Chapter 278: Utter Humiliation at The Banquet!

Luca’s words hit the venue like a thunderclap.

Many of the guests had close business ties to either Northstar or Summit Capital. Summit Capital, in particular, held varying levels of equity in numerous small and medium-sized enterprises.

For many of the business owners present, Summit Capital’s decisions could directly affect the future of their companies. So, when it came down to choosing between offending Maison Premier and offending Luca, there wasn’t much of a choice at all.

The answer was obvious.

One by one, people began leaving without another word, following Luca and the others out of the banquet hall. Vincent watched them go, his face darkening with fury.

"You’d better think this through carefully!" he shouted. "Do you really understand what it means to offend Maison Premier in Capital City?"

His warning fell on deaf ears.

The guests didn’t even slow down.

Some pretended they hadn’t heard him at all, while others simply quickened their pace. Maison Premier might be powerful, but it wasn’t powerful enough to make them risk their companies.

If Vincent wanted to settle accounts with them later, that was a problem for another day. They could always transfer their assets, relocate their headquarters, or even leave Capital City entirely if things became unfavorable.

But offending Luca was different. If Summit Capital decided to withdraw its funds, they wouldn’t have until tomorrow to worry about the consequences. Their money could disappear before the night was over.

For these business owners, the choice was essentially between risking bankruptcy in the future or facing financial ruin almost immediately. None of them were willing to gamble on the latter.

Seeing that no one was willing to listen, Vincent gave up trying to persuade them. He took a deep breath, forced the anger from his face, and turned toward the remaining guests.

"Everyone, my apologies. There was a slight misunderstanding just now. The engagement banquet will continue..."

Before he could finish, Jack came rushing into the hall. His face was pale, and he looked completely flustered.

"Vincent!"

Vincent frowned.

"The Stones family just sent word. Alani has gone missing!"

"What?" Vincent’s expression changed instantly. "Impossible!"

He almost lost his breath.

"How can a living person simply disappear without a trace?"

This was Jack’s engagement banquet, and nearly every prominent figure in Capital City had been invited. The confrontation with Luca had already turned the celebration into a spectacle.

If the bride couldn’t even be found before the banquet was over, Maison Premier would become the laughingstock of the entire capital.

"What exactly happened?" Vincent demanded.

"The Stones family checked the hotel’s surveillance footage. Alani left the hotel sometime last night."

Jack swallowed.

"They only discovered she was missing a few hours ago. They’ve searched everywhere, but they still haven’t found her."

He lowered his voice.

"They couldn’t keep it hidden any longer, so they sent someone to inform us."

A runaway bride. Those words immediately flashed through Vincent’s mind.

As Jack’s older brother, he knew his younger brother’s character better than anyone. Jack indulged in every vice imaginable. Drinking, gambling, fighting, women... there wasn’t much he hadn’t gotten himself involved in.

Despite being the Second Heir of Maison Premier, a man who had grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth, very few respectable families in Capital City were willing to marry their daughters to him.

The few women who had actively pursued Jack either came from families on the verge of collapse, making the marriage practically useless to Maison Premier, or simply weren’t suitable for someone of Jack’s standing.

That’s why Vincent had been genuinely surprised when the Stones family agreed to the marriage.

He had met Alani more than once. She was beautiful, intelligent, and well educated. The phrase ’talented and beautiful’ seemed almost tailor-made for her.

For someone like her to marry his good-for-nothing younger brother was an extraordinary stroke of luck.

Maison Premier had gone to great lengths to demonstrate how seriously they took the marriage. They had invited almost every important figure in the capital.

And now, with everything prepared, one of the two people at the center of the celebration had disappeared.

"What do we do now?"

Jack looked completely lost.

Vincent stared at him for a moment. Then he rolled up his sleeve.

Smack! His palm connected with Jack’s cheek.

Jack’s head snapped to the side, and a bright red handprint immediately appeared on his face.

The entire hall fell silent.

"Vicent..."

Jack slowly touched his cheek, staring at Vincent in disbelief.

"You actually hit me in front of everyone?"

Vincent had disciplined him plenty of times when they were younger.

But he had always done it privately.

He had never embarrassed Jack in front of outsiders.

This time, however, Vincent had no intention of protecting his pride.

"If you hadn’t caused one mess after another, would Alani have run away?"

His voice trembled with anger.

"Do you have any idea how badly you’ve humiliated Maison Premier?"

"She ran away from the wedding..."

Mrs. Denim’s eyes rolled back.

Her body went limp, and she collapsed backward.

"Mom!"

Jack rushed forward to catch her.

The chaos at the banquet had reached a whole new level.

...

"Alani ran away from her own wedding?!" Luca stared at the news on his phone, genuinely stunned. They had barely left the banquet hall. The chairs they had just been sitting in were probably still warm, and already another bombshell had exploded.

Harvey burst out laughing as he watched the video. "Hahaha! They threw such a grand engagement party, invited half the capital, and the bride ran away."

He shook his head in amusement. "Maison Premier has really lost face this time."

Harvey had never felt particularly close to the people from Maison Premier.

Jack was an ignorant, spoiled troublemaker, while Vincent was the sort of self-important heir who believed he stood at the top of Capital City’s social circle.

Harvey wouldn’t have bothered coming to the engagement banquet if his family hadn’t assigned him the task of establishing contact with the heirs of Hernandez Finances.

"By the way, Luca."

Harvey suddenly turned serious.

"Could you help me get in touch with that Brit? I’d like to discuss a business deal with him."

Luca raised an eyebrow. Then he understood. So this was probably Harvey’s real reason for wanting to meet Phil.

After a moment of thought, he nodded. "Sure."

"Haha, great! Then I’ll be counting on you, Luca." Harvey looked delighted.

He had no connection to Hernandez Finances, and getting in touch with them directly would have been extremely difficult. He hadn’t expected Luca to know Phil, let alone have Phil treat him with such obvious respect.

It was an unexpected opportunity. Harvey believed that with Luca acting as the intermediary, his chances of getting the cooperation he wanted had increased considerably.

...

Michael arranged lunch at a rather distinctive high-end restaurant. During the meal, Phil repeatedly praised the food, marveling at how delicious the cuisine was. Once everyone had finished eating, Luca took the initiative to introduce Harvey and Phil properly.

The moment the introductions were over, Phil shook Harvey’s hand with a serious expression. The two then headed into a private room to discuss business.

Michael craned his neck toward the closed door. "Luca, what’s going on with Harvey?"

Luca glanced toward the room.

"His family probably wants to work with Hernandez Finances. I’m just helping them get in touch. Whether they reach an agreement is up to them."

He had no intention of interfering in their negotiations.

Although Luca was secretly the owner behind Hernandez Finances, he knew surprisingly little about the company’s current internal operations.

It was better for him to stay out of the way.

"So that’s what this is about."

Michael nodded thoughtfully.

"That makes sense. If the cooperation allows us to obtain some of their core technologies, it could be extremely useful to the country."

Luca turned toward him. "The country?"

Michael looked at him. "Yeah."

Luca’s expression became slightly puzzled.

’Isn’t this just a business deal between the Adams family and Hernandez Finances?’

He had no idea how the matter had suddenly escalated into something involving the national interest.