Chapter 842

The atmosphere in the great hall tensed up immediately. There was even a sense that blades would be drawn at any second.

Ever since Stefan faked his death and Jovan colluded with his cronies in an attempt to seize power in H Group, the Hunt family was divided into two warring factions. The first took Alexander Hunt’s side, while the second took Arthur Hunt’s side—and from then on, the two cousins then became adversaries.

Alexander had a forthright personality, so when he saw Arthur approaching from a distance, he immediately glowered and blurted, “Hmph! I can’t believe you have the gall to step into this house! If I’m not mistaken, I don’t think my father ever invited you and your wife here today!”

“Come on, Alexander! Why are you treating me like I’m a stranger?”

Arthur, cunning as an old fox, wore a wide phony grin on his face as he walked up to Alexander and put his hand on his cousin’s shoulder in a fake brotherly gesture.

“How could I not be here when it’s such a happy occasion for the Hunt family?” he asked. “I’m your cousin, after all! Anyway, the more, the merrier, right? I must raise a toast to you today!”

His wife, Sheila Hunt, followed behind him, clad in a luxurious wine-red coat and carrying a limited-

edition designer handbag. As soon as she stepped through the door, she jeered, “Say, you two are indeed lucky, Alexander and Francine! You managed to get a daughter-in-law, a grandson, and a granddaughter in one fell swoop! I do envy you! Arthur and I can never hope to be as lucky as you!”

Sheila might possess enormous wealth and a great style, but she still paled in every aspect when compared to Francine. Before she married Arthur, she always regarded Francine as her imaginary rival. Then, after marrying into the Hunt family, she always compared herself to Francine at every opportunity she got.

Unfortunately for her, no matter which way she made a comparison, whether it was herself against Francine, her husband against Francine’s husband, or her son against Francine’s son, she always came up short. She finally won, albeit barely, when she compared their daughters-in-law, yet now…

Not only did Stefan get himself a wife, but he even had a son and a daughter, which meant that she had, once again, completely lost to Francine!”

Sheila was so angry could barely hold it together, but she held her breath and gathered her strength.

She would finally put Francine in her place today!

Arthur and Sheila seemed to have no shame at all as they proceeded to calmly and respectfully offer old Mr. Hunt a cup of tea even though they were accosted by cold glares and angry glances from the people around them.

“Take a seat!” old Mr. Hunt told them in a lukewarm voice after taking a sip of the tea.

“Uncle Timothy!” Alan muttered with displeasure. “You’re too kind and generous! Don’t you remember the shameful deeds of this greedy brother of mine and his cunning son? They almost took over the entire company! If I were you, I would’ve booted them from the Hunt family a long time ago—yet you still drank the tea they offered…”

“Alan! You’re my own younger brother! How could you accuse me of such things?!”

Arthur acted as if his feelings were hurt and let out a sigh. “At the time, no one knew if Stefan was alive or dead. H Group was thrown into chaos, and Jovan stepped in at the most crucial hour, leading the company in a time of crisis and saving the family’s honor. Don’t you know how much pressure he was under?”

“Hmph! It’s not surprising that he was under a lot of pressure since he was a usurper!”

“How could you call him a usurper?” Arthur argued. “He was clearly taking charge of the situation to lead the company out of a crisis! After all, who else in this family could replace Stefan other than my son Jovan?”

Indeed, no one could refute him in this matter. All along, there had not been many talented and capable people in the Hunt family. In Stefan’s generation, there were only three outstanding male members of the Hunt family, namely Stefan, Jovan, and Julian. The rest were either too unremarkable and mediocre or were women.

Julian was only a junior member of the Hunt family. He grew up abroad and had his own career, but he never had much to do with the Hunt family or H Group at all.

But Jovan was different. He was Stefan’s cousin. Ever since he was young, he received the same education as Stefan, and he occupied the same important position as Stefan in the Hunt family.

Unfortunately, he was always ever so slightly inferior to Stefan. If Stefan got 100 points in a test, then Jovan could only ever get 99 points, never higher.

It was a minute difference, but it was enough to cement Stefan’s position as the CEO of H Group. As a result, Jovan was forever relegated to the position of substitute.