When Wilbur pushed open the door, Mr. te was gripping Bianca''s chin, forcing alcohol down her throat.


    She had managed five shots before she couldn''t take any more. But Mr. te, still fuming, wasn''t about to let her off the hook and had resorted to force-feeding her.


    Bianca couldn''t swallow fast enough. Her face and clothes were soaked with spilled liquor, leaving her in a pathetic state.


    "I gave you a chance. You''re the one who refused to take it," Mr. te cursed, about to pour another ss into her mouth.


    Suddenly, a hand grabbed his wrist.


    "Hey, don''t you have any respect for a beautiful woman?"


    "Who the hell are you?" Mr. te spun around, ring.


    Upon recognizing the man''s face, he stumbled back in shock. "Mr... Mr. Wilbur..."


    "Tsk, Leon te, still as crude as ever. Look at the mess you''ve made of this lovelydy..."


    As he spoke, Wilbur casually pulled a few napkins from the table and reached out to wipe the liquor from Bianca''s face.


    "I can do it myself," Bianca said, taking the napkins and lowering her head to clean herself up.


    Leon, who had been so arrogant just moments before, now stood before Wilbur like an obedient dog, all his bravado gone.


    "What''s going on here?" Wilbur asked nonchntly.


    "Just collecting a debt. You know what I do for a living, Mr. Wilbur," Leon said, bowing with a fawning smile.


    "That''s still too rough. Was it really necessary? How much money are we talking about that you''d corner her like this?"


    "Three hundred million."


    "Well, that''s not nothing."


    Leon licked his lips. "You''re joking, Mr. Wilbur. Three hundred million is pocket change for you."


    "Don''t tter me. If I see you being rough with a beautiful woman again, don''t me me for getting physical. You know I can''t stand seeing women get bullied, especially pretty ones."


    "Yes, yes, of course."


    "What are you still standing here for? Get out."


    And with that, Leon scurried away.


    Bianca had managed topose herself, though she still looked disheveled. In fact, her tormented state gave her the fragile appearance of a delicate white flower, beaten but not broken.


    "Thank you, Mr. Wilbur," she said, her expression shy and timid. Her skin


    was so pale it was almost


    translucent, and tiny droplets of liquor lung to her eyshes, as if


    looking might fall at the


    slightest touch.


    Wilbur asked her, "What''s your name?"


    "Bianca."


    Bianca couldn''t believe her luck. Not only had this handsome stranger solved her problem with Leon, but he was also willing to invest in PerseTech. With Henry pulling his funding, Wilbur''s arrival was the answer to her prayers.


    She could finally breathe a sigh of relief.


    More good news followed. Yvonne had managed to get information from someone at the SEC. Twopanies had been approved for their IPOs, with the official announcement scheduled for the following week.


    Bianca''s first reaction to the news was a frown. "Two? Did InnoCore get approved as well?"


    "It seems so."


    Bianca''s expression soured. "So Noreen actually pulled it off!"


    "She has a lot of momentum right now. No one can stop her."


    Yvonne was stating a fact, and Bianca knew it, but she still couldn''t stomach it.


    Even though PerseTech and InnoCore were going public at the same time, she had ultimately lost PerseTech was using a backdoor. sting through a shell corporation, which involved far fewer hurdles than a traditional IPO. In terms of


    sheer achievement, Noreen had


    "This isn''t the time to worry about that," Yvonne said, always the more rational one. "Focus on getting PerseTech listed and finalizing the wedding with Seth. Otherwise, everything is still up in the air."


    "I know."


    Meanwhile, Noreen also received the news from Castle Joyner.


    She had brought The Chronos Gallery to the Game Developers Conference in Glenhaven City and had run into him there.