<h4>Chapter 280: The n Canceled</h4>


    Eric gripped E’s phone tightly after the call ended, feeling an intense urge to smash it.


    But he knew, breaking the phone wouldn’t punish Mason!


    There was actually a man bold enough to chase after his woman? Fine!


    E came out after finishing the dishes, drying her hands. When she saw Eric’s dark expression and her phone in his hand, she frowned.


    "Who just called?"


    "Mason."


    E threw the towel aside, her face full of disgust. "Isn’t Mason your business partner? Why is he bothering metely?"


    Eric was pleased with E’s reaction. She was smart enough to know without him saying anything that Mason’s calls were causing her difort again.


    He walked over, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Let’s head upstairs. Don’t waste your energy on someone irrelevant like him. If he wants a fight, I’ll give him one. Let’s see who the real king of the hill is!"


    E chuckled softly. She loved Eric’s confident and domineering attitude.


    They headed upstairs, and it turned into a night full of passion.


    Later, as Ey exhausted in bed, Eric gently kissed her lips and pulled a small red velvet box from his suit pocket.


    With a click, he opened it just as E turned her head, spotting a dazzling, shy diamond ring sitting inside.


    "Babe, this is our engagement ring. When we get married, I’ll get you an even better one, and you can choose it yourself. But for now, wear this," Eric said calmly as he slipped the ring onto her left ring finger.


    E’s eyes welled up with tears, and she smiled through them. "Okay, I’m looking forward... to something even better!"


    The ring on her finger meant she was ready to make their rtionship public—she was going to reveal to everyone that she was married!


    Eric no longer wanted to hide anything. He loved her, and with or without the ring, it didn’t matter to her.


    But then again, what woman doesn’t love a diamond ring that symbolizes happiness?


    "Get some rest. You’ve got school tomorrow," Eric whispered, holding E close as their hands gently intertwined, the atmosphere sweet and warm.


    E quickly fell asleep. Eric, however, couldn’t sleep. Though he was tired, he felt deeply satisfied just looking at her peaceful, flushed face, her perfect features, and delicate contours.


    No other man could ever take her from him! Eric admitted he had inherited Victoria’s persistence.


    But deep down, he believed E wouldn’t let him down the way James had!


    ...


    Two hours earlier.


    "Miss, I’m sorry, but ourputers were attacked, and all the PS videos we received are gone!"


    Inside Carter Group’s tech subsidiary, a trembling employee nervously informed Leah, who was casually sipping wine.


    Leah frowned. "How could you get hacked? Are you all just freeloaders? Someone attacks you, and you can’t fight back?"


    The programmer’s face turned pale. "Miss, we’ve tried our best, but their skills are incredibly advanced!"


    Leah irritably set down her ss of vintage wine. "How could this happen? Didn’t you say you were confident?"


    These programmers and hackers had been carefully groomed by Carter Group, yet they couldn’t handle such a simple task!


    This entire n had been devised after long discussions within Leah’s family.


    If E’s reputation kept getting worse, the Carter Group shareholders would never allow her to be CEO!


    This would threaten Carter Group’s interests, and with the board’s opposition, they’d get what they wanted.


    If E couldn’t secure that position, they would slowly chip away at her shares.


    E was too defiant, so Carter Group had abandoned its soft approach, opting for something more aggressive!


    Even if Eric tried to intervene, there would be nothing he could do to save E’s reputation.


    Now, with the hackers telling Leah that theirputers had crashed due to an attack, her mood was anything but good.


    "Could it be that they’ve caught wind of our n?" Leah frowned in suspicion.


    "Miss, let’s try using otherputers," one of the hackers suggested.


    "But using otherputers won’t recover the PS videos we’ve lost!" Leah snapped.


    "Then we’ll redo the PS work. We can’t abandon this n!"


    Leah spoke coldly.


    "Yes, we’ll get right on it!"


    The programmers scurried out of Leah’s office, knowing they were in for another long night of overtime.


    But as soon as they tried booting up otherputers, they discovered thepany had a power outage. Chaos ensued, and Leah was just about to explode with anger when her phone rang—it was Sean. His call stopped her mid-rage.


    "Leah, drop the n! Someone’s leaked... a dossier on one of our VPs. It’s a scandal that could ruin him!" Sean’s voice was strained, clearly furious.


    "What?" Leah felt a chill run through her, thinking of E and Eric, who she had despised for so long, waiting patiently for this moment of revenge.


    "If we push ahead with this, they’ll tear us down too!"


    "So you’re saying we should just leave E alone? That little brat! How can we let her live so peacefully?" Leah yelled, furious.


    "Do you want Carter Group to go down with her?" Sean’s voice turned icy.


    Leah paused, her mind clearing at once. It seemed taking direct action was no longer an option.


    But what should she do now?


    "We’ll have to find another way. For now, let it go," Sean said before hanging up.


    Leah sat down, defeated and bitter. She could barely contain her frustration.


    But so what? Just because their n had failed, didn’t mean the other side wouldn’t make mistakes too.


    This time, what Leah had considered a perfect n had crumbled.


    Gritting her teeth, Leah thought about the rain, and a cold glint shed in her eyes.


    Although Sean had advised her against dealing with Rachel, Leah still considered Rachel a valuable pawn.


    Since she went to the same school as E, Rachel could keep an eye on her and provide many opportunities to strike back.


    If the next n was wless, maybe... just maybe, Leah could finally hit E where it hurt. But to take someone down, you had to target their weakness.


    So, what was E’s weakness?


    The person she cherished most was Eric. But someone like Eric was far out of Leah’s reach—she could never take action against him directly.


    So... who else could it be?


    Suddenly, an idea sparked in Leah’s mind. Two people came to her, and a wicked smile curled on her lips. Her confidence surged back.


    E, you won’t alwayse out on top! One day, you’ll face your downfall. And when that dayes, I’ll be ready.