and inhumane!”
Eva, her eyes red with tears, pulled at me. “Sister Pathy, please don’t do this! If you’re willing, I can go back to working at Thorne Company. I can let you be the Vice President of Thorne Company, okay? Three thousand a month?”
I curled my lip, letting out an involuntary expletive. “Eva, you never valued the Thorne family anyway. If you want it, it’s yours, but I
won’t be returning.”
Julian looked at Eva’s tearful, aggrieved face, his heart aching. He pulled Eva into a tight embrace and angrily rebuked me, “Audrey, what do you have to be so proud of? You only snatched a small project! The Thorne family is going to partner with the Remington Group, the richest family in the country! We’ll be listed in no time! When that happens, even if you come crawling back, begging, we
won’t want you!”
I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “I wish you all the best with your dreams.” With that, I ordered security to escort them out.
Back in my office, after pondering for a long time, I made a call to my aunt. The
oment she answered, I heard her excited voice. Audrey, have you thought it over? Have you changed your mind and decided to come work at the Remington Group?”
I smiled and politely declined my aunt’s offer. “Auntie, I want to venture out on my own for a while. However, I’d like to participate in that Remington Group project. But I don’t need you to pull strings; I want to compete fairly, if that’s alright? May the best company
win.”
My aunt sounded a little disappointed, but she still agreed to my request. “No problem, Audrey. Your aunt believes you can win this project on your own merits. I won’t tell anyone your identity. I’ll have the company conduct a selection process for the partnership,
evaluating the proposals.” I nodded, thanked my aunt, and after chatting for another half an hour, I hung up.
Ten minutes later, the Remington Group’s official social media account posted an announcement. The Remington Group’s project would hold a partnership proposal selection in three months to determine the collaborating party. The news immediately set the entire internet ablaze. Earlier rumors had suggested the Remington Group would partner with the Thorne family, leading everyone to believe collaboration was hopeless. Now, with a public selection, every company had a chance. Many powerful corporations im-
mediately began preparing their bids overnight.
If I was going to win the Remington project, I needed to be thoroughly prepared. This lucrative opportunity would undoubtedly attr-
act countless competitors. I gathered all my core employees and informed them of my intention to compete for the Remington
Group project. Everyone was astonished, finding it unbelievable. After all, we were a small company, only a few months old, yet we
were aiming for such a massive project; it seemed an insurmountable challenge. I smiled. “It’s certainly difficult, but isn’t it also a ‘chailenge?”
Chapter2
22:16
Hearing my words, everyone stood up, expressing their determination to give it their al!. So, for the next three months, our entire company worked day and night, everyone pouring their efforts into creating the most perfect and best project proposal. During thi time, the Thorne parents frantically tried to contact me, calling me, ambushing me in the underground parking garage. Eventually, was stopped by them.
I looked at them with an impatient, cold gaze. “If you dare to harass me again, I will call the police.”
Mrs. Thorne cursed at me, then Mr. Thorne pulled her away. Immediately, they began to question me. “Audrey, what’s going on with the Remingtons? Didn’t they say they were going to partner with our Thorne family? Why are they now announcing an open selecti- on online?”
I glanced at them, sent a message to the security guards on my phone, then slowly and calmly replied, “What does that have to de with me? That’s the Remington Group’s business. Besides, the collaboration between Remington and Thorne was still in negotiati- on; it wasn’t finalized. Isn’t it perfectly normal for them to not want to directly partner with the Thorne family and instead seek a better partner?” With that, I got into my car and drove away right in front of them. My focus was solely on the project now; I had no time to continue dealing with them.
My assistant sent me a file outlining the Thorne family’s current situation. The Thorne company was now in complete chaos. The moment the shareholders heard about the change in leadership, they immediately dumped their shares and left, causing the Tho ne company’s stock to flood the market, leading to a dramatic plummet in share price. Furthermore, the Thorne company’s new! recruited employees were all Eva’s and the Thorne parents‘ relatives and friends. All the freeloaders from the Thorne family who had previously tried to join the company had been driven out by me. Now, with Eva hiring them back, it would only make Thorne Company’s situation even worse.
After reading their current state, I smiled, feeling much better, and returned to revising the project proposal.
A week later, it was the day of the Remington Group’s bidding. I arrived at the Remington Group with my team and our proposal. The moment I entered, I saw some familiar faces.
Julian saw me and walked over, a mocking expression on his face. “Audrey, did you regret it? Chasing after us all the way to the Remington Group?”
Eva’s eyes flashed with disgust, but she forced
come back to the company. But our Saccharine smile “Sister Pathy, if you’ve had a change of heart, you can always
would you?”
is
bit
full right now. There’s only a janitorial position available. You wouldn’t mind,
Julian wrapped his arm around Eva’s waist, looking at me disdainfully. “She probably can’t even afford to eat now. Giving her a janitorial job is a charity. He then produced an invitation and flicked it at my face. “Audrey, Eva and I are getting married next mon th. Considering our long acquaintance, you’re welcome to attend.”
