Jonathan was bewildered. "Father, are you sure you''re not mistaken? I have no dealings with the Gardners. How could I have offended them?"


    Skyler frowned. "But the Gardner family is actively working against us on business deals. It''s not public yet, but if this continues, The Williams Group will end up like The Burton Group."


    Skyler looked at his son. "I heard from a business partner that you''re the one who upset them. Jonathan, if The Gardner Group decides to burn money toe after us like they did with The Burton Group, they might not be able to destroy our foundation, but we will suffer heavy losses. The market is tough right now. We have no quarrel with the Gardners, so there''s no reason to take such a hit. Do you understand?"


    "I understand, Father," Jonathan said gravely. "If I''m responsible for this, I''m willing to apologize to them."


    Skyler''s expression softened. "They haven''t escted things yet, which means there''s still room to resolve this. Here''s what you''ll do: fly to Aetheria personally and meet with the head of the Gardner family."


    Skyler had received a hint from a friend that the problem could be easily solved with a simple apology. To him, an apology was a small price to pay to avoid billions in losses and a major conflict.


    As the future heir of the Williams family, Jonathan knew how to be pragmatic and prioritize what was important. "Alright, I''ll have my assistant make the arrangements immediately."


    That afternoon, Jonathan was on a ne to Aetheria.


    Though the Gardners were famously low-key and mysterious, the location of their estate was not a secret. Jonathan took a private ferry to the Gardner family''s exclusive ind. The ind was unbelievably vast, stretching as far as the eye could see. It made sense, given that the Gardner family was arge and populous n. The whole ind belonged to them; the Williams family couldn''tpare in sheer numbers.


    Jonathan arrived at the main gate of the Gardner estate and stated his purpose to the guard.


    "Hello, I am Jonathan, the eldest son of the Williams family. I''m here to visit the head of your family. Could you please announce my arrival?"


    vel


    Few outsiders visited the Gardner family, especially not to see its leader. The guard gave him a once over but didn''t make things difficult. Please wait a moment


    About five minutester, the guard returned. "This way, sir."


    After a thirty-minute walk, the guard led Jonathan to the entrance of a towering building. "Someone inside will guide you from here."


    Jonathan thanked him politely and entered the main hall. A man was already waiting to receive him.


    "Mr. Williams, please follow me," the man said with a smile.


    They walked for another ten minutes inside before finally stopping in front of a room. "Mr. Williams, the family head is still finishing some work. Please wait here for a little while."


    "Of course," Jonathan replied.


    The man showed him into the room and thoughtfully prepared a pot of hot tea for him. Jonathan wasn''t in a hurry. He sat patiently, sipping his tea and waiting.


    He thought they might make him


    wait for a long time. Having weathered many storms, Jonathan wouldn''t get angry over such a slight to his surprise however, he heard footsteps to the hallway af about an hour.


    "Sir, Mr. Williams is waiting for you in here."


    Then, the sound of the door opening followed.


    Jonathanposed himself, standing up to greet the head of the Gardner family.


    Beforeing, he had thoroughly researched the current leader''s history.