“When Rachel and I were married, was I a monster to her?”
At those words, Frankie’s heart skipped a beat as he warily quizzed, “That’s… out of nowhere.”
“I was, wasn’t I? Although I can’t remember those times clearly, Julian has no reason to lie to me about them.”
Justin tensed his eyebrows, attempting to figure out what it was that made him so upset with a woman. Even if Rachel, a trick sent over by the Hudsons, wasn’t the person he wanted to marry, what did she do so wrong to deserve his ill treatment?
As he held the documents in hand, Frankie paused at the door and muttered, “Don’t overthink it, President Burton. Things must have happened for a reason.”
“What happened to Rachel’s grandmother later on?”
After hesitating for a while, the assistant answered, “She was kidnapped, and her health failed her afterward.”
“Did they find out who the kidnappers were?”
“Yes…” Frankie had a hard time speaking up, but he forcefully answered, “They were some desperate lackeys who had bad blood with our company. They couldn’t catch anyone, so they targeted her grandmother. Actually, you went to negotiate right away, but it was already too late by then.”
“And that’s the reason for our divorce?”
Upon seeing how Frankie stayed silent, Justin confirmed his assumption and his eyes darkened. “You may leave.”
“Yes, Sir.”
After changing her clothes in her office, Rachel went to look for Justin.
Since he was the one who decided to switch to a new supplier, it was only natural to let him settle the issue. After all, Burton Pharmaceuticals was his blood and sweat, so who would take care of it if not him?
“Come in.”
The office door was pushed open after a series of knocks, and the sound of Rachel’s heels tapping on the floor echoed in the room. When Justin looked up from his computer, he was stunned when the woman fell into his vision. “Why are you here?”
“There’s nothing weird here, though. I haven’t resigned, have I?”
Placing a file on his table, Rachel stated, “This morning, I received news regarding Mr. Howard’s refusal to renew our partnership contract. Mr. Howard, who has been the supplier of Burton Pharmaceuticals, must have heard something and assumed that we intend to work with Mr. Wayne.”
“You rushed to work from the hospital just because of this?”
“How did you know I came from the hospital?”
Although she was slightly baffled, she didn’t give it much thought. Before Justin could answer her, she steered off from his question and continued, “Anyway, Mr. Howard is definitely not the only one who has heard about it. If this were to spread, the rest of our suppliers would want to cut ties with us, and our upcoming line of distribution will surely fail.”
“I’ll manage it. Take a couple days off and get some rest.”
“What’s that? Are you firing me?”
Justin glowered as he said, “What are you saying?”
Is he not going to fire me?
Rachel’s first instinct was getting fired. After all, other than the issue with Mr. Howard, the other suppliers were rather troublesome as well, and all of these happened only after she took over the company.
All of a sudden, a thundering ringtone interrupted their conversation.
Justin answered his phone right in front of Rachel and said, “Hello?”
From the other side of the phone, a man’s voice was heard. “Justin Burton, your son is in my hands. If you still wish to see him breathing, come to the abandoned theater in Eastown at once!”
When he glanced at the screen, he saw a fabricated number and hung up right away.
For God’s sake, when will these scammers ever learn?
They didn’t even try to find out that he only had one daughter, yet they had the audacity to threaten him.
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