?Chapter 1482 Proceed With the n


    Wynter put away her phone as her gaze settled on Cyrus. "Alright, got it."


    Dealing with the Montir family would indeed be faster if she didn''t need to worry about Cyrus, but Wynter still had to ask, "Does Grandpa agree?"


    "Don''t tell him. Grandpa has always been protecting me, and that''s why he wasn''t ruthless enough." Cyrus lifted his gaze. "You''re the same. I understand."


    If they didn''t care about him, Tamia wouldn''t even have had the chance to meddle.


    Wynter twirled the USB drive in her fingers. "It''s not just for you. My methods don''t always align with the Whitmans'' teachings."


    "I''m just a child born out of schemes. But Wynter, I''m grateful to have been born into the Whitman family." Cyrus had indeed grown. In the past, knowing all of this would have devastated him and filled his head with countless other thoughts.


    Now, he had a new sense of resilience. "Do what you need to. But don''t tell Grandpa-he wouldn''t want this." "You''re just like him." Wynter chuckled lightly as she stood up and stretchedzily.


    Cyrus was puzzled. "Like him? Who?"


    "Your father when he was younger." Wynter patted his shoulder. "Cyrus, I''m rooting for you. Keep growing, and who knows? Maybe one day, I''ll be the one asking you for help."


    Cyrus thought it was impossible. How could someone as capable as Wynter ever need his help?


    But no one had ever told him he resembled Noah before, and for some reason, that filled him with a newfound determination. He quickly shook off the dejection he had felt earlier.


    As a seer, Wynter could predict many things. But that wasn''t true when it came to her own family. The closer someone was to her, the more blurred their future became.


    Yet, weirdly enough, Cyrus seemed to be beyond any of her ns. In him, she saw vitality-her own path to survival...


    Wynter''s thoughts drifted to that formation she had encountered before as she gazed out the window. Her eyes briefly passed over her impably dressed fiancé.


    Dalton was like a character straight out of aic book. On the surface, he was courteous, dignified, and breathtakingly handsome. Yet, in reality, he was full of hidden dangerous secrets. With a face like that, it was easy for anyone to fall for his trap.


    Wynter shook her head as she thought about it.


    Seemingly noticing her gaze, Dalton, who was drinking tea with Reuben, lifted his gaze toward her.


    From Wynter''s angle, hisshes seemed almost excessively long. When the crow''s ck feathers fell around him, they only made his paleplexion even fairer. A dimple formed at the corner of his lips when he smiled at her.


    This sight itself turned the entire garden, including the blooming roses, into mere backdrops for his presence. "Atwater has read my fortunes plenty of times. I wonder if he ever foresaw me falling for a beauty," Wynter muttered under her breath, tearing her gaze away from Dalton.


    She reached out and plucked a mint leaf to cool herself down as if trying to ward off the heat she felt. After all, she couldn''t allow a mere beauty to keep her distracted.


    Cyrus didn''t understand what she was muttering about. ''Fortune telling?"


    "It''s nothing important." Wynter refocused her gaze on Cyrus. "We will be pulling back all the bait tomorrow. Go help Uncle Noah. I''m worried he''ll go too soft if he''s concerned about you."


    Hawford was indeed different. She needed to resolve things quickly.


    Meanwhile, in themercial building, Kenton had not left his office for quite some time. The pressure of robbing Peter to pay Paul was starting to take its toll. But if he didn''t do so, the cracks in thepany''s financial chain would soon be exposed.


    He was still waiting for a turnaround, his bloodshot eyes more desperate than ever. To make matters worse, one of the subsidiarypanies was now facing trouble.


    "Mr. Wray, we need to make a decision. They''re waiting on the funds, or else we''ll have no choice but to shut it down."


    Kenton closed the proposal letter. "Then shut it down. It never made a profit anyway and was just to take up market shares. They alle to me for money, so we might as well close it."


    Adrien didn''t say anything but knew all too well that shutting down the subsidiary was not an option. Reducing their market share would spell bankruptcy for the entirepany.


    But he was too afraid to voice his opinion. After all, it was obvious Kenton wasn''t in the mood to listen


    anymore.


    Meanwhile, Tamia was still under the illusion that the Wray family was financially robust. She never considered the possibility that the money she had invested might be at risk.


    She summoned thewyers. "I don''t care what you have to do-help my daughter get those shares. The Montir family won''t reconcile with the Whitman family.


