Larry shook his head. “We are too careless. When Dustin spoke to me, he told me Alpire Group’s target was the entire Norton Corporation. We didn’t take him seriously then. That was a big mistake from the beginning. They just wanted to lower our guard so that they can achieve their objective faster.”
“No, Dustin wouldn’t do that,” Joan mumbled to herself. As if he was woken from a dream, Larry took out his phone and searched for Dustin’s number. “That’s right. Dustin must know something about this.”
As Joan watched him make the call, they waited for a whole thirty-seven seconds before they heard a female robotic voice inform them that there was no one answering. Both of them exchanged glances and were puzzled as to what was going on.
Joan quickly found her phone on the bed. As if she was grabbing on to the last glimmer of hope, she called Dustin’s number.
Thirty-seven seconds later, she raised her gaze at Larry as the phone she was holding slipped onto the bedsheet.
“No one is picking up.”
After a while, Larry turned off his phone as the flood of notifications he was receiving was giving him a headache. “No, I must head to the office at once.”
Tossing her blanket aside, Joan pushed back her hair. “I’m coming with you.”
News traveled fast indeed. Before they even reached the office, the media had caught wind of the situation and the news dominated the headlines of all major websites.
When Nancy was waiting at a red light, she reached into her bag for a bottle of mineral water. Just when she lifted her head to drink, she heard the news being broadcasted over the radio, causing her to almost spew the water out from her mouth.
“After a brief respite, Alpire Group is back in action in its’ acquisition of Norton Corporation’s subsidiary again…”
Alpire Group? Alpire Group! Does Jory have something to do with this? Is he attacking Norton Corporation again? Fearful of thinking any further, she turned the car around and sped toward Jory’s office.
Meanwhile, Jory, who was in the midst of his morning exercise, was also surprised to hear the news. Takeover? Is this Dustin’s doing? Although Jory was the heir to Alpire Group, he had delegated to Dustin the authority to manage the matter. It shouldn’t be him. We were just admiring the moon the night before.
Jory told himself not to speculate any further. Instead, he should immediately ask the person directly involved. Hence, he had to call Dustin at once.
The moment he called, he received a message saying Dustin’s line was busy. Why is his line busy? Can there be someone else wanting to talk to him during a moment like this? After ending the call, Jory patiently waited for a minute before calling again.
This time, the line was no longer busy. Instead, it went unanswered. Why isn’t anyone answering? How can this be? Did he dispose of his phone away right after answering the earlier call?
Jory was puzzled. After changing out of his sports attire and into his office suit, he saw a striking red Bentley driving in from afar. Jory stood where he was to await his guest’s arrival.
Wearing a pair of flats, Nancy ran over to him once the car came to a stop. With the wind blowing in her hair, her fringes strewn messily all over her face.
Holding her phone, its screen was still lit up. She looked upset and seemed to want to show him something.
“Nancy, what are you doing here so early in the morning?”
Still panting heavily, Nancy raised her phone at him. “D-Did you do this?”
Glancing over, it was indeed the news of Norton Corporation being taken over. If he denied it, no one in their right mind would believe him. After all, he was inextricably linked to Alpire Group.
“Would you believe me if I said it wasn’t me?” Jory asked her in return.
Nancy furrowed her eyebrows. “Since when do you need to say something like that to me? If you say that it wasn’t you, of course, I would believe you.”
As Nancy’s trust warmed Jory’s heart, he pulled her into his embrace without any hesitation. Resting his chin on her hair, he explained in a gentle voice, “Thank you for your trust. To be clear, this isn’t my doing and I have no idea what’s going on. Hence, I’m on my way to investigate the matter.”
