Never
77

Chapter 77

Linda had come to the restaurant in William’s car.

Now, during peak hours, there wasn’t an unoccupied cab in sight. She opened her ride–hailing app, only to replace 20 people ahead of her in the queue. It would take forever to get a ride.

Just as she was about to call Wendy to pick her up, William snatched her phone from behind.

“I’ll send you there. Your assistant will get stuck in traffic anyway,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jay had already pulled the car up to the curb.

Anxious about Chloe’s situation, Linda prioritized efficiency over being in the same space with William.

William got in the car and handed her phone back. “What exactly is going on?”

“Don’t you know that your employees used the Wilson Group’s name to steal the raw gems from Chloe?” Linda answered sarcastically.

“Of course the small, insignificant Radiant Jewelry can’t compete with the mighty Wilson Group.”

William was puzzled, not understanding her accusations. “Linda, I genuinely didn’t know about this.”

He hastily explained, “Had I known, I wouldn’t have let anyone take Chloe’s resources. I provided her with countless resources while you were in Usna. I have no reason to sabotage her now.

“Besides, I’ve been with you almost the entire day. How could I have orchestrated anything?

“Linda, I know someone messed with Chloe, and you’re angry. But you can’t pin this on me without proof.”

William felt extremely wronged.

Linda scoffed. “You wouldn’t need to lift a finger. There are plenty who’d do your bidding. Some things should stay between the two of us, but when you involve my loved ones, you’re the problem.”

Linda was still furious and didn’t believe a word William said, “William, have some decency and stop doing things that disgust me.”

When the car stopped at the hotel entrance, Linda got out without looking back.

William sighed In frustration.

Jay then asked, “Mr. Wilson, should we head back to the apartment?”

*To the office.”

Jay nodded, turned the car around, and headed back to the Wilson Group.

Linda went up to her floor, where Samson and Wendy were already there.

Chloe was in low spirits, her eyes brimming with tears. It pained Linda to see her like this.

“Samson, what’s going on?” Linda asked as she sat down and held the shaken Chloe.

Samson explained, “We’ve signed a contract for the original batch of raw gems, and following the normal approval procedures, they were expected to arrive in Osmo by the end of the year.

“Given the value of the gems, the penalty for breaching the contract was 40% of the gems‘ value. This afternoon, the company received an email from the buyer along with the compensation for the breach of

contract deposited into our account.”

Wendy added, “We found out that Wilson Group bought the gems. Logically and financially speaking, the buyer, wouldn’t breach the contract so easily, especially with such a high penalty running into millions of

dollars.

“So, someone must have paid them off. They couldn’t compete and wanted to make more profit.”

Human greed was insatiable. The market for raw gems was currently unstable, with everyone looking to maximize their profits. Thus, such tactics had become commonplace in the industry.

Under normal circumstances, Chloe wouldn’t have been affected as much, but this time was different.