Chapter 353
Standing Before Love
âInnocent?â Cameron turned around to face Rachel, who was sobbing nonstop. For the first time ever, he was revolted by her presence. Compared to her, Myraâs mother would never do something as foolish. She taught Myra well, to the point that even he had to be wary of her. In the least, Myraâs mother would never raise such a piece of incompetent trash who ended up being a liability to the company.
âYour mother isnât innocent at all! She must have known early on that you had a fling with Hayden, but she never informed me about it! Did you two think you are able to toy with everybody around you?â
Cameron had a chilly gaze in his eye.
As Kris kept her arms resting on the bed limply, she clenched her fists as she inhaled sharply; all she could feel was a sense of despondency. Meanwhile, Rachel was also extremely disappointed in what happened.
Throughout her marriage with Cameron, he would always order her around. Despite her title of Mrs.
Stark, she had no claim to power. Even after all those years, Cameron never gave her any of the companyâs shares, nor was he willing to offer any to his daughter. Other than that, Kris and her had to help him fight Myraâs mother, and then Myra, but in the end, they could only suffer humiliation by his hands.
âWhy does it matter?â Clenching her teeth, Rachel wore a look of despair, yet she was fierce and resilient all the same when she glared at the man that she had spent her entire life serving. âCameron, Kris and I donât owe you sh*t! We have always been obedient to you! For the sake of your career, Kris forced herself to be with the man she hates, so why does it matter now that she failed, and the Waltons wonât invest in the Green Palms Project? Have you forgotten that your eldest daughter didnât even want to help you? Donât you feel guilty at all for treating Kris and I like this?â
âGuilty? How dare you even mention that to me?â As if having heard a joke, Cameron began mocking her mercilessly. âDonât you know how the public will judge me and Stark Group from now on? Who do you think you are? If I so wish to, I can sleep with any other woman I want, and get them to give birth to my baby! Iâm sure I wonât even get such an incompetent daughter like her!â
Rachel staggered backward subconsciously as soon as she heard that. Just now, she was enraged, which was why she talked back to Cameron, but she never expected to hear such despairing words from him. If I so wish to, I can sleep with any woman I want, and get them to give birth to my baby. Iâm sure I wonât even get such an incompetent daughter like her! What he said pierced her heart like daggers.
She felt suffocated when she clenched her fists. Seeing red, she launched forward to slap Cameron.
âYou are inhumane, Cameron! You vile cockroach! How could you treat Kris and I like this?â
She reached out to slap him, but he caught her hands and then shoved her backward, which caused her to fall onto Krisâ bed. Panicking, Kris tried to stop her parentsâ fight. âMom, Dad, stop it! Donât fight ââ
âRachel Parker, have you ever thought about why you could stick with me throughout all these years?
Let me tell you; you are nothing compared to Jenny Eckhart. Your only merit is that youâre obedient.
Now that you have even lost that, the Starks no longer need you and your daughter!â With that, Cameron let out an angry huff before opening the door of the ward to leave.
Standing there in the ward, Rachel could feel her whole body trembling as what just happened was beginning to sink in. After some time, she finally started to weep, and Kris was also sobbing in a hushed voice. In the end, both of them were wailing in each otherâs embrace.
âKris, did you hear what he said? Heâs not your father, but a demon! I shouldnât have been so naive!
Why did I assume that I could get everything that I want by relying on him? H-He never forgot about that b*tch!â
The mention of Jennyâs name gave Rachel a heartache. If it werenât for Rachelâs help, Cameron would never have been able to seize everything from Jenny and claim Stark Group for himself. Now, he was obviously being ungrateful by trying to cut ties with Rachel.
In addition to the pain in her belly and on her face, Kris was overwhelmed by the heartache she felt.
Reaching out to hold her motherâs hand in a tight grip, she consoled the latter. âMom, you have nothing to worry about. I wonât let things get even worse.â
However, she couldnât help but feel a sense of bitterness. After the incident, the Waltons wouldnât let things slide that easily. In fact, she was certain that the contracts that Stark Group and Walton Group signed would most definitely be cancelled. âMom, I still have some loyal subordinates in Stark Group.
Donât panic. Let us take this one step at a time,â Kris said with grim determination.
Meanwhile, in Walton Residence, Shelly had been fretting for almost an hour, which was starting to get on Edwardâs nerves. Therefore, he chided, âWe have something important to talk about, so youâd better go watch over Gemma at the hospital in case she gets into more trouble when she is alone!â
Before Shelly left, she made sure to give Gideon a reminder. âGideon, I will never allow Kris to marry into our family! I donât care if you have business dealings with that b*tchâs company. All you have to do is to cut all ties with her! Our family have a reputation to uphold in Bradfort City!â
âLeave, now! Why are you still blabbering?â Edward knocked his walking stick on the floor heavily as he issued an order. Upon hearing that, Shelly bit on her lip before leaving the place. As soon as she was away, Edward cast his stick on the floor.
At the same time, Samuel was also sulking. Nonetheless, he poured a cup of tea before serving it to Edward politely. âDad, calm down.â
âCalm down? If I calm down, isnât this matter going to be swept under the rug?â Edward glanced at Gideon with piercing eyes. âMy granddaughter couldnât get her hands on a man, nor could my grandson keep his woman in line! After everything that happened, those b*stards in Bradfort City will be talking behind my back!â
âGrandpaâ¦â Gideon clenched his fists. The incident with Kris was a grave insult to him. I will take care of that b*tch later. I have more pressing matters to deal with at this point in time. There was a chilliness in his eyes as he thought so. âGrandpa, we canât drag this on. We need to somehow spend the money that we were planning to invest into the Green Palms Project.â
The money was a huge sum that they planned to launder bit-by-bit, and the Green Palms Project offered them the perfect and legal opportunity to do so, but they didnât expect such a conundrum. They had to get rid of the money as soon as possible, or else the Waltons would be doomed. However, investing into the Starksâ project was no longer an option, as the public would perceive the Waltons as spineless cowards. The mere thought of it brought a livid expression to Edwardâs face.
âWe can no longer rely on the Starks.â Frowning, Edward wore a solemn look on his face. âNo matter what we do, we are bound to get the attention of somebody. Weâll be done for if anybody finds out what weâre up to.â
âWhy donât we invest the money in Central Square? Arenât there a few foreign companies that were registered recently? We can start from them, just like what we did a few years ago, and we need to make sure that we leave no trail.â Samuel made that suggestion after mulling over the situation.
âCentral Square is a government project, so we have a lower chance of being suspected. Besides, they are still in the fundraising stage.â
âI suppose thatâs our only option for now.â Edward pulled his lips into a thin line. âRemember to leave no evidence, and make no mistakes. We canât afford to be careless anymore. Find a few small companies in Bradfort City that we can lure into investing in Central Square alongside us by stating a high profit margin. We need them to cover up for us.â
âUnderstood, Grandpa.â Gideon nodded in all seriousness.
After that, Edward turned to look at him with a deep frown on his face. âBy the way, annul your engagement with Kris Stark. Issue a statement that reveals her debauchery. We wonât take in someone like her!â