I caught the invitation, tossed it into a nearby trash can, and scoffed. “I’m doing perfectly fine, thank you. After all, I have a billion dollars from you all, and I’ve secured several excellent projects. In fact, I should thank dear Eva. These projects were originally me- ant for the Thorne family, but perhaps you were too busy to bother with them, so I got a good deal.”
Eva’s face instantly went white, her eyes blazing with murderous rage. Julian patted Eva’s shoulder comfortingly. “Audrey, what do you have to be so proud of? They’re just minor contracts. Eva simply took pity on you and let you have them. Otherwise, why would they abandon the Thorne company, with its decades of history, and choose to work with a small company like yours? It’s still beca- use of the Thorne family’s reputation.” He continued, “Our Thorne company’s goal is the Remington Group’s multi–billion dollar proj ect. We can’t be bothered with your tiny projects. The Remington Group actually had people reach out to our company before to learn more. The Remington Group definitely wants to work with our company; this public selection is just a formality.”
Hearing Julian’s words, I couldn’t help but twitch my lips. I truly didn’t know who gave him such baseless confidence, allowing him to be so self–important.
The head of the Remington Group descended the stairs. “Ladies and gentlemen participating in this project selection, please
22.10
The head of the Remington Group descended the stairs. “Ladies and gentlemen participating in this project selection, please follow me to the conference room. This time, the final decision for the proposal will be made by our CEO, Ms. Remington.” Hearing this, everyone in the hall instantly became tense. Representatives approached to collect our proposals.
When Eva saw me produce my proposal, she finally realized I was also participating in the project selection. Julian frowned. “Audr- ey, are you deliberately trying to snatch this project from Eva? This is a Remington Group project! What right does a newly establis- hed small company like yours have to participate?”
I couldn’t be bothered to respond to Julian. I simply walked past him, following the Remington Group’s representative to the confe- rence room. Julian and Eva followed closely behind.
An hour later, an assistant walked out with the selected proposals. “Our CEO has personally reviewed all these proposals. The pro- posal our CEO has chosen is…” Everyone’s hearts instantly leaped into their throats. The assistant smiled and held up a contract. ” Proposal number twelve. The Sterling Corporation’s proposal.”
I sighed. Although I didn’t win this project, it taught me a lot. There was always someone better, and the sky was truly boundless. The assistant suddenly walked up to me. “Ms. Bellwether, our CEO says your proposal was slightly lacking in detail, but its innovati- on and completeness were absolutely perfect. Our company has another project, and we would like to collaborate with you. Would that be possible?” My eyes instantly lit up. “Yes, of course.”
Eva lunged forward, pushing me to the ground. “You must have made a mistake! The Remington Group was supposed to partner with our Thorne company! Why did you choose another company, and this newly established one at that? What right does she have to partner with the Remingtons? Are you all out of your minds?”
The assistant’s face instantly turned cold. At the same time, the conference room door suddenly opened, and a woman in a sharp suit, radiating an imposing aura, walked in. Seeing me on the ground, she immediately rushed over and helped me up. “Audrey, what happened to you?“!
The assistant stepped forward. “CEO Remington, why are you here?”
My aunt looked at Eva, her brows furrowed. “You must be the Thorne family’s newly found daughter?”
nt’s identity
Eva immediately recognized my and nodded. “CEO Remington, Thorne Company is now under my management. I hope to collaborate with you.”
My aunt scoffed. “Collaborate with the Remington family? With your pathetic, amateurish proposal? Do you think the Remington Group is a charity?” She then added, her voice chilling, “And you dared to lay hands on my niece. I think the Thorne family’s journey ends here. From today forward, any company that collaborates with the Thorne family will be blacklisted by the Remington Group. Everyone, take note.”
That one sentence effectively blacklisted the Thorne family. Eva immediately panicked. Julian also realized something was wrong and looked at me. “Audrey, CEO Remington is your aunt? Why didn’t we know? Why didn’t you tell us?”
I looked at them coldly. “What connection do you have to me? Why would I tell you?”
Finally, Eva and Julian were kicked out of the company. In less than a week, the Thorne family was forced to pay millions in comp- ensation and was burdened with tens of millions in debt. During this time, Julian and everyone from the Thorne family frantically tried to contact me. But I had blocked all their numbers, and I had bodyguards with me. The moment they appeared near me, they were thrown into the police station.
The last I saw of them was on the news. The Thorne parents were dead. Julian had killed them. Eva had cheated on him with a wealthy man, and Julian discovered it. In a fit of rage, Julian killed everyone in the Thorne family. Julian was also sentenced to death.
My nightmare finally ended. Everything was just beginning.
