Chapter 263: Not Settling

Chapter 263: Chapter 263: Not Settling

"Heart of the Ocean and Kane Group reached an agreement. Kane Group will pull its new product, and I will no longer hold them accountable."

Yuri was very confused. "Why aren’t you holding them accountable?"

Sophie Shaw smiled. "What’s gotten into you today, Mr. Yates? Always digging for details."

"I want to know why."

"I was sick. I needed a bone marrow transplant, and my half-brother happened to be a match. I had to compromise to survive."

Sophie Shaw had nothing to hide.

Yuri was stunned by her words.

He understood in an instant. No wonder there had been no news about Sophie Shaw lately. She had been getting treatment.

"Are you better now?"

"I am."

"Let me treat you to lunch."

"No, that’s alright. Let me treat you instead."

’Since I owe him a meal, I might as well get it over with.’

Sophie Shaw didn’t want to get too involved with Yuri. To her, he was a senior in the industry, but also a business rival.

They settled on a time and place, and she hung up.

She had barely put her phone down when it rang again.

It was Quentin Blackwood.

She hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Sophie, how did Alaric end up at Reid Group? What is he thinking?"

"You kicked him out of the family and he lost his job. He’s just finding new work, that’s all," Sophie said dismissively.

Quentin Blackwood, of course, didn’t believe her. "What is he really up to? Don’t tell me he’s actually planning to take over his own father’s company?"

Sophie Shaw said nothing. Quentin Blackwood realized he’d hit the nail on the head.

Fury surged through him. "Has he lost his mind? Didn’t he want to start his own company? If he’s so capable, he should do that! What’s so impressive about getting airdropped into a rival company?"

"If he can get airdropped into a rival company, why would he take the long way around and start from scratch?"

Sophie Shaw’s retort made Quentin Blackwood’s blood pressure skyrocket. "What on earth is that boy thinking? Helping a rival company go against his own father! Does he even have a brain? How could he do something so treacherous!"

Sophie Shaw didn’t appreciate that remark. She retorted, "Weren’t you the one who kicked him out of the company and revoked his inheritance?"

"Those were just words said in anger."

"We young people are impulsive. We take things at face value."

Quentin Blackwood was so enraged he could barely breathe. He clutched his chest, trying to calm down. "Sophie, talk some sense into Alaric. Don’t let him keep acting so recklessly. This whole fiasco is making us, father and son, into a laughingstock."

"You held a press conference to publicly announce that you’d found your long-lost illegitimate daughter. Isn’t that already a joke?"

"What is wrong with you? Don’t you have any sense of right and wrong? He’s helping a rival company fight me!"

"He’s my husband. I’ll support him no matter what he decides to do."

Not wanting to argue further, Sophie Shaw hung up the phone.

"Hello? Hello...?"

Quentin Blackwood stared at his phone. He couldn’t believe Sophie Shaw had hung up on him. She had no respect for her elder whatsoever. He slammed the phone down on the desk with a loud SMACK.

"The nerve!"

He roared in fury and, with a sweep of his arm, sent all the files and objects on his desk crashing to the floor.

Lydia Wynn stood to one side, coldly watching this ’master of desk-clearing’ as he loosened his tie. He then planted his hands on his hips and stalked over to the floor-to-ceiling window to sulk. After a moment of hesitation, she walked up and took Quentin Blackwood’s arm.

"Dad, don’t be angry. It’s bad for your health."

"That boy is doing this just to spite me."

"You should have faced reality when you were going through the messy divorce with Ms. Halloway. Neither Alaric nor Nina sided with you. They willingly left the Blackwood family with Mandy Halloway. It’s obvious they have no respect for you as their father."

"But I’m still their biological father, no matter what."

Quentin Blackwood’s eyes were bloodshot, and he was so furious that tears threatened to fall.

He had been calling Alaric Blackwood nonstop recently, but Alaric wouldn’t pick up. When he called Sophie Shaw, he was just mocked for his troubles. He felt utterly humiliated.

For years, he had cultivated the public image of a doting husband. He not only had a beautiful and devoted wife, but also a perfect, happy family, blessed with both a son and a daughter.

Suddenly, that image shattered. His wife had divorced him, and his son and daughter were no longer close to him. The fall from grace was too great; he couldn’t accept it.

What was worse, to get back at him, Alaric Blackwood had actually gone to a rival company...

The moment he thought of Zane Lancaster, the former chairman of Reid Group, a wave of panic washed over him.

That man was Mandy Halloway’s first love and had been obsessed with her since they were young. After Quentin married Mandy, Zane Lancaster had held a grudge against him, opposing him at every turn in the business world.

He and Zane Lancaster had been evenly matched in their business battles. He knew Zane hated him, but he never imagined that hatred ran so deep that Zane would give up his own chairmanship, sell his shares, and let Alaric Blackwood take over Reid Group.

What worried him most was that after retiring, Zane Lancaster would have all the time in the world. Would he start pestering Mandy Halloway?

Now that he and Mandy Halloway were divorced, Zane Lancaster could finally pursue her openly. This filled him with an unprecedented sense of dread.

He shook off Lydia Wynn’s hand and shooed her out of the office. Rummaging through the mess on the floor, he found his phone and, steeling himself, dialed Mandy Halloway’s number.

It rang for a long time before the call finally connected.

"What is it?"

Mandy Halloway’s tone was icy.

"Has Zane Lancaster contacted you?"

"He has. In fact, he’s sitting right across from me now. We’re having coffee."

Quentin Blackwood felt like his head was about to explode. Fury shot through him. "You’re not allowed to see him!"

"Are you the world police? You sure are overstepping."

Mandy Halloway hung up in a huff.

He tried calling again, but Mandy Halloway didn’t pick up. He had no choice but to call Zane Lancaster and warn him sternly, "You are not to go near Mandy. Stay away from her."

Hearing the frantic edge in his voice, Zane Lancaster chuckled. "Doesn’t Director Blackwood have high blood pressure? You shouldn’t get so worked up. It wouldn’t do to make yourself sick."

"Zane Lancaster!"

"Present. What’s with all the shouting?"

Zane Lancaster took an elegant sip of his coffee while still on the phone. "Has Director Blackwood forgotten? You two are divorced. Mandy is single now, and I have every right to pursue her."

"She’s not interested in you."

"We dated. We were together back in school. I was her first man. And you say she’s not interested in me?"

At these words, Quentin Blackwood flew into a thunderous rage. "Zane Lancaster, you stay the hell away from her..."

Zane Lancaster decisively hung up, cutting off Quentin Blackwood’s furious roar mid-sentence.

Inside the coffee shop, all was calm and peaceful.

Across the table, Mandy Halloway held her coffee cup in both hands. Her cheeks couldn’t help but flush when she heard him say, "I was her first man."

Her mind drifted back to their school days.

Back then, she and Zane Lancaster had been passionately in love. It was a young, innocent love, untainted by external factors like family background, wealth, or status. They were simply two young people, experiencing their first love, who had fallen completely for one another.

"So many years have passed," she said, voicing the question that had been on her mind. "Why did you never marry?"

Zane Lancaster answered without hesitation. "Once your heart is filled by someone, there’s no room for anyone else."

He was a successful man, and in his youth, he’d been quite the looker. Of course, women had pursued him. But he could never get over Mandy Halloway. His entire heart was filled with her, and his mind was full of their memories.

"I’ve already experienced the best, purest kind of love. I can’t bring myself to settle for less."