state of mind. However, she didn''t


    notice that some dark clouds were approaching the seemingly peaceful city.


    "Manager Qin, the Chairman told us that the amusement park project was transferred to another


    architect..."


    "Manager Qin, the Chairman said that you would only need to work on the small cases of our regr


    clients. The other cases have been disseminated to other architects of the department..."


    "Manager Qin, the Chairman…"


    When she asked for things to be done, these were the responses she received. It was strange that just


    within a few days, the cases she was supposed to be in charge of were all assigned to various


    designers while she was left with the rather unimportant and trivial ones.


    Horace indeed told her to rest, but surely not to the point that she had almost nothing to do.


    Finally, Cassandra couldn''t bear with her idle status in thepany and requested Horace for some


    work to do.


    "Father, I''m not tired. Can I have some of my cases back?"


    "This is thepany''s arrangement. You will be tasked to do something else after this resting period.


    Don''t worry and just take a break for the time being."


    His reply was emotionless as hey on his deck chair, basking in the warmth of the winter sun, without


    even lifting his eye lids.


    It rendered Cassandra speechless, leaving her no choice but to wait for the ''something else'' that never


    made its way to her.


    While Cassandra anxiously waited for her cases, the election for the Director of the Union of Real


    Estate in G City waspleted. The Tang Group, the biggest winner of the event, had assumed the


    Director role, while Dawn Star Group assumed the role of Deputy Director.


    Shortly after the establishment of the Union, there was an influx of clients, from both G City and other


    cities, looking for the Tang Group. However, none of their projects were assigned to Cassandra.


    "Cassandra, I think you''re even freer than I am right now. I can''t imagine that you have the leisure time


    toe to Yoga ss with me! That''s incredible!"


    As Ste was awed by the recent state of Cassandra, she twisted her body into an impossible posture.


    They chatted while a light background music was being yed.


    "Do you think that''s what I want? Regardless of ''being the best architect'' or ''striving to the top'', I have


    to at least get my bonus to keep my dad''spany alive. Without any big projects, I can only get the


    baseline sry. It''s giving me a huge headache. How am I supposed to supply the employees with their


    sries?" Cassandrained in frustration.


    Her mind was a total mess. Even the meditation couldn''t help pacify it.


    "That''s so strange. As you said, the Chairman should know about your financial situation. He even


    gave you a car. Why would he take away all your projects? He''s contradicting himself, isn''t he?"


    Ste cast her doubt. Meanwhile, she shifted into an even more twisted yoga position that seemed so


    painful that Cassandra almost wanted to turn her eyes away.


    "I don''t get it either. He actually promised me that he''d give me other cases, but he never mentioned


    that again. I also requested to get my original cases back or to at leastplete them in coboration


    with other architects. He didn''t really give me an answer for that either…" As she said it, Cassandra


    raised her brows, puzzled.


    Heaving a deep sigh, she changed from the proper position of Yoga so she could just casually lie on


    the mat. Anyway, she couldn''t force herself into a peaceful state of mind, so she gave up at the


    moment.


    "Or else, you could talk to Mr. Luo about it? I thought he was the one who assigned you the


    amusement park project?" Ste suggested.


    Remembering that Rufus had entrusted Cassandra with many projects, she thought that he could at


    least speak on her behalf.


    At the mention of Rufus''s name, Cassandra felt even more crestfallen.


    Recently, Rufus had been away frequently and didn''t even attend the Union of Real Estate election. It


    was Lionel who attended on behalf of the Tang Group.


    Though she tried to contact him, he never picked up her calls.


    Every time the call was answered by the perpetual and emotionless recording, "The person you are


    calling is currently unavable." She realized that the distance between her and Rufus was as far as


    ever.


    ''I don''t know him that well, after all. He doesn''t need to tell me his n, or what he''s going to do, or


    where he''s heading to. He doesn''t even rify things with me after he re-appears in my life.


    He would suddenly pop up and catch me off-guard. Taking the chance of being alone, he would give


    me a suffocating and burning kiss.


    He would then suddenly disappear for a few days, during which I have no way of contacting him. He''d


    say he was on a business trip, yet, even his assistant would have no idea of where he went, ''


    Cassandra thought sorrowfully. After thinking everything through, she suddenly felt as though they


    were light years apart.


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    Rufus''s whereabouts were indeed an enigma, not only for Cassandra, but for the Tang family. Lionel


    had even purposelyined to Horace in his presence.


    "As the CEO of the Tang Group, you should at least inform the Board of Directors before going on any


    business trip, shouldn''t you? How can you just vanish without anyone knowing where you are? When


    thepany needs you, how are we supposed to find you?" he eximed in frustration.


    "I would never leave thepany unless I''m assured that there''s no major decision to make while I''m


    away. Plus, aren''t you the Deputy CEO? Can''t you make the decision when I''m not around? I just don''t


    like any disturbances while I''m negotiating with clients," Rufus contested.


    Such a conversation was a typical happening in Horace''s study after Rufus came back from his trips.


    Every time, Rufus would find a reason or excuse to force Lionel to shut his mouth.


    To add to the validity of his arguments, Rufus would always bring back some projects, big or small,


    each time. So Horace wasn''t very concerned about Rufus leaving without any prior notice.


    After all, he was a profit-driven businessman. As long as Rufus was capable of fulfilling his role and


    could bring profit to the Tang Group, his disappearance from time to time was no big deal.


    "Never mind. I''ll try to think of something else…"


    With Rufus on her mind, Cassandra felt depressed.


    Meanwhile, something was happening in the office of the man she was thinking about.


    "So the Chairman has appointed another designer to take over the amusement park project?" Rufus


    questioned.


    The assistant had just handed him a proposal which made his brows furrow in confusion.


    He was only away for a few days, and all of Cassandra''s major projects had been transferred to other


    architects. Even the amusement park project, which he had promised to give her so firmly, was also


    assigned to someone else.


    "Yes, Mr. Luo. the Chairman said that Manager Qin had been over-burdened these days, so he wanted


    to give her workload to other designers," the assistant duly reported.


    Though he stated Horace''s order with a polite smile, he could feel the chill in his chest as he sensed


    the grave anger of the man in front of him.


    In truth, the entirepany knew how important Manager Qin was deemed by the CEO. Now that


    Cassandra''s true identity of Rufus''s sister-inw was uncovered, they had no more doubt about


    Rufus''s special treatment towards her. They were family, after all. It was expected that he would


    provide his sister-inw with the best resources.


    Still…


    Why would the Chairman transfer so many projects away from Manager Qin?


    Being a skilled architect, Cassandra had just won third ce in an international architectural design


    competition and practically served as the walking advertisement of thepany. Why would her cases


    be taken away from her at such a crucial time?


    Knowing what a calctive businessman Horace was, Rufus was certain that he wouldn''t make such a


    decision unless the profit was worth the risk it bore. For quite some time, he hadn''t been getting


    involved in the Tang Group''s business, so there must have been hidden intentions behind his abrupt


    intervention.


    "You can go now. Just leave the documents on my desk," Rufus ordered with a cold face, the creases


    on his forehead deepening.


    After the assistant left, Rufus made a call.


    "Find out all of Lionel Tang''s recent routines. I want to know if he has been staying with Ivy at home for


    this period. I want to know who he''s been contacting!" Rufus strongly demanded.


    After the call, a terrible presentiment started surfacing from his heart.


    Just like a drop of ink in clear water, the presentiment diffused slowly through his blood, to his chest,


    his limbs, his brain, until it finally engulfed his entire body…