Chapter 251

The Sawyer family burst into the office in a fury, with Bryan and the security guards trailing behind, visibly displeased.

“Excuse me,” Bryan said with a frown. “I hadn’t even announced your arrival. This is extremely rude–”

“Spare us the lectures,” Luciano barked. “You’re just a dog trailing behind Nicolas. Who gave you the right to yap at us?”

Bryan’s expression turned cold, but before he could respond, Nicolas’s voice cut through the room.

“Even a dog has an owner,” he said lazily. “And if Bryan’s a dog, then he’s my dog. Who do you think you are to discipline what’s mine? Next time you disrespect my assistant, you can get the hell out.”

The Sawyer family immediately shifted their attention to Nicolas, who remained seated, utterly composed. Even more infuriating was the fact that Noelle was still comfortably curled in his lap, as if they weren’t in the middle of a heated confrontation.

Their family business was in shambles, and here Nicolas sat, holding a woman and acting like he didn’t have a care in the world. It was outrageous.

“You bastard,” Braiden spat, stepping forward, his face twisted with fury. “You secretly bought up the Sawyer Group’s shares? Are you trying to destroy this family!”

Nicolas smiled, calm and unbothered. “That’s exactly what I’m doing. And what are you going to do about it?”

Braiden couldn’t contain himself. He lunged forward, ready to strike.

Noelle instinctively prepared to defend Nicolas, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“Nicolas?” she looked at him, puzzled.

He leaned in and whispered. “Relax. These fools aren’t even worth your energy.”

Sure enough, before Braiden could lay a hand on him, the security team stepped in, firmly restraining him.

“Sir, please calm down,” one of the guards said.

“Get your hands off me!” Braiden roared. “This is my son—I'll discipline him however I damn well please!”

The guards held firm. “Sir, we don’t care what your relationship is. We only follow Mr. Sawyer’s orders. If you continue to behave violently, we’ll have to call the authorities.”

At the word authorities, Braiden froze, his rage cooling just enough to make him back down, though he continued to glare at the guards with venom.

Marshall stepped forward, attempting a more diplomatic tone. “Nicolas, what are you doing? We’re family. Splitting the Sawyer Group apart—what good does that do you? Can’t we just talk things through?”

“Exactly,” Luciano chimed in, face dark with frustration. “You took the money we gave you and used it to buy us out, and you don’t even feel the slightest bit ashamed? If you have any conscience left, hand those shares back—before this gets any uglier.”

Nicolas listened with that same maddening, unfazed smile. He remained silent, but Noelle couldn’t. She was practically shaking with anger.

Cheeks puffed out, she snapped, “You people have no shame! Family? You’re the ones who drove Nicolas’s mother to her death. He’s not even asking for your lives—just taking back what was rightfully hers. And now you have the nerve to call him shameless?”

The room fell quiet as everyone turned to look at the girl in Nicolas’s lap.

They’d all been too fixated on Nicolas to realize who she was, assuming she was just some passing fling. But now that they looked closer, Marshall recognized her instantly.

“You’re Noelle, isn’t it?” he said coldly. “You may be engaged to him, but you’re not part of this family yet. This is family business. You’d best keep out of it.”

Noelle was about to argue that her bond with Nicolas was a hundred times stronger than anything the Sawyers ever gave him, but Nicolas cut in first.

He chuckled. “Marshall, Noelle is the woman I love. I'd hand her all of United Press if she asked. So you tell me—does she get a say in Sawyer family matters?”

“Outrageous!” Braiden exploded. “So this girl means more to you than your own family?”

With United Press now owning 52% of the Sawyer Group, what Nicolas had just said made it sound like he was handing the entire company over to this girl.

Nicolas met Braiden’s eyes with a cold smile. “Don’t flatter yourselves. You think you deserve to be compared to Noelle? You’re not even worthy of shining her shoes. You’re trash.”