Just now... Where did that sound co from?!
"There’s a motion-sensor tid bomb hidden behind your chair. If you move even half a centiter, the bomb will detonate imdiately."
The raspy, irritable voice ca again. Ann Vaughn was too distracted wondering where the person was hiding to notice. Realizing there was a bomb under the chair she was sitting on made her scalp tingle and cold sweat break out on her back.
A bomb?
Has Orion Hawthorne gone mad?!
Though she had guessed that Orion wouldn’t let her off easily, she thought she still had so value, so he wouldn’t harm her yet.
But she never imagined he’d be crazy enough to use sothing as extre as a bomb, proving that from the start he never planned to let her live!
"Who are you? How do you know this?" Ann Vaughn’s shoulders trembled slightly as she forced herself to suppress the fear and unease in her heart and spoke out.
The wooden cabin was silent.
As if the second person didn’t exist at all.
Ann Vaughn pressed her red lips together and waited patiently, not urging him. After a while, she heard the sound of chains dragging on the ground behind her, coming closer and closer.
She pinched her palm hard, then steeled herself and turned to look—
There stood a slender teenager, his face dirty and his whole body covered in rags. His hands and feet were bound with thick iron chains, his expression blank.
"Are you locked here by Orion Hawthorne?" Ann Vaughn was sowhat startled—not by the boy’s horrifically pitiful appearance.
But by the dense marks from needle injections on his arms, which sent a chill down her spine.
"Mind your own business." The boy shot her a cold glance, picked up the scattered food and water from the ground, and retreated back to the corner.
Still a temperantal one.
Ann Vaughn said to herself, but there was no trace of anger.
If he hadn’t warned her just now, she probably would have inadvertently triggered the bomb.
But the feeling of having a bomb directly under her seat wasn’t pleasant. If Ann Vaughn’s psyche was a bit more fragile, she might have already been scared to tears by now.
Thinking about this left Ann Vaughn feeling helpless, at a loss about what to do. Was she really going to sit here idly waiting to die?
After quite a while, Ann Vaughn tentatively spoke to the young boy behind her, "Little brother, could you help ?"
No response ca except for the faint sound of chewing.
"Considering we’re both trapped here, can you help untie ?"
"Untie you, and let you accidentally leave the chair? If you die, that’s your own problem, but you’re trying to drag down with you?" The boy replied in a hoarse voice, but his tone was sharp and resistant.
"..." Ann Vaughn fell silent, realizing that this boy was bound by iron chains and probably couldn’t leave this place.
If she accidentally left the chair and set off the bomb, he too would perish, hence his warning.
Otherwise, she probably wouldn’t have discovered that soone else was here all along...
And Ann Vaughn was even unaware that within a single night, The Imperial Capital was about to turn upside down.
First, several high-ranking officials of Hawthorne Group submitted their resignations one after another, claiming they were sincerely invited by Horizon and couldn’t resist, even taking outstanding talents from under their command along with them.
In an instant, the entire Hawthorne Group was in turmoil, and people were on edge.
But at this mont, a piece of news about comrcial developnt in the west of the city broke, and after being broadcast by The Imperial Capital News, within half an hour it spread all over.
Everyone knew the west of the city was far from as promising as the south. One had favorable terrain, while the other didn’t. It was clear which was better.
The governnt’s abrupt shift of intention from the south to the west left everyone unprepared.
When word got out that the west had already been claid by Hawthorne Group, those who had laughed at Cyrus Hawthorne’s misguided decision just days ago fell silent.
How could this be a "misguided decision"? He clearly had a well-calculated plan, or else, amid everyone praising Horizon,
Hawthorne Corp silently secured that undesirable plot in the west and turned the tables unexpectedly?
But sharply contrasting the joyous atmosphere within Hawthorne Group was the somber gloom cast over Horizon.
What had seed a guaranteed victory with a promising future had now turned into a crushing defeat. Who could accept that?
The conference room was in chaos, as Horizon’s board mbers voiced their grievances towards Orion Hawthorne. If he couldn’t co up with a solution, he might as well quit being the CEO!
Orion Hawthorne felt like his brain was about to explode—not to ntion finding a solution; he now had an overwhelming urge to kill Cyrus!
What was there left that he didn’t understand?
From the start of this developnt project, Cyrus had been laying a trap. No matter what asures Horizon took or the scandal crisis Hawthorne faced recently.
It was all to make Horizon waste a fortune on acquiring the useless plot in the south, resulting in nothing but wasted efforts!
He surely had long known the governnt’s true intention lay in the west, not the south, otherwise he couldn’t have strategized so precisely!
Even Ann Vaughn was rely a bait set by Cyrus Hawthorne to lure him into the trap willingly!
Realizing all this made Orion’s throat taste tallic. He almost coughed up a mouthful of blood, clutching his chest and struggling to breathe.
And yet, he wasn’t the only one in a frantic panic.
The high-ranking officials and talents who submitted their resignations leaving Hawthorne with pride and optimism hadn’t had ti to celebrate their bright future; the good tis they envisioned had already co to an end.
The reason they agreed to join Horizon in the first place was because Orion promised them better terms, using the southern developnt project as bait.
But since the southern project was effectively ruined, it ant Horizon’s loss wasn’t just astronomical—it might even face bankruptcy!
If they don’t... won’t they be dragged down with it?
No one cared about their fate now, as Hawthorne Corp was undergoing its most extensive purge in recent years.
Several top executives stepped down, and insidious lines Horizon had planted within the group were uprooted entirely, leaving no trace.
Those who remained at Hawthorne Group were no longer the so-called veterans who simply collected dividends without doing real work, relying on their seniority and connections. Only the best of the best remained.
But when reporters attempted to interview Cyrus Hawthorne, the mastermind behind this series of events, he was nowhere to be found.
-
Within a cabin in the outskirts.
Ann Vaughn leaned drowsily against her chair, suddenly hearing the sound of a mineral water bottle hitting the ground, followed by the ear-piercing clatter of chains, instantly dispelling any sleepiness.
The noise behind her was considerable, accompanied by the boy’s suppressed whimpering breaths. Sowhat worried, Ann Vaughn turned her head and asked, "What’s wrong?"
Ann Vaughn didn’t hear his answer and continued, "I’m a doctor. If you’re feeling unwell, tell so I can help you."
"None of your business!" The boy growled at her angrily, curling his whole body deeper into the corner. Only the occasional sound of chains indicated he was still in pain.
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