At the Locke Group, the higher-ups of the company gathered in a cramped room while a benevolent and kind elderly man was seated right in its center. The seniors studied the elder warily, their eyes filled with fear and respect. The elder’s every move seemed to have the power to cause them anxiety.
Not only that, the old man’s amiable tone of speech was overwhelming in their ears; the more he acted this way, the more the higher-ups’ hands were tied.
“Is Matthias not present in the company today?” asked the old man pleasantly.
The higher-ups were precisely most afraid of this question. They had hoped to leave the room unscathed, but it seemed like it was all merely wishful thinking—naturally, the sharp old man wouldn’t leave out such an important detail.
He took in the senior management’s reaction one by one and his expression shifted slightly. He didn’t need their answer to know that Matthias wasn’t at the company at the moment.
However, the old man didn’t seem upset; his eyes glazed over them coldly and an unreadable smile hung on his lips. Indeed, in the world of business, the elderly weren’t often as kind as they seemed. They could easily become another person in the blink of an eye.
The higher-ups noticed the discontentment of the old man’s face, so they all looked at him with utmost sincerity and respect in hopes of making him feel more at ease. However, the old man did not loosen up. Right now, there was even an added sense of sharpness in his gaze. The crowd didn’t know how to appease him and the entire room was in hushed pandemonium, for nobody was willing to step up.
Outside the closed doors, staff members were frantically dialling Matthias’ phone non-stop, but sadly, no one was picking up. Matthias currently had his full attention on decorating Heather’s villa with his phone set to airplane mode, so it effectively blocked out all manner of cellular contact.
After hours of hard work, Matthias was finally done with his job as Heather’s interior designer before he remembered to switch off the function on his phone. Before he could leave the villa, his phone exploded with never-ending messages as alerts blasted his speakers continuously. All sorts of notifications spammed his screen and he felt like his head would explode soon.
As such, he didn’t have the chance to bid Heather farewell before he left; with his phone acting this way the moment he stepped outside, his mood hit rock bottom in an instant.
However, when he realized the content of the messages, he couldn’t even process his anger as he rushed to his car immediately. He had to return to the Locke Group at once. What he just learned had surprised him completely—he didn’t think the head of the Locke Family would visit Bradfort City in person. The old man wasn’t in good health; in addition to coming all this way to the city, Matthias didn’t know how he was able to arrive safely.
Nonetheless, Matthias didn’t have the time to worry about Chester’s health since he was in a much more difficult situation himself. He recalled how strict the old man usually was on him, and he knew that he was in deep trouble this time.
He sped off as fast as he could and arrived in Bradfort when it was nearly post office hours. He went up to the presidential office with his heart restless and uneasy. Just as he was about to push open the door, he hesitated. He noticed that even the new secretary didn’t look so good as she stood outside.
Chester was definitely in the office, and Matthias didn’t know what to say once he opened the door. As he thought of the man’s stern face, he felt apprehensive about going inside.
Things were bound to get complicated the next moment, and Matthias’ mouth twitched as his face was heavy with foreboding. He knew that he would have to face it sooner or later if it was meant to be, for running away wouldn’t do him any good.
After swallowing his restlessness and doubt, he pushed open the door and entered the office. Then, he locked eyes with Chester without showing any form of surprise. His gaze was calm and cold, whereas Chester’s was emotionless. The two exchanged hard looks in silence, and no one was willing to break it off.
Eventually, Matthias decided to compromise. He lowered his head and slowly went up to the elderly. He knew that the old man was going to interrogate him regarding his absence, and he was quietly thinking up the best countermeasure to save himself.
Meanwhile, Chester’s eyes were filled with disappointment for Matthias; the blatant look in his eyes made the latter unsure of how he should explain himself. Matthias suddenly lost the power to take control of the situation, and he could only wait for Chester to pass his judgement.
However, Chester simply remained silent and unfazed. As a result, Matthias didn’t know how to start, and the two maintained their stand in the meantime. He knew what the older man was expecting, but he couldn’t bring himself to admit his faults.
Meanwhile, Chester felt greatly defeated by Matthias’ current behavior, for he didn’t think the man would be unwilling to apologize even in front of him. Naturally, Chester was curious as to why Matthias was so bold all of a sudden.
The two kept quiet in the office, and none of them was planning to back down as they played the staring game. Chester waited patiently for Matthias to give in. The Locke Group wasn’t fully in Matthias’ hands yet, and he was certain that the young man was aware of this.
“Is there a reason you’re here for me, Sir?” Matthias asked nonchalantly. After the long silence, his first words were of such indifference.
At that moment, Chester was even more disappointed when he heard those words—how could Matthias act like this in front of him? The way he had addressed Chester also sent a pang to the latter’s heart.
“Shouldn’t you give me an explanation for not being in the office at a time like this, Matthias?” Chester lost his temper all of a sudden. Since Matthias refused to give him a sincere apology, he didn’t feel the need to be polite.
Matthias looked at Chester calmly, completely unbothered. He didn’t have anything to say at this point. So what if he knew how much power the old man had over this company? After all, he was already planning to get to the bottom of the Locke Group’s forces from the beginning.
“Sir, where would our company be if I don’t make time to meet our clients?” Matthias said casually. He remembered how Chester used to teach him—one shouldn’t hold back when it was time to fight.
Chester’s sudden visit this time was probably to investigate Matthias’ act of disloyalty. Indeed, Matthias was none other than an unpredictable time bomb in the Locke Group, so he already knew that this day would come sooner or later.
