?Chapter 1478:


    Cedric offered a calm smile.


    “When someone finally finds the courage to take the first step, it gets easier to keep moving forward.”


    A faint smile tugged at Dani’s lips.


    With adrenaline pumping through him, Niks was ready to do something big. But at thepany’s entrance, he saw Hamilton, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time.


    All the momentum drained from Niks in an instant. The fire in his chest dimmed beneath Hamilton’s cold, judgmental stare.


    Hamilton stood with his usual smugness, arms folded, chin tilted slightly up.


    “So, this is yourpany? Is this your big leap toward independence? Go on—show me how far you’ve reallye on your own.”


    He then marched straight into Niks’pany, not bothering to wait for an answer.


    “So, how many people are working here now?” he called over his shoulder, his tone dripping with challenge.


    Niks kept close behind, answering, “We’ve got just over a hundred employees now.”


    Hamilton’sughter rang out—loud, scornful, echoing through the open workspace for everyone to hear.


    “A hundred? Really?” He shot Niks a sidelong nce, eyebrows raised.


    “You’re acting like you’ve actually aplished something. You walked away from a family business with real power just to start apany with over a hundred people? That’s what you call ambition?”


    Without missing a beat, Hamilton kept walking, his gaze sweeping the office with clear contempt.


    “I figured you were running off to Dani because she’d hand you some cushy position. But all you’ve got is this?”


    Just as Niks opened his mouth to argue, Hamilton’s gaze shifted to the staff moving around the office.


    “Would you look at these people? No uniforms, no sense of order. Anyone stepping in here would think it’s a chaotic startup run by amateurs.”


    Niks’s hands balled into fists behind his back, knuckles white, as he forced himself to swallow the anger boiling up inside him.


    Hamilton cast a scornful look over the room. “This is what you call apany? Pathetic. And you look exhausted. Those dark circles—don’t you feel ashamed dragging our family’s reputation through the mud? Next time you step outside, don’t even think about calling yourself a McCoy.”


    That biting phrase was Hamilton’s favorite weapon, hurled so often it hit with bruising force.


    Niks clenched his fists, struggling to keep his simmering anger in check.


    “What’s the matter? You don’t like what I’m saying?”


    Without waiting for a response, Hamilton grabbed the project proposal from the table and started thumbing through it like it was nothing.


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