<b>Chapter </b><b>317 </b>
El 65 vouchintai!
When Kaden heard that Connor was out there telling everyone not to do business with the Garcia Group, his first thought was, <b>‘</b><b>He’s </b>got some nerve thinking he can pull that off
But when more and morepanies actually started cutting the Garcia Group off, Kaden started to smell something fishy.
‘How did Connor suddenly have enough clout to go head–to–head with the Garcia Group?‘ Kaden thought, frowning.
So he started digging around on the down–low.
Turns out it wasn’t just Connor pulling strings–there was also a major yer from Daltonia, a business tycoon who’d been working closely with Connor for quite some time.
Kaden recognized this guy. He was infamous in Daltonia–dominating both the legit business world and the shadier underground.
His empire might’ve been rooted in Daltonia, but he’d been tight with major Alvendpanies for years
now.
And the kind of benefits he could dish out? Easily rivaled what the Garcia Group had to offer–maybe even better.
“Richard,” Kaden murmured, rolling the name on his tongue.
‘Why does that name sound like trouble?‘ he thought, a chill running through him.
Hudson, sitting just a seat away, stiffened, his eyes widening for a split second.
“Richard… That name rings a bell,” Hudson said, frowning as he tried <i>to </i>recall where he’d heard it before. <fn0e6e> Latest content published on find?novel</fn0e6e>
Rosalind had nothing on her te that afternoon, so she just dropped by Kaden’s office to chill for a bit.
She’d heard the gossip about what Connor had been up totely too. As she took a slow sip of her coffee, she nodded, a thoughtful look flickering across her face.
“If Connor’s actually listening to Richard and targeting Joshua because of him… yeah, now it adds up,” Rosalind said, connecting the dots out loud.
Kaden nced at Rosalind, confusion flickering in his eyes. ‘What is she getting at?‘ he wondered.
“What do you mean?” Kaden asked, frowning.
Rosalind smirked, one eyebrow raised. “Oh? Since when did you start worrying about your soon–to–be brother–inw?<b>” </b>
Kaden’s face remained impassive. ‘I’m not ying along with her jokes,‘ he thought, keeping his real concern
hidden.
9:10 Wed, <b>Oct </b><b>1 </b>
“I’m worried about my sister,” Kaden replied tly.
Rosalind let out augh.
:
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“Typical Kaden–always acting all tough, but he’s got a soft spot under that armor, she teased inwardly, smirking to herself.
Rosalind said, “I heard some of the old folks in my family mention that Joshua’s dad once had an employee who double–crossed him. So Joshua’s dad sent the guy to prison, but he broke out and ended up in Daltonia. Hisst name was Shaw.”
“I got curious about the whole thing back then and kept asking my grandpa about it. Apparently, that employee had a son–Richard. That’s about all I know.”
Her family’s business never did anything with Daltonia, so she had no shot at ever meeting Richard herself.
But from what she’d heard, people said he was the kind of guy you’d rather not deal with–definitely not someone easy to get along with.
Kaden went quiet, turning over Rosalind’s words in his head:
He’d always known the Garcia family had enemies, but never once heard exactly who they were.
Keeping Xylia away from Joshua hadn’t just been a hunch–deep down, he knew the Garcia family had way more skeletons in the closet than people thought.
Now that this enemy was openly going after Joshua, things had gotten real.
With Xylia heading to Jupiton with Joshua, she might be in danger too.
The thought made Kaden’s expression darken.
“I’m heading out for a minute,” Kaden said, picking up his phone.
He grabbed his phone and walked out.
Hudson called out, “Hey, where you headed?”
Kaden just ignored him and walked off.
Rosalind rolled her <i>eyes </i>and shot back, “What do you think? He’s obviously gonna call Joshua, offer him some backup <i>or </i>something.”
Rosalind added with a smirk, “Seriously, what else could he be doing? Ringing up Joshua, seeing if he needs help.”
Hudson rubbed his chin, unable to believe it. “He’s really gonna do that? Doesn’t sound like my brother.”
Picking up the phone just to ask Joshua if he needs help? That’s so not Kaden.
Rosalindughed. “For his sister’s happily ever after? He’d totally go above and beyond.”
<b>9:10 </b>Wed, Oct <b>1 </b>
Hudson grabbed his coffee and bumped it against Rosalind’s cup.
“Sis–inw, you really do know my brother better every day,” Hudson teased with a grin.
“Like I’ve ever not had him figured out,” Rosalind retorted, shooting him a chilly re.
Hudson instantly caved, waving his hands in defeat.
*****
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Outside the office, Kaden found a quiet conference room and dialed Joshua’s number.