Since he had thought about how he would deal with this situation, he was now handling it in a steady manner; it was as though he had been practicing it over and over again in his head. In the end, those words simply rolled off his tongue smoothly without a second thought.
“Have the Lockes ever wronged you, Matthias?” Chester questioned him angrily.
Matthias chuckled as he said, “Have I ever wronged the Lockes, Sir?” He enjoyed seeing Chester being angry, for it made him feel like the head of the family was just a normal human being.
As the old man stared straight at Matthias, he couldn’t see even the slightest guilt in his eyes. He knew that Matthias had long since turned against him, so he could only take away his top position in the company before he could bring any damage that was beyond repairable.
“Matthias, I’m dismissing you as the Locke Group’s president as of today,” said Chester bluntly. He had made the tough decision in just a split second.
Matthias didn’t look too surprised, for he felt like Chester was simply putting on a show in front of him. As he maintained his unconcerned demeanor, he then said, “I’m afraid you can’t dismiss me as you wish, Sir. There is a list of procedures to go through before it can be decided.”
Chester felt powerless against the wicked smile on Matthias’ face, so he stared unblinkingly at Matthias; it was as if by doing that, the latter could feel remorse.
Matthias didn’t budge despite that, and his face was still stiff and cold. After all, he was dubbed ‘The Smiling Tiger’ in the business world. Matthias’ smug grin made Chester descend into greater panic, and the latter thought that perhaps he had really made a mistake all those years ago.
“I was the one who gave you everything, Matthias.” In the end, Chester decided to use the empathy card.
However, the younger man took a seat in front of the desk before he said, “You were also the one who took everything away from me, Sir.” The Lockes had stripped Matthias of his emotions, making him a heartless money-making machine.
“Are you really not grateful for the past, Matthias?” Chester asked in resignation. From the looks of it, Matthias was determined to ruin it all.
“You’ve already made it clear from what you said just now, Sir. None of you have ever put your trust in me, and I’m nothing more than a pawn that can be replaced at any time.” Chester’s earlier words had put a stab in his heart, and it was too late for him to turn it around with nostalgia.
“Why can’t you understand, Matthias? That was just my anger talking.” Chester was still trying to turn the tables. He didn’t want to go too far, for he knew that Matthias wouldn’t be able to handle the pain.
“Stop putting on that pitiful face, Sir. We know each other too well, and the empathy card isn’t going to work on either of us.” Matthias could see through his bluff from the beginning; Chester treated the former with great care and concern on the surface with the sole purpose of gaining better control over him.
There were roles to be played in the Locke Family, be it good or bad. Chester had taken all of these into account, and he always had Matthias wrapped around his finger.
“Matthias, I’ve groomed you for years and I even gave you the highest position in the Locke Group. Why are you still unsatisfied?” Chester asked him bitterly. He thought that Matthias wouldn’t show his hand in such an outright manner, but he was wrong—this was the worst case scenario.
“Do you think I wanted any of this?” Matthias pointed at himself as he argued. “Have you ever asked for my opinion? Who am I to all of you? Is it a must for me to endure everything just because I’m a direct descendant of the Lockes? I’m nothing but an illegitimate child; I’m a disgrace to all of you. You had no choice but to give me this. Not only that, I had to take it at the expense of my mother’s life, my first love, and even my humanity!” Matthias blurted it all out in one breath. He felt relieved, for he had been wanting to say these words to Chester for a long time.
Chester stared at Matthias in astonishment, not expecting this man to have felt so wronged all this while. It appeared that money and power were not all that mattered to some people; stubborn people like Matthias who would cling onto the past existed too.
“You’ve never told me about these.” Chester didn’t know what to say. Right now, Matthias seemed so unfamiliar and different as he stood in front of him.
“How was I supposed to tell you? I’m just a nobody to you; do I have the right to say anything?” Matthias let out a cold scoff. This old man was none other than the biggest culprit—he was the one who made Matthias grovel at his feet for years.
Chester shook his head in dismay. Little did he expect to arrive at such an ending after years of painstaking effort. At the end of the day, Matthias was right—it was them who had robbed him of everything he had.
“I’m sorry. If you need to hold a grudge, just hate me alone. Don’t take it out on the Locke Group.” Chester didn’t want to argue anymore, so he bit back his pride and apologized for the first time.
However, Matthias didn’t accept his apology as it wasn’t what he was looking for. “I’m sorry, Sir. Your apology means nothing to me. What I want is far more than that. I want you to see the Locke Group crumble with your own eyes, and I want you to pay for all the crimes that you’ve done. Be prepared to live in regret for the rest of your life!”
Chester stared at Matthias in terror. So this is what he’s been secretly plotting all this while… The old man had truly underestimated him.
Even though Matthias was still one step away from reaching his goal, he could already see it happening—the Locke Group’s downfall was such a beautiful and rewarding sight to picture.
Chester knew for a fact that the ending was already set in stone. Hence, he lowered his head which was once held high with pride. For the past few years, he had put too much trust in Matthias. In the end, he lost everything to this very same man.
Back then, he probably shouldn’t have agreed to Matthias’ plan of moving all of the Locke Group’s forces to Bradfort City—heck, he shouldn’t have trusted Matthias fully. What a cruel punishment it was for him to watch the Locke Group go under in his remaining years. At last, Chester had truly known defeat.
