?Chapter 429:


    He’d been in the business world long enough to sniff out a guy like Shaun from a mile away. There was always a calction behind those smooth words. And yet… she still defended him. Only Ste would fall for a guy like that.


    Meanwhile, Nixon’s downfall was sending shockwaves through more than just Smith Group. Haley got caught in the mess too.


    She’d been in charge of her family’s branchpany in Choria. And with Nixon gone, the entire business chain copsed. The losses hit hard, slicing into her family’s influence back in Achury. A family meeting was called—mandatory.


    Haley returned home full of dread, and the cold atmosphere at the estate made her stomach twist tighter.


    No one even looked at her, let alone spoke.


    It wasn’t until dinner that the silence shattered. She politely asked for the pepper shaker. No one moved. No one answered.


    Haley’s patience snapped. “Didn’t anyone hear me? I said I want ck pepper!” Her mother, Beatrice, looked at her with a flicker of sympathy—but the man at the head of the table remained silent, eyes frosty.


    “You’ve aplished nothing,” Haley’s father, Alistair Smith, said slowly, “and you think you can sit here making demands?” he spat.


    Then her aunt, Vivian Smith, chimed in from across the table, voice sharp. “We’re not trying to be harsh, Haley—but do you even realize how much revenue that business chain pulled in every month?”


    Alistair gave his daughter a hard look. The scrape of his knife against the te echoed sharply in the quiet room.


    “I gave you one task—run the branch in Choria. And now? You’ve managed to wreck an entire business chain.” His voice was like steel. “You’ve made a mess of everything.”


    Haley’s eyes welled up with tears as she stared at Alistair, biting her lip hard to hold back her frustration. “It’s not what it looks like, Dad. There’s a whole story behind this, and it all started because of that woman, Ste Russell!”


    Alistair gave a cold, dismissive snort. “Still ming others, are you?”


    Haley opened her mouth to defend herself, but Alistair cut her off sharply. “You couldn’t even take down a woman like her. Tell me, what good are you to this family?”


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    She fell silent. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, Ste had outmaneuvered her at every turn.


    “Wasn’t it you who had your mother begging on your behalf, just to help some worthless man? Where is he now? Is he even still around?” Alistair’s words cut straight through her pride.


    After Ste nearly got her thrown in jail, Marc had vanished—no visits, no calls. He’d even blocked her everywhere. And yet, there he was, sshed across Choria’s gossip pages, smiling beside another woman like nothing had happened.


    She now saw Marc for who he truly was—dead weight. But Ste? That woman had humiliated her, and Haley wasn’t about to let that go.


    “Please, Dad. Just give me one more chance. I swear I won’t let you down again.” She looked at him, her eyes pleading for another opportunity.


    Before Alistair could respond, Vivian sighed heavily and spoke up. “Haley, do you even understand what you’ve done? That entire business chain was crucial to our family’s future. And you wrecked it. We’re losing money by the minute, and now you want another chance? Are you trying to ruin uspletely?”


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