“Well, look who’s calling. What made you reach out, Kaden?” Joshua answered, his tone aszy and nonchnt as always.
Joshua was still acting all chill, totally unfazed by the situation.
Kaden cut right to the chase. “Do you have any clue what Richard’s got nned for you? Is he targeting you? Are you up to speed on all this?”
“You worried about me, Kaden?” Joshua teased.
“I’m only worried about my sister,” Kaden snapped. “If she gets hurt because of your family’s baggage, I swear I’lle for you myself.”
Joshua let out a couple shortughs on the other end. “Yeah, I know what you’re getting at.”
Then his voice turned serious, and for a second there was nothing but silence–he must’ve stepped into a quieter room.
“I’ve already ounted for everything when ites to Richard. Trust me, Kaden, Xylia’s perfectly safe with me,” Joshua said, calm and confident as ever.
Hearing the confidence in Joshua’s voice, Kaden felt a weight lift off his shoulders.
He hadn’t spent much time with Joshua before, but from what he’d seentely, he knew Joshua was more than capable of handling things.
“If you ever need backup, just hit me up,” Kaden said.
“Trust me, I won’t hold back if I need anything,” Joshua replied with aid–back grin.
Once Kaden had asked Joshua about his n, he hung up.
Before heading back to his office, Kaden called his assistant over. “Juste up with an excuse and pull the plug on our partnership with the Garcia Group.”
The assistant blinked, looking at Kaden with obvious confusion. “Mr. Sadler, are you sure about this…?”
Wait, isn’t Joshua Miss Xylia’s boyfriend? The Garcia Group’s already getting hammered by the whole industry… Shouldn’t the boss be helping out, not piling on?‘ the assistant wondered, his head spinning with
wed,
disbelief.
Kaden shot him a chilly look. “You don’t get it?”
“Got it,” the assistant mumbled, backing off right away.
He knew better than to mouth off <i>at </i>the boss<b>. </b>
At the end of the day, he was just hired help–the boss gave orders, he followed, simple as that.
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Xylia had just finished tidying up her design files and handed them in for thepetition, right on schedule. Next up was moving on to the gown–making stage, so she dove straight into nning for that.
Lately, Joshua was swamped with work–or <i>at </i>least said he was–so Xylia figured she’d better not bug him and kept her distance, not wanting to be <i>a </i>distraction.
Ironically, it was Joshua who kept flooding her phone with texts, all the way from his office.
He’d randomly check in to see what she was doing, remind her to let him know every time she stepped out the door, and even insisted she send him her location–just to be safe, he said.
Xylia started to seriously question if Joshua was actually working or just spending his time keeping tabs on
her.
That night, Xylia picked up her phone to hear Joshua on the other end, his voice all slurred and whiny. “Xylia… I—I’m drunk… Can youe pick me up, pretty please…?”
Xylia was in the middle of a face mask when she got the call.
She could hear Joshua’s voice, with noisy singing and chatter sting in the background.
Joshua had said he was going out for a business dinner tonight, <i>so </i>she guessed he must’ve gotten hammered whileworking.
“Are you still with it? Send me your address, Xylia said, her voice sharp with concern.
“Okay… I’ll… I’ll send it,” Joshua slurred, barely able to get the words out.
Jeez, he’s slurring already–just how much did that guy drink?‘ Xylia thought with a hint of exasperation.
She hurriedly peeled off her face mask, washed up, threw on some clothes, and rushed out to get him.
At least Joshua wasn’t so gone that he couldn’t send her his location.
Xylia hopped in her car and followed the address he texted her.
She finally tracked Joshua down in a private suite <i>at </i>an exclusive lounge, sprawled half–drunk on the couch.
When Xylia walked in and saw Joshua for the first time, she just stopped in her tracks.
“How do I even describe this…?‘ Xylia thought, the words sticking in her mind for a moment.
9:10 Wed, <b>Oct </b><b>1 </b>
She’d never seen Joshua looking so wrecked before–not once in all the time she’d known him.
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Honestly, even that time overseas when he’d been drenched in blood didn’tpare. This was on a whole different level of messy.
A few guys in expensive suits loungedfortably on the couch, while Joshua–drunk out of his mind—had been dumped at the table off to the side, totally ignored by the rest.
His suit jacket was MIA, and his white dress shirt was stered with booze stains, clinging to his skin as if someone just doused him for kicks.
He waspletely dead to the world, sprawled face–down on the table and out like a light.
Meanwhile, the guys on the couch wereughing and drinking like there was no tomorrow, having the time of their lives.
It was like two different worlds in the same room.
Xylia felt her hands ball into fists–she was so pissed off she could barely hold herself back.