"Let's get to the hotel first," Janelle said to Sara.
"Okay."
Sara and Janelle helped Madalyn to their hotel room. Erik and Bryan followed behind.
Du Ying was tossed to their men. Seeing it was Du Ying, the men gave him a thorough beating – he'd caused them plenty of trouble before. This was fate bringing enemies together.
Du Ying was tortured pitifully. He could only hope the Eagle Gang would find him soon. Once he got back, he'd make these people pay dearly. How could they treat him like this? He was the boss of the Eagle Gang! On the border, who dared not show him respect?
"Who are you people? Let me go, and whatever you want, I'll give it to you!" Seeing Erik wasn't present, Du Ying started again. He had plenty of money; anything money could solve wasn't a problem. "I can give you a lot of money. Look at you guys, you seem pretty poor, right?" Du Ying looked at them disdainfully.
The men were almost amused by his audacity. "Hearing you say that sounds like you're looking down on us for being poor? What, our poverty bothers you?" There was no one more generous than Erik! Didn't their clothes look expensive? This Du Ying really had no taste; he might as well be blind!
Du Ying tried to bribe one of them. Yet, no matter what conditions he offered, they remained completely unmoved. He was bleeding heavily, and they made no move to bandage him, utterly indifferent to whether he lived or died.
Meanwhile, Madalyn had taken a shower. After leaving the sanatorium, she had wandered outside for a long time before being taken to that terrible place by those fierce men. She hadn't rested properly and was starving. Janelle knew she was hungry; she'd heard her mother's stomach growling on the helicopter.
Janelle guided Madalyn to sit on the sofa and wrapped a dry towel around her long, wet hair. "Mom, eat something first. You must be starving."
"Hungry, so hungry. After they grabbed me, they didn't give me any food. It's awful." Those people were all bad, through and through.
"Godmother, please eat. Your stomach's been rumbling," Sara said, her eyes still red-rimmed. Godmother's condition was still unstable, wasn't it? No wonder Janelle hated those people so much. If not for them, Godmother would never have ended up like this.
"Sara, stay here with my mom for a bit. The shareholders' meeting is about to start; I need to attend." Wasn't all this effort precisely for today's meeting?
"Okay, go. I'll stay with Godmother, don't worry," Sara replied, sitting opposite Madalyn and watching her eat.
At Blue Whale Co., Ltd., Linda was frantic. She couldn't reach Miss Rovella, and the shareholders' meeting was imminent. Miss Rovella had worked so hard, wasn't it all for today? It was almost 9 AM, and she still hadn't shown up. Had something happened?
Kevin saw her distress and wanted to offer comfort. But remembering Westin's actions, the words died on his lips. Rich people were like this, doing anything for money, even to their own daughters.
"Linda, Miss Rovella, she..." Linda was agitated and felt helpless. This was their best chance. If they missed it, it would be hard to find another.
Meanwhile, in Westin's office, Amber was present. No matter how strained things were between them, the immediate priority was dealing with Janelle. "The meeting's about to start. Janelle still hasn't agreed to our demands. Could it be..." Amber was genuinely worried. Even though Janelle wasn't in Graham City, she had completed that project. The shareholders might still side with her.
Westin didn't understand it either. "But Madalyn is the person she cares about most. Could she have already found Madalyn?" She rushed to the border for that sole purpose, didn't she? But he'd hired the most powerful gang there, the Eagle Gang! How could Janelle, a powerless young girl, possibly rescue Madalyn from them?
"Call Du Ming again," Amber insisted. She needed confirmation Madalyn was still with the Eagle Gang.
"I've called. From this morning until now, over a dozen times. No matter what, the call won't connect."
"Could something have happened to the Eagle Gang?" But it was the Eagle Gang! Janelle and Erik were only two people. Could they really take down the entire gang? It sounded completely implausible!
"Never mind that for now. Let's go to the meeting. No matter what, we absolutely cannot relinquish control of Blue Whale Co., Ltd.," Westin declared. They hadn't worked this hard just to hand everything over to someone else.
"Perhaps... she just shouldn't continue living in this world," Amber stated bluntly. If her existence kept causing them trouble, then there was no need for her to live on. The world wouldn't miss her. She was already starting to regret not eliminating her completely back then. If she had, none of this would be happening now.
The shareholders' meeting commenced. Janelle still hadn't appeared, causing frowns among the other shareholders. She had secured the deal with the Aleens Group; their inclination was already leaning towards her. After all, that single project promised massive profits. As Blue Whale Co., Ltd. shareholders, their primary concern was who could continue leading them to make money. If Janelle could do it, then she should lead. It was that simple.
"Mr. Rovella, why hasn't Miss Rovella arrived yet? Could something have happened to her?" Ms. Mi, the shareholder in the red dress who had initially championed the contest between Janelle and Westin, spoke up. Unable to see Janelle, she was genuinely concerned for the young woman. The girl had real talent in business, much like her mother. But she was still young and perhaps naive about human treachery. With Westin and Amber being so ruthless, Ms. Mi was deeply worried.
"Ms. Mi, what do you mean by that? She's my daughter. Would I harm her?" Westin retorted directly.
"It's like this," he continued smoothly. "After careful consideration, Miss Rovella has decided to return to the border and relinquish everything here. As you all know, she spent five years there and has grown accustomed to that life. Most importantly, her mother cannot be without her. We hope you can understand."
"What?"
"Relinquish?"
"No way!"
"She worked so hard for this opportunity. Success was within reach; why would she give up now?"