"You two are still scheming together?" Henry sneered, growing more brazen. "I swear, you two are a perfect match-an illegitimate child and a maid''s daughter."


    "Henry." Lucas'' voice darkened as he lowered his gaze to Henry''s hand-the one he had twisted during the engagement ceremony when Henry had spoken out of turn. It was still wrapped in gauze.


    Henry flinched at the menacing look in Lucas'' eyes, visibly shrinking back in fear.


    "Apologize to Serena," Lucas ordered, stepping forward. The sheer force of his presence was enough to make me pause.


    Was this really the same Lucas I knew?


    Caught between pride and fear, Henry turned desperately to Xena. "Xena, look at him!"


    Xena could no longer pretend to be uninvolved. She red at her pathetic younger brother before turning to me with a practiced, insincere smile. "Serena, Henry has been stuck at home for days. He''s in a bad mood. Please be understanding."


    She was always like this-putting on a perfect facade while hiding her venom underneath.


    But I knew better than to y along. "Ms. Schneider, I can tolerate your brother''s behavior when it''s directed at me. But what about the outside world? Who''s going to tolerate him then? Look at him. This time, he only injured his hand. What if the consequences are worse next time?"


    "You" Henry''s face burned with rage. He made a move toward me, but Xena held him back.


    At that moment, the elevator doors opened. Lucas and I stepped out first, leaving them behind.


    "Serena," Oliver greeted me as I approached. "What are you doing here? Mr. Hastings is still in a meeting."


    "It''s been going on for this long?" I was surprised.


    He nodded. "But he said you can go in first."


    I nced at Lucas, who gave me a slight nod. Then, I pushed open the conference room door.


    It was only then I realized Alex was in the middle of a virtual meeting on the screen, I saw Robert and several other shareholders of Hastings Group.


    "This is Serena Ashford, ourpany''s head office assistant Alex introduced me. "She''s been overseeing the discussions with Schneider Group. Since she''s here, I assume she has some updates for us."  s?novel


    He gave me an encouraging look before stepping aside.


    I nodded and approached the microphone. "Hello, Mr. Hastings Senior. Hello, everyone. The news bring today concerns our potential partnership with Schneider Group. The one who reached out tome is Lucas Schneider, the rising star of the Schneider family."


    "Lucas?" Several voices on the other end eximed in surprise.


    "Mr. Schneider is impressive. No one had heard of him before, and now, he''s nearly on equal footing with Xena."


    "I heard he''s a descendant of the West family but an illegitimate son of the Schneider family. Their family drama is always so fascinating."


    "Mr. Schneider has made a generous offer." I presented Lucas'' coboration proposal and handed it to Alex.


    He epted the document but first nced at me, his eyes filled with reproach.


    "Why are you getting involved with that brat again?"


    "He came to us for business," I whispered in exasperation. "Just read the proposal, will you?"