Chapter 307 - 306: Sure, but It’ll Cost Extra

「An hour earlier.」

The technology department at The Lowell Group had just finished their final product detail check and held a short summary meeting, finally getting ready to leave work.

Andy greeted his colleagues with a beaming smile before heading straight back to his office.

The thought that tonight he could finally ruin Yvonne Lowell’s reputation—and drag the entire Lowell Family down with her—made his smile seem a little more genuine today.

After closing his office door, Andy, in high spirits, patted the robot prototype standing by the wall and muttered to himself,

"Be good now. I hope your brothers and sisters sell well tonight. When they do, from a place you’ll never see... I’ll be sure to send you on your way, too.

I wonder how those two families will react when they get the photos? Maybe tomorrow I’ll see news of a breakup and someone getting disowned."

Then, Andy pulled a second phone from a hidden compartment in his briefcase, intending to contact the person he had hired. But just then, he saw a notification for a trending headline.

His expression changed in an instant as he hurriedly tapped to view the details.

In disbelief, he repeatedly opened the image, zoomed in, zoomed out, closed it, and opened it again...

The veins on his temples throbbed faintly from his ragged breathing, and the knuckles of the hand gripping the phone turned white from the force.

Finally, his fury gave way to a twisted laugh, and he smashed the phone violently against the nearby robot.

"HAHAHA... Fake! It’s all fake! Only a fool would believe it! This is just perfect!"

The office door was suddenly thrown open. Andy’s eyes, blazing with fury and murderous intent, shot toward the entrance, only to find a few of his subordinates standing there.

His expression instantly changed from stormy to sunny. Pushing up his glasses with his index finger, he asked with a smile,

"What’s wrong? Do you need me for something?"

The subordinates exchanged glances, and finally, the most senior among them spoke up, his voice feigning composure.

"Deputy Director, we heard a noise from your office. We thought you might have fallen because you weren’t feeling well, so we came to check. Are you... all right?"

"Of course, I’m fine. I just couldn’t work through a problem with the new project, so I was just getting angry with myself."

Andy’s current demeanor, as well as his usual one, was so completely different from the person they’d seen the moment they opened the door that it felt surreal to the subordinates.

They could only force awkward smiles and exchange a few pleasantries.

"You’re working too hard, sir. Your health is important. We’re about to leave for the day. Would you like to join us?"

"No, thanks. I need to finish up what I’m working on first. You all be careful on your way home, stay safe."

Andy refused directly.

"All right, then. We won’t disturb you any further. Goodbye."

The subordinates quickly said their goodbyes, not forgetting to pull the door shut for him.

Once they reached the elevators and looked around to see they were alone, they finally dared to discuss it in hushed tones.

"Holy crap, that scared me to death! I thought he was going to strangle me for a second!"

"No kidding! That was nothing like the gentle, refined Deputy Director I’m used to seeing. The illusion is completely shattered."

"I’m not buying that he was mad about work. We could hear him from outside the door, yelling ’fake’ and ’just perfect.’ And did you guys see the corner? His phone was smashed to smithereens. And that look in his eyes... you’d think I had murdered his whole family..."

"Hey, I’ve suddenly got a feeling... that he might be... well, saying goodbye to us all very soon, if you know what I mean."

"Let me guess, your next line is that you’re a Scorpio and your intuition is super accurate? Oh, come on. When do you *not* say that?"

"Then tell me, when has my intuition ever been wrong?!"

"Well... now that you mention it, you do seem to be right every single time."

"All right, that’s enough. Everyone, watch your mouths. Are you trying to get on his bad side?"

Back in the office, Andy stared at the wreckage of the phone on the floor and couldn’t resist grinding it forcefully under his heel a few more times.

Only then did he pick out the surviving SIM card, holding it up to examine it closely in the light.

The light passed through the SIM card and fell upon his twisted, smiling face, making it appear pale and grotesque.

’Did you figure me out? Or are you just striking first because of the package? I think it’s the latter. After all, my disguise was perfect.

But... you really are lucky. Even your friends are more capable than mine, able to get a ’princess’ to put on this show with you. But anyway, you’re not getting away with it this time.’

He then inserted the SIM card into his company-issued phone from The Lowell Group and dialed the unsaved number.

Meanwhile, in a car in the underground parking garage, Felix Knight, who had been watching Andy through a surveillance feed, saw the phone screen light up and broke into a triumphant smile.

’Andy probably wouldn’t imagine, even on his deathbed, that the surveillance camera inside that robot prototype in his office had been secretly activated by Yvonne Lowell long ago, monitoring his every move.

On top of that, probably because he was planning to mail the package today, he’d also brought all those photos to the office in his briefcase.

Maybe they were the originals, maybe they were extra copies. Who knows?

But that wasn’t important. His original plan was likely just to scare the two sets of parents; he didn’t intend to release the photos to the public just yet. After all, this wasn’t the most opportune moment for him.

The most devastating blow is the one you land when your opponent is standing at the very peak of their happiness, isn’t it?’

But unexpectedly, spurred on by Caleb Lowell’s mention of the stock hitting its limit during the morning meeting and the sudden announcement of the robot’s release, Andy had been pushed over the edge. That was why Felix Knight had seen him secretly hiring a hacker on the dark web this afternoon to publish the content in the middle of the night.

He had fallen into a state of mania, his composure crumbling. All strategy was gone; he now single-mindedly wanted to drag Yvonne Lowell down to Hell with him as quickly as possible.

Felix Knight traced the order and, to his surprise, found that the person who had accepted the job was an old acquaintance he had bested countless times before.

So, using a combination of carrot and stick, he snatched the job away from him.

Under the original contractor’s name, of course.

This rendered Yvonne Lowell’s initial proposal—to create a fake website and let him shout into his own private echo chamber—obsolete, saving them a significant amount of time and resources.

Back in the present, as the phone screen lit up, went dark, and then lit up again, Felix Knight unhurriedly activated his voice changer and answered the call.

Before he could even speak, Andy’s frantic voice came through from the other end,

"What were you doing? Why’d it take you so long to answer?!"

"Are you telling me how to do my job?"

A sharp, cold voice emanated from Felix Knight’s end.

After a few seconds of silence, Andy’s voice returned, once again as smooth and gentle as ever.

"Sorry, I was just too anxious. I want to move the task up."

Felix Knight turned his head and made a gagging motion before asking nonchalantly,

"To when?"

"Right now! The sooner, the better!"

Felix Knight chuckled. "Now? Sure... but it’s going to cost you extra."