Chapter 748 Irreplaceable
That night, Nathaniel worked to sabotage the Stone family’s investment ventures relentlessly.
When Sheridan woke up the next day, he could never have imagined that the Stone family was on the verge of being completely pushed out of the business circle.
What fueled Sheridan’s anger further was Nathaniel’s audacious attempts to undermine the Stone family. paying no heed to public opinion.
Sheridan knew Nathaniel had run out of patience. What Nathaniel said no longer served as a warning: he was ready to deliver a fatal blow,
Nathaniel had dominated the business realm at a young age, and he remained undefeated against seasoned veterans and ambitious newcomers.
While Sheridan embraced new challenges, he could not shake off the lingering uncertainty of facing Nathaniel head-on. The odds of his success remained uncertain.
Sheridan swiftly convened a board meeting to devise a strategic plan, while his desire to engage in discussion with Nathaniel grew stronger with each pa*sing moment.
Unfortunately, Nathaniel declined his request and flatly refused Sheridan’s attempts to reconcile, citing a busy schedule as the reason.
In his office, Sheridan’s gaze remained fixed on the plummeting share price. Despite his best efforts to regain his composure, the graph displayed on the screen caused his heart to ache with a sense of anguish.
As the stock prices continued to plummet at an alarming rate, Sheridan’s anxiousness grew, knowing that if this trend persisted, the Stone Group would be forced to declare bankruptcy the next day.
Sheridan’s hatred of Azure and Nigel had reached an unprecedented peak. The Stone family found themselves entangled in this situation solely because of the mother and son’s actions.
Unable to reach Nathaniel, Sheridan shifted his focus to Christina. He decided to give her a call.
Meanwhile, Christina was attending a fashion show rehearsal. Upon seeing Sheridan’s number on the screen, she quickly switched her phone to silent mode and casually dropped it into her bag.
The observant Victoria noticed the numbers appearing on Christina’s phone and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you want to ignore Mr. Stone’s call? This is the perfect opportunity to state your demands.”
Christina was unbothered. “He should reach out to Mr. Hadley directly, not me. I don’t want to involve myself in their business disputes.”
The Stone family was already trending on social media carly in the morning. Even though Christina was not fond of keeping up with the news, the people around her could not stop discussing the Stone family’s plight in front of her. Thus, it was hard for her to remain oblivious to it.
“What a ruthless man Mr. Hadley is. When he decides to make a move, he aims for the kill without hesitation. I bet Old Mr. Stone must have regretted his action for going against the Hadleys.” Victoria sighed, relishing in their misfortune. “Hey, wanna bet?”
Christina glanced at her from the corners of her eyes. “What kind of bet?”
“Let’s see how long the Stone family can hold on. The loser will serve as the other person’s servant for a
month.” Victoria’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm as her mind raced with cunning plans.
Christina turned around, intentionally protruding her noticeably curved abdomen. “You want a pregnant woman to be your servant to serve you tea the whole day?”
Victoria froze for a moment while staring at her belly. Even if Christina agreed to the bet, he knew Nathaniel would never let her off. If he were to discover that I made Christina my servant, he would not hesitate to offer me a goblet of deadly poison instead of a steaming cup of tea!
After contemplating for a short while, she trembled slightly and shook her head repeatedly. “No, no, no, I don’t want to die young. Let’s change the bet.”
Christina dismissed the proposal, refusing to engage in the bet. “I won’t bet with you. The likelihood of the Stone family going bankrupt is slim.”
Sheridan was not a fool. If he could prevent Barnaby from acknowledging his illegitimate son and take control of the Stone family within six months, the man must have possessed remarkable capabilities and skills.
Victoria, who had limited interactions with Sheridan, was unaware of his true abilities. Curiously, she asked, “Don’t you have faith in the capabilities of your man?”
Christina smiled, her lips curling, “Nathaniel is irreplaceable in my heart. But the battles in the business world are like cruel games, where the winner takes it all. However, destiny is unpredictable, and no one can accurately predict the future outcomes.”
Victoria instantly lost interest, saying, “Never mind then, let’s forget about the bet. We’ve seen enough of the rehearsal. Shall we go backstage?”
“Come, let’s go.” Christina turned around and was ready to head in the backstage direction.
Suddenly, a plump figure abruptly dashed in front of Christina, catching her off guard. Victoria swiftly positioned herself in front of Christina, giving the intruder a stern gaze. “Who are you? Who gave you permission to come here? What do you want?”
Hendrick’s gaze cunningly fixated on Christina, and a wide smile spread across his face, narrowing his eyes into slits.
He nervously rubbed his hands together. “Um… Mrs. Hadley, don’t you remember me? I’m Hendrick Labarge. We had the pleasure of meeting before. Mr. Hadley was planning to discuss a partnership with me.”
Victoria glanced at Christina, her eyes filled with curiosity. Christina pondered for a moment. “Mr.” Labarge. I’m sorry, it took me a while to recognize you.”
Hendrick’s expression turned smug as he disregarded Victoria’s presence. He eagerly extended an invitation to Christina. “It seems like fate has brought us together. There’s this great restaurant just around the corner. How about we grab lunch together? I’ve got something important to discuss regarding our potential collaboration.”
It was not difficult to tell Hendrick had an ulterior motive toward Christina.
Christina declined the offer. “I’m sorry, but I have a lot of work to attend to. If Mr. Labarge wishes to order a dress from us, you can contact the person in charge at the studio. They will be happy to a*sist you.”
Hendrick grew impatient and attempted to grab Christina, but Victoria, who stood between them,
forcefully swatted his hand away.
“How dare you hara*s a married woman in broad daylight? Are you tired of living freely and want to spend a few days behind bars?” Victoria’s eyes narrowed with a cold gaze as if she were about to wield a big sword and sever Hendrick’s indecent hand.
The sharp pain on the back of his hand shattered Hendrick’s lustful thoughts. He awkwardly retracted his hand and said, “I apologize, Ms. Lesley, I didn’t mean any harm toward Mrs. Hadley, I was just overwhelmed after meeting her. Please forgive me, Mrs. Hadley.”
Hendrick’s frivolous actions were purely instinctive. However, Christina and Victoria, having experienced enough of such behavior, were not easily fooled by his words.
Christina had some interest in Hendrick, but only because he might be useful to her. Before she could obtain the evidence from him, she thought it would be best not to provoke him. “Mr. Labarge, I’m occupied with preparations for the upcoming fashion show in two days, leaving me little time for a lunch meeting. I’ll talk to Mr. Hadley on your behalf and ask him to directly discuss the collaboration with you. What do you think?”
