The room was so quiet, the ticking clock above the door sounded deafening.
"For that reason," Adrian continued, "your family’s contract—ten billion dollars—is hereby terminated."
Avery gasped, but no sound followed.
Adrian didn’t pause.
"The current offer that was being processed, which was to push you into the tier-one circle—it’s canceled."
He pulled out another file from the third briefcase, snapped it shut, and then added coldly, "And the staff mber who was helping you internally—Mr. Henry Lasco—has been fired this morning. Effective imdiately."
Upon hearing what he just said Avery blinked as if she hadn’t heard properly.
"You don’t have anyone at GSK anymore."
And then... silence, her lips trembled, her body gave out beneath her.
Her knees buckled and she collapsed flat to the floor.
Adrian’s expression remained unreadable as he turned slightly, signaling two uniford security personnel standing by the entrance.
"Take her to the hospital," he said firmly, nodding toward Avery, who lay motionless on the floor.
"Yes sir," one of them replied imdiately. They gently lifted her and carried her out with quiet urgency, her heels dragging against the floor, her pride shattered behind them.
At that mont the room was dead silent again.
Then Adrian turned his gaze toward Darren.
Darren didn’t need anyone to tell him he was next.
His throat dried instantly. His hands trembled slightly, tucked beneath the table as though hiding them might hide his fear.
He tried to hold Adrian’s eyes—but failed, Darren’s heartbeat roared in his ears. His mind raced with just one cold truth:
If Adrian announced a termination now... he was done, not just him, his father. His uncles. The entire family.
GSK wasn’t just a partnership to them. It was the oxygen they breathed.
Their contracts fed their factories.
Their loans fed their expansion.
GSK was the pillar. If that pillar cracked, everything else would fall.
And unlike Edward’s family—whose reach was wide enough to survive the storm, even if wounded—Darren knew one thing: if his contract was pulled, they wouldn’t make it till next week.
His father would disown him, there would be no second chance.
And for the first ti in years, Darren felt real fear, he didn’t know what Adrian was about to say, he didn’t know if he could survive it.
Without wasting anymore ti Darren’s knees hit the floor hard.
He didn’t care, he didn’t even feel the pain. His body trembled too much for that.
Tears stread down his face, falling freely as his hands clasped together in front of him. "Please... Sir Raymond... I didn’t an to— I swear I didn’t an to... I was only following Edward’s lead. It was him, and Avery... and Emma... they made say and do all those things."
His voice cracked, sha swallowing the rest of his words. He looked like a boy, not a man who once mocked others from a place of false pride.
He lowered his head to the floor again. "I didn’t know who you were... I didn’t know," he repeated, voice barely a whisper now.
Across the room, Edward sat frozen. His eyes stared at nothing in particular. His shoulders were slumped, lifeless, like soone had drained the strength out of him. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak.
He was a shell.
Still Adrian didn’t even glance in his direction.
Raymond stepped forward instead, his expression unreadable. Calm. Composed. Controlled.
Then he bent slightly—just enough to et Darren at eye level.
Upon seeing Raymond in front of him, Darren lifted his tear-streaked face slowly, confused.
Then Raymond spoke, voice low, firm—without anger, without pity.
Raymond’s eyes didn’t flicker. His tone wasn’t angry—it was too calm to be angry. But beneath that calm was a storm so fierce it made Darren’s blood run cold.
"I don’t forgive," he said, voice low but clear. "Not when it cos to Valentina."
Darren, still on his knees, couldn’t even lift his head.
Raymond crouched slightly, leveling their gaze. "I made a promise to myself. If anyone, even by accident, pushes her—if she trips, gets hurt, or even frowns because of soone—I’ll destroy everything tied to that person."
Imdiately Darren’s lip trembled. His hands were shaking.
"For making her question her worth..." Raymond’s voice dropped even lower, "for making her feel anything less than what she is... for stressing her, for mocking her in Front of ... you will pay."
Raymond’s voice didn’t raise, but the threat in it was louder than any scream.
"This is just the beginning."
He stood up slowly, brushed off invisible dust from his trousers, and glanced back down at Darren like soone staring at a smudge on glass.
"If you ever co near her again, even an inch... your family won’t just lose everything—they’ll vanish."
Then Raymond turned, and with the smallest curve of his lips, he smiled.
Darren’s eyes widened, glassy and hollow, like his soul had just slipped out of his body. He didn’t blink. He didn’t breathe. His knees didn’t even feel like they were on the ground anymore—they felt like they’d sunk straight through it.
At that mont Adrian turned to the room, his voice sharp and unyielding. "Darren’s family investnt with GSK has officially been cancelled."
A few murmurs rose, but no one dared say a word.
"They’ve failed to et the required terms, especially the interest attached to the agreent," Adrian continued. "We’ve given them ti. We’ve shown rcy. But that grace expired today."
Darren’s lips trembled. His heart was hamring. He wanted to scream, to explain, to beg—but the words simply wouldn’t co.
"By tomorrow morning," Adrian added, "GSK expects a full paynt of six billion dollars. Five for the principal investnt. One for the accrued interest."
He paused for effect. "If they fail to et that deadline, we will publicly declare a business war against your family. GSK will not be responsible for what happens next."
Silence fell like a boulder.
Darron didn’t move. His face was frozen, drained of life. And just like that, everyone’s eyes slowly turned to Liam.
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