Chapter 223
After disembarking from the plane and not spotting Ethan, Aubree turned to Bowen and asked, “Where is Ethan?”
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Their return trip was so hurried that they couldn’t arrange for a private jet. With tickets in high demand on such short notice, they ended up being spread across different cabin classes. The first–class seats went to Aubree, Enrique, and Bowen, while Alvin and the other two had to settle for business class.
“There were initially only five return tickets available.” Bowen smiled and said, “Ethan bought a ticket to Yastraria. I sent him there to take care of a few matters.”
Aubree chose not to inquire further; after all, it wasn’t her role to interfere in the internal dynamics between superiors and subordinates.
Gilberto arrived to pick up Bowen, and Vincent was also present. With Enrique still there, Bowen felt it was inappropriate to see Aubree off personally. Instead, he reminded her to stay safe on her journey, watching as Vincent escorted her away.
“Alright, that’s enough staring. She’s not interested in you,” Enrique called from the car, noticing that Bowen was still frozen in place. He figuratively doused Bowen’s hopes with cold reality.
This year, the Wilson family faced a challenging celebration. Emery was sentenced to prison, and Ronald exhausted every effort to secure his release, but to no avail–he nearly got himself entangled in the process. He hoped to ask Aubree for help in sparing Emery from his sentence, only to discover that she was in Shiyvania.
The negative publicity surrounding Ronald also affected Trevor, a public figure. Consequently, the stock price of the Wilson Group declined following Emery’s imprisonment.
To make matters worse, it became unclear who was secretly trying to undermine them from the shadows. Multiple government agencies unexpectedly coordinated surprise inspections on other businesses within the Wilson Group, revealing numerous violations–both significant and minor–and mandating immediate corrective actions along with penalties.
While these may seem like minor issues, when they accumulate in this way, they can drive anyone to distrac dinner–getting a hot meal would be a stroke of luck.
orget about enjoying a proper holiday
Ronald had been so stressed lately that he was losing hair in handfuls. His investigation revealed that Aubree wasn’t the only one–someone else had been working against him from the beginning. It turned out to be Bowen all along; he was the one behind all these minor troubles.
Ronald sneered, thinking, “But Aubree must have received my gift by now, right? That girl should know by now—still have tricks. No one crosses the Wilson Group and gets away with it!‘
Ronald made a call. “This is our family’s business, and Bowen keeps interfering. We need to stop that. Let’s create some challenges for him. I heard the Turner Group is interested in the government’s East District project. Although the Wilson Group isn’t involved, we can help its competitors. If I recall correctly, that would be the Lawson family, right?”
“Yes, by partnering with the Lawson family, we need to inform Bowen–he may have significant influence in Rithol City as long as we show him proper respect. However, if we fail to do so, even someone of his stature might struggle to maintain his position,” the person on the other line replied.
Contrary to Ronald’s expectations that Aubree would be in a state of panic, she neither attempted to downplay the news nor deflect responsibility. Playzy’s PR department quickly stated that they would meet public expectations.
Playzy’s transparent approach has garnered public support. Although the parents of the suicidal child were outraged, the platform was not at fault. Ronald manipulated public opinion by mixing truth with falsehood to coerce overprotective parents into fiting numerous complaints, all in an effort to drive Playzy out of business.
Aubree assigned Vincent to manage the Playzy crisis while she went to the hospital to check on the child who had attempted suicide.
She kept her true identity hidden. Recently, the hospital had been crowded with reporters coming and going for interviews, and she seamlessly blended in with them. The child lay in bed, connected to a ventilator, caught between life and death. Most of the time, it was only hospital staff who tended to him; oddly, his parents only appeared when the reporters were present.