    "If they refuse, we''ll take them to court for divorce. Scandals like this will impact Whitman Group''s valuation." "But, Mrs. Montir Senior, such a mutually destructive approach may not be advisable. A private settlement would be more beneficial for both parties," thewyer cautiously advised.


    After all, he knew that the Whitman family wouldn''t take this lying down. A public legal battle could damage the Montir family as well.


    Tamia merely smiled, a trace of disdain in her expression. "The Whitman family will be too busy with their own problems starting tomorrow. Noah''s mistress will soon be facing public scrutiny."


    "Mr. Whitman has a mistress?" Thewyer''s eyes widened. ''Do you have any evidence?"


    Tamia fiddled with her beaded bracelet. "It''s not too difficult to obtain evidence if I want to. All you need to do is focus on winning the case. I''ll handle everything else."


    The Montir family had been through situations like this too many times. Hence, naturally, Tamia didn''t think anything would happen.


    However, the Wray family that she had relied on was exposed the very next day for having a financial shortfall! "Wray Group is such a massivepany, yet they have been dying payment for a long time!'' someone reported.


    Everyone''s first reaction upon hearing the news was to think it was impossible. But it wasn''t a lie.


    At that moment, the construction teams had already approached Wray Group. After all, they were desperate for payment as they had families to support, and their outstanding bnces were never settled.


    Construction workers were in one of the most difficult trades at the time. Looking back, during the real estate boom, none of the workers ever seemed to make it big. Only those managing small construction teams saw some sess, but even that sess was precarious.


    Their wages couldn''t be paid once the capital flow from their higher-ups dried up. The Wray family had always operated this way. The funds they applied for from the bank were loans.


    The payment for construction work would onlye once the projects werepleted, which, to some


    extent, was understandable. But Kenton''s mistake was the fact that he always made sure he squeezed everyst drop from people.


    One of the workers said, "This building is abandoned. He''s refusing to pay us for the work because there''s no profit, but what about the work we did before?


    "I''ve been on this site for half a year-I''ve even had a head injured on the job. Now, they suddenly decide to halt the project, and they won''t settle our past dues. How can they scam us like this?"


    In an attempt to hide thepany''s internal financial instability, Kenton made a snap decision to shut down a subsidiary. Shutting down apany so rashly only raised more red gs for those working for them.


    While it seemed like the workers had only just started to protest, they hadn''t been paid in three months. It was just that the situation only exploded today.


    The Wray family had been rotten from the inside out for a long time. The only difference was that in the past, Kenton refused to pay them despite having money. He would rather invest in other ventures or legal matters instead.


    To him, these people were nothing more than ants, born to live hard lives, powerless against him. They wouldn''t win even if they sued him. Besides, what did these workers know about taking legal action?


    This wasn''t the first time there had been protests, but it was the first time they had reached the doorsteps of Wray Group''s headquarters.


    The Wray family''s decline was bing impossible to conceal. When one wall started to weaken, even pulling out a small brick could cause the entire structure to copse. But in the past, the Wray family was protected by connections.


    This was exactly like paying for a house that ended up having its project abandoned. The ones who suffered most were always those who worked their whole lives to finally scrape together enough for a down payment, waiting to move into their new homes.


    There were times when the relevant authorities wanted to intervene, but they might not be able to.


    First, there were contractual issues. Second, entrepreneurs like Kenton always manage to secure revolving funds from banks.


    No states would want to see businesses go under. Hence, these matters rarely reached a conclusion.


    When the workers showed up, the homeowners soon followed. Initially, they protested at the construction sites, where countless families'' dreams were shattered.


    They started showing up at thepany''s door when their patience finally ran out. Security had already begun trying to disperse the crowd.


    Adrien hurried upstairs. "Mr. Wray, the situation outside is starting to get out of hand. We need to do something."


    "Yes." Kenton continued coldly, ''Call the police. Have thewyers deal with them. I want to teach these people a lesson. Who do they think they are? How dare theye here and cause trouble for me?''


    "But, Mr. Wary, there are a lot of reporters outside. I''m afraid..."'' Adrien was still clear-headed enough. Kenton, however, had been in power for too long and was no longer afraid of such things. "Does it matter what they say? Go online and look-weren''t they just boycotting one of our brands over that applesauce factory? "The foreigners were right. The people here in Cascadia are always like that. They never learn. Don''t they still end up buying our products after a few days of cursing?


    "Our business is built on brand recognition. And besides, our real customers aren''t these poor folks. Go and get rid of them. Seeing them gather there brings me bad luck."


