Chapter 1342:


    The legendary business titan had arrived. Guests rose from their seats one after another, eager to honor the elderly man who had built an empire.


    Maia didn’t move. She simply turned toward Chris, studying his reaction.


    His expression crumbled on cue. He shot to his feet with such force that it startled even her—his response fiercer than she’d calcted.


    She shifted her focus back to Laurence.


    Since that night at the banquet, something vital had drained from him. His eyes now held a vacant emptiness. He resembled a me sputtering in its final moments, or a sky heavy with storm clouds that refused to break.


    “I need to speak with Kiley,” Maia murmured, leaning closer to Chris. “Follow the n exactly. Get Laurence out of here.”


    “I will. Just promise me you’ll stay alert.” Chris nodded, though worry etched lines around his eyes as he searched her face.


    “I always am. You know that.” A faint smile touched her lips. “Besides, Kiley won’t risk anything reckless with this many witnesses present.”


    “The moment Grandpa’s safe, I’ming straight back for you.”


    Chris couldn’t quite mask his unease. His fingers flew across his phone screen, sending a quick message to Maxwell—a plea to keep Maia protected from the shadows.


    By then, Kiley had already guided Laurence to center stage.


    Staff members moved through the hall, approaching guests with polite smiles and firm instructions: no live streaming for the remainder of the evening. They worked to manage the fallout from earlier disruptions, though the effort felt bted.


    Maxwell was unimpressed.


    “No live streaming? As if that’ll stop anything.” He smirked to himself, straightening in his seat as he made a slight adjustment to his cor. The hidden camera now captured a clear view of the stage.


    A spotlight flooded down as Kiley took the microphone, her voice projecting with practiced confidence. “Distinguished guests, before tonight’s charity g officially begins, allow me to introduce my grandfather—Mr. Laurence Cooper. Many of you know his name, though perhaps not the full measure of his journey. In his younger years, during times of widespread hardship, my grandfather was determined to create change. He built businesses from nothing, expanded trade routes across borders, and invested his fortune in city infrastructure and educational grants for children who dreamed of different futures…”


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    Silence settled over the hall. Every ear was attuned to her.


    She painted Laurence’s legacy in vivid strokes—industries rising from barren ground, schools opening their doors to the underserved—while historical photographs appeared on therge screen behind her, each image a window into decades past.


    The audience sat transfixed, transported back through time.


    “Years have passed without mercy. Five decades have faded like morning mist, yet Cooper Group has never wavered in itsmitment to those in need.” Kiley’s eyes found the cluster of reporters, holding them in her gaze.


    “Charity flows through my grandfather’s veins—it’s the legacy he values most. He reminds us constantly: the Cooper family owes everything to society. We have harvested prosperity from this soil, so we must sow generosity back into it. Communities flourish when we nurture them, creating ripples that strengthen economies and advance our collective well-being.”


    Her eyelids lowered, and her voice softened with emotion. “Though his body now weakens with each passing season, his devotion to giving burns as brightly as ever.”


    Kiley delivered her speech with masterful skill, weaving Cooper Group’s ascent into a broader narrative of social progress.


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