Chapter 460 The Invisible War


    Cassandra was already asleep when Rufus drove her home.


    As gently as he could without waking her up, Rufus scooped her into his arms and carried her out of


    the car. Half-awake, Cassandra got a glimpse of his face as he carried her before letting the


    drowsiness take over her.


    In his arms, she had nothing to fear. Knowing that Rufus was with her as she fell asleep, she felt utterly


    secure.


    As he felt her breathing turn slow and steady, Rufus gazed upon the little woman''s sleeping face and


    smiled.


    Even as he helped her out of her coat and tucked her into bed, Cassandra stayed sound asleep.


    For a moment before he left, Rufus stayed to make sure she wasfortably fast asleep, a soft look in


    his eyes. Sure not to make a sound, he cautiously stepped out of the room before heading to his study


    downstairs and giving Victor a call.


    "I found a few bugs in the lobby of the Qin family mansion and cleared them. They must''ve been from


    Arthur. Did you find anything?" Rufus''s expression and tone were rather grim.


    It seemed that his neighbor dared to monitor the Qin family for some ambitious n.


    "Recently the Dawn Star Group and Tang Group are both bidding for an important project. The Tang


    Group is betting everything this time. If they fail, it''ll be the end of thepany. No bank will bother


    loaning them anything because they''ll have no means to pay their debts. If they''re prosecuted, they''ll


    go bankrupt,"


    Victor just reported to Rufus the most recent status of Tang Group. With that, Rufus''s dream of the


    downfall of the Tang Group was finallying close to reality.


    "Plus, Mr. Tang has been looking for you. He said that you haven''t been picking up his calls so he


    found and asked me to arrange a meeting with you."


    Upon hearing Horace''s request, Rufus sneered, "He''s been making phone calls to find me? Doesn''t


    seem like anything urgent."


    Of course, he wouldn''t pick up Horace''s calls. Since the day he left Tang Group, he had decided that he


    wasn''t going to help Horace no matter how hard he pleaded.


    Even when Charlie asked Horace to hold the fake engagement ceremony, Rufus didn''t even bother to


    speak with him.


    "It must be about the bidding event. Dawn Star is their most powerful rival, after all."


    Victor''s tone turned unusually strange when he said it. The change was subtle but still detectable to


    Rufus.


    "What exactly…did he say to you?"


    Rufus asked, his eyebrows furrowing.


    "He…


    He was worried that you wouldn''t be there if he came," Victor responded.


    He remembered how worried and anxious Horace was when he came to him. Seeing such a pitiful look


    on the old man''s face, Victor couldn''t help but feel sympathetic.


    "Mr. Luo…


    How about helping them this time?" Victor carefully suggested. Unsurprisingly, it took no time for Rufus


    to refuse, "No! Remember, you are my subordinate. Don''t ever speak for him again!"


    Rufus''s voice went cold as ice after hearing Victor''s infuriating suggestion.


    "It''s just that, today, when I saw Mr. Tang, he seemed terribly sick. I think… I think it really struck him


    hard this time."


    Again, as Victor tried to give Horace the benefit of the doubt, Rufus cut him off impatiently.


    "Victor, if you really wish to help him, you''re free to go! Go ahead! Go back to the Tang Group!"


    It irritated Rufus to the bone. How could Victor, who had been loyal to him all the while, start sounding


    like his enemy at such a crucial juncture? How could Rufus ever ept that?


    On the other end of the line, Victor instantly shut his mouth.


    At the very least, he knew that when Rufus was angry, it was best to stop pushing him any further.


    "When did he go to you?" Rufus asked.


    "This afternoon with Mrs. Tang," Victor instantly replied, keeping his sentence short.


    At that point, he was afraid that even a moment''s hesitation would fuel Rufus''s fury.


    "Alright, I get it. Just tell your people to keep an eye on rk and Arthur. You shouldn''t be concerned


    about anything else!"


    The minute he finished speaking, Rufus hung up the phone rather aggressively. Unease filled his heart.


    ''Well…Horace sought out Victor instead of me. At least he knew that he wouldn''t get anything out of


    me. Smart move, I would say.


    Horace, why do you always leave things up to thest minute? Why didn''t you do it right from the


    start?'' Rufus thought to himself.


    When Lionel misappropriated the money, if Horace could have trusted him a bit more, instead of buying


    totally what Lionel had said, Rufus wouldn''t have be so cold-hearted right now.


    The phrase, ''blood is thicker than water, '' was merely an empty set of words to him now. Between


    Rufus and the rather useless Lionel, his father still chose thetter.


    He wanted Horace to taste regret. He wanted him to know, that how disastrous his absence would be


    to him!


