Chapter 74

That morning, Ronald got up very early. He had already made it known that Bryan was being removed from his position as chairman. Being someone whose pride and reputation were paramount, Ronald would not go back on his word. He got up early to go to the company.

Daxton was also up early, seemingly waiting for Ronald. He stood by the staircase, blocking his way. “Dad, I heard you’ve been pretty interested in that Playzy platform Aubree developed.”

“Why are you asking? Don’t you usually only care about your experiment data?” Ronald adjusted his tie and shot him a sideways glance.

Daxton replied, “Family matters are important. A friend in this field found out that Aubree is my sister and shared this report. Dad, want to see it?”

Suspicious, Ronald took the envelope, opened it, and started reading. As he read, his expression shifted from delight to worry.

He asked, “Is what’s in here true?”

“Of course!” Daxton replied confidently.

This wasn’t from any so-called friend. After finding out that Aubree was behind Playzy, he had specifically hired professionals to dig this up. Playzy had been riding high in the spotlight, but with so many streamers on the platform, it was impossible to regulate them all or ensure they had proper ethics. The report highlighted some incidents of streamers guiding minors to spend excessively. The issue hadn’t exploded yet, but it was a ticking time bomb. If they used this to stir things up, Aubree would be in serious trouble.

Daxton said, “Dad, no matter what, she’s a Wilson. She’s young, inexperienced, and not managing the platform well. If something serious happens, won’t you, as her father, still have to step in and help?”

What he said matched up exactly with what Ronald had been thinking.

“But…” Ronald hesitated. He frowned. He wanted Aubree to fall, but he didn’t want Playzy to suffer. If this scandal came to light and wasn’t handled well, the damage to Playzy would be hard to recover from. In his mind, both Playzy and Bree Technology already belonged to him. Any loss was his loss.

Ronald said, “This can’t be leaked for now.”

Daxton’s calm, calculated expression cracked. Disbelief flashed across his face. The entire purpose was to bring Aubree down, ideally to bankruptcy. Turner Group invested heavily in Playzy. If it all went down the drain, Bowen’s shareholders would never allow him to continue helping Aubree. That way, Aubree wouldn’t just be broke. She’d lose her biggest supporter. But now, his father was saying to keep it under wraps.

“Why?” Daxton blurted, then quickly tried to cover, “Dad, don’t you want this project? Wouldn’t exposing this make it easier?”

Ronald gave him a deep look. “Daxton, you’re brilliant in academia, but you don’t understand business. Things aren’t that simple.” He patted his son’s shoulder and sighed. “I know you’ve been worried about Carmen lately, but…”

Ronald sighed again. “I didn’t expect Aubree to come this far. Carmen… she’s ultimately not a true Wilson. She’s still lacking.”

Neither of them noticed the figure hiding in the corner. Carmen heard their conversation clearly. Her breathing grew rapid as she clutched her mouth tightly with trembling hands. Hatred burned in her eyes. She cursed inwardly, ‘Aubree is just trash! Trash! How could trash possibly compare to me? She doesn’t deserve it!’ Hatred surged in Carmen’s heart as she quickly left. If her father was too soft to expose things that could damage Aubree, she would do it herself. It looked like Daxton wasn’t too fond of Aubree either.

Carmen then left, missing one last thing that Ronald said.

Ronald said, “But speaking of it, Carmen doesn’t need to be that capable. We’ll give whatever she wants anyway.”

After Ronald and Daxton both left, Carmen waited for the house to empty and went to find Wendy in the kitchen. “Wendy, help me make chicken soup today. Put it in a thermos when it’s done.”

“Yes,” Wendy replied.

Carmen didn’t have Aubree’s talents. She couldn’t cook, couldn’t start a business. But Aubree was foolish. Even when she did something good, she let others steal the credit. She glanced sideways at Wendy. She couldn’t make soup, but there were plenty of people in the house who could.

That same day was God’s Fury’s first match in the annual finals. Right after school, Aubree rushed to the venue. With Matilda as the coach, she had already gotten approval to be with the team full-time. Her ID badge was ready, so she entered through the staff passage and headed straight to the backstage lounge.

“Aubree! It really is you!” A surprised voice called out.

Suddenly, Emery appeared right before her.

Emery’s eyes lit up. “I didn’t see you with the team and thought you weren’t coming.” He looked genuinely thrilled.

Aubree sneered inwardly, taking a step back to keep her distance. Whether he was genuinely happy or just putting on a show, none of it mattered to her anymore.

She said coldly, “Do you need something? If not, please move.”

“I…” Emery wanted to say he just wanted to see her. But the words stuck in his throat. Emery’s eyes dimmed as pain stabbed through his chest. Aubree treated him like a stranger, but he was still her brother.

Emery forced a smile. “Aubree, today is the Apex Squad versus God’s Fury match.”

Aubree responded, “I saw the schedule. You didn’t need to tell me.”

“I meant… do you want to win?” Emery looked at her with hope. “You came here after school just to watch, so you must really want your team to win, right?”

‘If you want… I… I could help you…’ He added that silently in his heart.

He didn’t know what to do to make it up to her, but he was willing to do anything that would make her happy.

Aubree thought he was crazy. Everyone would want their team to win.

“You’re asking me if I want to win? Of course I want to see God’s Fury crush your team and sweep you 3-0!” She spoke angrily and shoved past him, hurrying away.

‘What a nutjob!’ Aubree thought.

Emery had just blocked her path to say this nonsense, which was wasting her time. She needed to cheer for Alvin and the others immediately. She rolled her eyes and quickened her pace. Not far behind her, Emery shouted, “I got it, Aubree!”

Aubree scoffed inwardly. ‘Like hell you do.’ She sped up again, worried he might chase her.

The match started on schedule. Aubree sat in the front row, tense. They’d beaten Apex Squad last time. She knew this would be the beginning of Apex Squad’s decline. However, she remembered Apex Squad would still place second in this year’s finals. More importantly, she didn’t know what Emery meant by all that.

“Nervous?” A mildly amused voice spoke beside her.

Aubree turned in surprise. “Bowen? You came?” She instinctively touched the necklace around her neck. She hadn’t seen him since her birthday. Bowen had put the necklace on her that night.

Bowen said, “I hold 30% of God’s Fury. Coming to check in as a shareholder isn’t too much, is it?”

Aubree smiled. “You’re welcome. Thanks again for the birthday gift. I really liked it.”

Looking at the chain on her neck, Bowen smiled as well. “Glad you do. Ollie’s men do have fine craftsmanship. The match is starting. Let’s watch.”

Meanwhile, a short distance away, Emery’s gaze was locked in their direction.

He muttered, “Aubree, I will give you everything you want. Last time, you said you wanted Apex Squad. Well, maybe that’s not impossible.”