    The police''s arrival was indeed effective. Gathering to cause trouble would inevitably lead to some being taken away, especially with some construction workers acting irrationally and smashing the ss of Wray Group''s building.


    They were clearly at a disadvantage against Kenton. Usually, as Kenton had pointed out, situations like this


    revolved around demands for unpaid wages.


    This would take a long time to resolve. After all, there were problems with the contract and would require public interestwyers to fight the case


    But the workers couldn''t afford to wait. Simply put, even if someone helped with thewsuit, their travel costs and lost time were all part of their living expenses.


    The homeowners stuck with unfinished buildings faced the same predicament. Filing awsuit often led to an absence of oue.


    Kenton felt a bit uneasy about the situation arising today, but he didn''t take it too seriously.


    "Have you found Cassian?" he asked Adrien.


    Adrien shook his head. "We were toote. We checked the train stations as well. But rest assured, he hasn''t left Hawford yet.


    "Get him back quickly and settle the current ounts." Even if it was just a facade, it needed to look good, given that the monthly ounting review was approaching. Tax filing was another concern.


    Kenton nced at hisptop. He thought to himself that the quickest way to remedy the situation would be for the stocks he bought to soar when the market opened!


    Adrien no longer exuded the same calmness he once had as he pushed the door open to leave the office. Although the external situation seemed manageable now with the police andwyers involved, internally, everyone knew it was different this time.


    It wasn''t just the issue of unfinished buildings. Even their sries for this month hadn''t been paid. ording to protocol, they should have been disbursed two days ago, but the executive office imed the finance department was on holiday. For apany asrge as Wray Group, such an excuse felt absurd.


    Very few employees in most departments were working at this point.


    Adrien could sense the growing anxiety among the employees. It was crucial to keep everyone from knowing how badly Kenton had fared in the stock market.


    There was still a way out! If they could just hold on for a couple more days, everything would return to normal once the funds arrived!


    They were still too naive.


    With such a grand scheme set up, Wynter had no intention of keeping Wray Group''s situation a secret.


    Her Lamborghini was parked right outside Wray Group''s building. It drew everyone''s attention, including the people Kenton had sent to monitor her.


    Earlier today, Wynter had sold off all her gold as soon as the market opened. Making a profit of 30 dors per share was huge news. She hadn''t revealed this information to the Chamber of Commerce earlier because it wasn''t time to reel in the bait yet.


    But now, she opened the car door and approached the construction workers, who were looking down on the floor as they prepared to head home.


    "Mister, perhaps you can wait a tad bit longer. You might get your money back," Wynter said to a random man. The man instinctively stepped back. He was wary of getting dirt on someone who got out of such a luxurious


    car


    He smiled sheepishly. "No, my house is too far away. We will need to return.Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.


    "Just wait a day or two." She might not have bothered if she hadn''t seen them. But since she did, she wanted to give it a shot.


    "Youngdy, I know you''re kind, but staying in Hawford is too expensive. We consultedwyers beforeing, and no one wanted to take on our case.


    ?


    "Ourwyer, Mr. Zomet, is a good man, but it''s tough for him, too. He''s not even making money, yet he still follows us around, trying to help. He is also gettingughed at by the other side''swyers."


    The construction workers understood just how challenging it was. "Kenton is a powerful entrepreneur, and we can''t afford this. We don''t want to burden Mr. Zomet any longer."


    It was clear that anyone who took on this case would be fighting against the Wray family.


    Wynter admired those who worked in public interestw and noticed Soren Zomet, a middle-aged man, dirty and disheveled, still trying to persuade everyone not to give up in the distance.


    She then smiled at the workers. "I''ve heard news that the Wray family''s backers are about to fall. You will definitely get your money back.


    "If you can''t wait a day or two, just wait until tonight. Everyone has a phone, right? Wray Group won''t survive until the evening."


    The construction workers didn''t take her words too seriously, but they hoped that apany like Wray Group would face consequences. They smiled back at Wynter. "We hope so, too. Thank you, youngdy.''


    Having someone not look down on them and understand their plight was more than enough for them.


    They were indeed less educated and were unaware of theplexities involved. Their actions of breaking the windows had only made things worse, and some had even been taken to give statements inatolice stations. Although Wynter''s words might note true, at least they felt a bit more at ease.


    What they didn''t know was that as they walked away, Wynter dialed a number on her phone. "Go ahead with the n.''