?Chapter 2269:


    And Hadley… she was Eric’s greatest vulnerability.


    To be precise, Gifford was attempting to wrench a crucial project from Eric’s grasp.


    Sess would deliver massive profits to the Scott Group and reward every board member handsomely.


    Gifford believed that his grand victory,bined with Eric’s deteriorating health, would inevitably lead to Eric’s removal as the sessor of the Scott Group.


    Provoking Eric would buy him precious time, and time spelled opportunity.


    Watching Eric’s fury build, Gifford pressed his advantage.


    He leaned closer, his voice oozing with malicious satisfaction. “About your woman’s illness—that was my handiwork. You know that now, don’t you?”


    Eric’s pupils shrank to pinpoints as molten rage zed in his eyes.


    He seized Gifford by the cor, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper. “I’ll kill you, you bastard!”


    Eric’s towering frame, a legacy from Ferris, dwarfed Gifford by more than a head. Lifting him was as effortless as hoisting a feather.


    Yet Gifford, despite the humiliating disparity in their sizes, refused to surrender. He stiffened his neck defiantly and sneered. “You want me dead? Then finish it! Your woman suffered because of me—if you’re truly a man, don’t retreat!”


    “You think I won’t?” Eric’s rage erupted like a volcano. Maintaining his grip on Gifford with one hand, he raised his other fist, muscles coiled to strike.


    “Eric!” Hadley intervened at the crucial moment, seizing his arm and shaking her head frantically. “Don’t! Can’t you see? He’s baiting you!”


    Though Hadley couldn’t grasp theplexities of corporate warfare, she possessed enough insight to recognize that Gifford wasn’t foolish or deranged—he wouldn’t instigate a confrontation without purpose.


    Her words pierced Eric’s fury, and hisbored breathing gradually steadied while the murderous haze in his eyes began to dissipate.


    Relief swept through him as he realized Hadley had intervened at the perfect moment. Without her, he would have stumbled directly into Gifford’s carefullyid trap.


    He released his stranglehold and thrust Gifford away with disgust. “Get lost!”


    Gifford stood stunned, his carefully orchestrated n crumbling before his eyes.


    He nced at Hadley, forced to acknowledge that beneath her delicate appearancey a sharp mind.


    He had never anticipated that someone like her would demolish his meticulously crafted scheme.


    “You’ll regret this decision!”


    With those parting words, Gifford adjusted his rumpled cor and stalked into the elevator.


    “Eric.” Hadley threaded her arm through his, her voice gentle with worry. “Are you okay?”


    “I’m fine.” Eric shook his head, his face ashen with residual anger. He sped her hand tightly, guilt swimming in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I know Gifford hurt you, but I can’t retaliate—not yet.”


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