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    It was Horace who abandoned him and his mother. All their suffering was his doing and now, it was


    time for him to pay the price. He had iting!


    However, for some reason, Rufus wasn''t feeling as contented as he imagined he would be. He had


    sessfully fulfilled his revenge. What was wrong with him?


    The euphoric feeling he was anticipating didn''t seem toe to him. It was a long time waiting for the


    end of the Tang Group. He had been craving for it. Why wasn''t he excited about it?


    Oddly enough, Rufus felt rather down.


    As he closed his eyes, he pulled out the tiny bugs from his pocket.


    Without another thought, he crushed them in his hand, leaving just a bunch of useless electronic


    pieces.


    That night, Arthur was surely going to be in the Qin family mansion and he would then discover that the


    bugs were missing.


    Naturally, he would suspect Rufus for that.


    Although he was certain that Arthur had his motives for approaching Cloris, Rufus still couldn''t decipher


    what exactly Arthur was trying to use Cloris for.


    It seemed as though, in the darkness, a kind of war was breaking out.


    The next day, Cassandra was awakened by the ringing of a bell from downstairs. Abruptly, she sprang


    up and realized that she was the only person left in the room.


    "Rufus? Rufus!" Cassandra shouted out his name but there was no response.


    After scanning the room, she noticed a small note by the bed.


    "I have something to do. Breakfast is in the kitchen."


    With that, she confirmed that Rufus was gone. Otherwise, he would''ve taken care of the doorbell


    ringing.


    With a sigh, Cassandra stood up and briefly tidied up her messy hair, changed into decent clothes


    before heading to the door, only to discover that it was Horace on her monitor.


    Why would he visit her?


    Even though she was nonplussed by the guest, she still opened the door and let him in.


    Since thest time she saw him, his condition seemed to have worsened. Because he was stuck in a


    wheelchair, Jill had to bring him there.


    When they reached the doorstep, Horace had no way to elevate himself so Cassandra decided to just


    walk out of the house.


    "Do you need me to help bring you in, Mr. Tang?" she politely asked.


    Theck of a slope designed for the wheelchair to roll up on her porch worried Cassandra.


    "No need. We can speak here."


    Just as he was about to start, he went into a coughing fit. Worried, Jill leaned down to help but Horace


    simply waved her away.


    "Cassandra, Rufus isn''t here right now, is he?"


    It was disappointing, to say the least. He hade specifically for Rufus but it was unexpectedly


    Cassandra who greeted him at the door.


    "Yeah, he''s away for the moment. Would you like to wait for him?"


    Worried that the weather might have been too cold, Cassandra invited him inside.


    "No, it''s fine. I know that he''s avoiding me…"


    With a sigh, Horace looked helpless.


    His abundance of white-turned hair was a clear sign of the stress he had been facingtely.


    Looking at the state he was in, Cassandra felt rather heartbroken. The slight disgruntlement she had


    toward Horace when she left the Tang family simply faded away.


    After all, Horace was merely a typical businessman. It was rather understandable for such a man to be


    calcting in his decisions, prioritizing profit in his life.


    Generally, a businessman''s ultimate goal would be to acquire fame and money, after all. Although


    Horace had already achieved both in his life, he was defeated in recent years. Because he was already


    at such an old age, Arthur had the upper hand. Still, Lionel wasn''t capable of matching him in the rivalry


    while Rufus wasn''t around to help him.


    Horace''s thoughts went on to recall the Qin Group. If someone had helped Vernon or provided some


    guidance, he probably wouldn''t have ended up in jail. Vernon might have still been around to offer him


    a helping hand—Horace med himself for letting the Qin Group fall.


    "Cassandra, we''re having a bidding event soon. You should''ve heard about it, right? Lionel said that he


    gave you the bid proposal so you can take a look. What are the chances that we''ll win?" He looked at


    Cassandra a little too hopefully.


    His eyes were desperate as he pulled on Cassandra''s wrist in his eagerness.


    Cassandra suddenly thought of Lionel, and a weird feeling rose in her heart.


    Actually, she had thought of helping Lionel to revise the proposal. However, sheter suspected that


    Lionel was ying a crucial role in Lyndsy''s ident. Probably he was hiding from her and didn''t have


    the courage to see her. And of course, she wouldn''t actively offer her help.


    After all, Lionel had done wrong. Neither did he apologize to her, nor did he take up the responsibility to


    pay back for what he had done to Lyndsy. From the bottom of her heart, she was reluctant to help him.


    At this moment, though, when she looked at signs of ageing on the old man''s face, and the wistfulness


    in his eyes, Cassandra vacited.