After Bella finished eating the chocolate, she playfully put the remaining half of the chocolate bar into
Stevenâs suit pocket and patted his chest.
âHm. Youâre pretty fit.â
Stevenâs heart skipped a beat. His cheeks were warm, and his mouth was dry because she teased
him.
Steven was four years older than Bella. Back then, Stevenâs father was the head of KS Groupâs legal
department and had always been highly regarded by Wyatt. So Steven often visited Yara Park when he
was a teenager.
Steven still remembered the first time he met Bella in the back garden of Yara Park. He saw a beautiful
little girl decked out in a costume, prancing from afar.
He thought that he was hallucinating, so he rubbed his eyes. But that little angel âflewâ to him. She was
wearing a pure white angel costume, and she looked ethereal.
âHey, do you have any candy?â Bella got off her skateboard, stepped on the edge of it, and grabbed
onto it in one smooth motion.
âHuh?â
Steven panicked. He secretly cursed himself for having impure thoughts about a little girl.
But that girl was stunning. She looked like a goddess. Anyone who looked at her would be fascinated
by her.
âNever mindâ¦â
Bella sighed in disappointment, put down her skateboard, and was about to leave, but Steven grabbed
her arm.
Her arm was so thin that his fingers could encircle it.
âWait.â
Steven pursed his lips, took out a piece of chocolate from his pocket, and handed it to her. âIs this
okay?â
âYes! Thank you so much!â
Bella smiled broadly, took the chocolate, opened the wrapper, and took a bite.
Her charming eyes squinted in joy.
From then on, every time Steven went to Yara Park, he always brought chocolates or candies with him,
just like a mobile snack cart.
He kept up this habit until today.
As long as Bella wanted something sweet, she would go to him.
The press conference was intense.
Zeke was agitated. He stared at the reporter and said angrily, âI will say it again for the last time.
There are no quality issues with Gold Corporationâs products! I swear on my life!â
âSince itâs not a quality issue, why did KS Group hotels across the country cancel all of their orders with
your company overnight? Mr. Gold, you ought to give the public a reasonable explanation for this
matter.â The reporterâs eyes were sharp, and he refused to drop this topic.
The comments on the live broadcast were incessant.
[He swears on his life, huh? It seems like heâs telling the truth if heâs so serious about it.]
[Perhaps his life isnât worth a penny.]
[Anyway, I will still return those products regardless of the quality issue. Just look at his pesky and
haughty face! Whoever is in their PR department should find a better speaker.]
âYou want an explanation, huh? Fine, Iâll give you an explanation!â
Zekeâs eyes suddenly became sinister. âIâve reflected on myself because of this incident, and it is
indeed negligence in my management. After all, there are hundreds of Alia Furniture stores across the
country, and I canât possibly check them all. A few of my employees harmed the interests of my
company due to their own selfish desires. I have already dealt with the people involved and punished
them seriously as soon as I found out. I have also thought of all possible ways to make amends. But as
the saying goes, it takes two to tango. If it hadnât been for someone in KS Group bribing my staff, would
things have turned out this way? KS Group now wants to put all the blame on my company. Donât you
all think that itâs overboard?â
Everyone was shocked to hear this.
âZeke can really lie without a conscience. How could he pin the blame on KS Group? How shameless!â
Ian looked at Zekeâs shameless face and began to feel sorry for the Thompson family.
Justinâs eyes were gloomy and sharp as knives.
âExpose the evidence I collected!â Zeke ordered.
In an instant, a photo and bank statement appeared on the projector.
âThese are the chat records between Michael Gordon, the vice president of Savrowâs KS World Hotel,
and the general manager of Alia Furniture. There are also photos of private meetups and evidence of
the kickbacks and bribes Michael received. All this has nothing to do with the Gold Corporation.
Michael, a senior executive of KS World Hotel, secretly colluded with my employees to purchase cheap
products. That was why this ruckus happened. My family is the victim here! KS Group tried to protect
themselves by dragging us into the quagmire. How could a big conglomerate like them bully small
enterprises like us? We must protect our rights and interests by using the law against them!â
Zeke became more enthusiastic. His face was flushed, and he was also convinced by his speech.
He thought, âThat Thompson bitch never wouldâve seen this coming, right? I bet sheâs dumbfounded!â
Michael was the lamb he had planned to sacrifice early on. Thus, Zeke had left traces and collected
evidence from the very beginning of their interaction, waiting to use it at a critical moment to make a
thorough comeback.
Ian clenched his fists. âItâs over. All of a sudden, the public is criticizing KS Group again, saying that
theyâre monopolizing the market and not allowing small enterprises to survive.â
Justin frowned. His face became frigid.
Just as Zeke was getting carried away, the speakers in the banquet hall screeched.