Murray sent a message to Marcus just as the latter arrived at Patterson Group.So, Marius was the one who'd transferred the money to Childe Group. This surprised Marcus. As far as he knew, the Patterson family—Cherry, especially—had a bad impression of him.And it was easy enough for the Patterson family to find out who he was—on the surface, at least. There was no reason for them to help Childe Group.Marcus left the agreement with Patterson Group's receptionist before turning to leave, deep in thought. Then, he ran into Marius and Cherry, who had returned from Childe Group."What are you doing at our company, Marcus?" Cherry was immediately on her guard."I came to drop off an agreement, that's all," Marcus said calmly."I don't believe you." Cherry looked grim. "You must be here to stake the place out so you can think of a way to trick us out of our money!""You're crazy." Marcus snorted. He continued walking out."Stop right there!" Cherry cried. "We're grateful to you for

Unbeknownst to Marcus, one of the Childe family's attendants saw him throw the check into the trashcan. Shortly after Marcus left, the attendant ran to the trashcan and picked up the check when no one was looking."Don't worry, Marcus. I won't divorce you," Vivian said comfortingly when they returned to Imperial No.1."I know you won't, honey." Marcus frowned. "I'm just worried your grandparents and the others will force you into it. It all boils down to the fact that they think I'm an outsider. The Childe family is afraid that its fortune will end up in my hands with you as its heiress."The same goes for the Lorimer family. They all think the same thing.""Then I'd rather give up on being the heiress," Vivian said."That won't do." Marcus shook his head. "You got that fair and square; you got it based on your abilities. Why should you give it up?"The Childe family's fortune meant nothing to him, but Vivian had worked hard for it. Even if he didn't want the money, he couldn't a

Lincoln had already called Vivian to ask her to pick him up. Yet she'd told him she would send Marcus in her stead because she couldn't step away. She was busy setting up her company.Setting up her company? Even behind bars, Lincoln had heard about Vivian becoming Childe Group's vice president and the Childe family's official heiress. He'd come to Northfort immediately after being released from prison so he could live the good life.Yet now, Vivian was telling him she'd cut ties with the Childe family? The bastard, Marcus, had to be behind this!Lincoln had never been fond of Marcus, so his first thought was that Marcus had talked Vivian into this. Marcus had to have done it because he didn't want Lincoln to live in comfort.Lincoln looked around. He didn't see Marcus anywhere. "Oh, forget it. It's not like he's good for anything, anyway. I might as well just walk around on my own." He walked out of Northfort station.Unbeknownst to him, two people were watching him from a corner

At this moment, Octavius and Bill were seated before the computer at Forme Corporation. They were keeping a close watch on things at Starstrewn Casino."Marcus is the only one left." Bill narrowed his eyes, looking interested."I'd like to see how he's gonna cough up three billion dollars." Octavius gnashed his teeth. "I want him to lose everything!""I doubt he can fork out the money even after giving up everything he has," Bill snickered. "I bet he didn't come with any money. This is three billion dollars we're talking about. Even Marius Patterson wouldn't be able to scrounge up that much in such a short time.""If he doesn't have the money, he'll have to leave his life behind." Octavius' eyes flashed."I think there's something we can do before killing him, actually." Bill's murky eyes gleamed. "You should know that Marcus' wife, Vivian Lorimer, is the belle of Cromford. It was such a waste for her to marry someone like him.""So, you mean …""You're still as uninterested in

Vivian pushed the door open uneasily. She walked into the room.It was the presidential suite. Inside the spacious room, a young man with a gentlemanly demeanor sat on the couch. It was Octavius. Bill stood beside him."Vivian Lorimer?" Octavius scanned her as she approached. He nodded approvingly and said, "You really are as beautiful as they say. It's no wonder Marcus was willing to be your matrilocal husband. It looks like he knew what he was doing!"Bill, on the other hand, eyed Vivian greedily. His gaze was lecherous."Who are you people?" Vivian's scalp tingled from their gazes. Her tone was feeble."We're the people who can decide your worthless husband's fate." Octavius chuckled lightly. "If you do as we say, we'll consider letting you guys off easy."Vivian frowned. "What do you guys want?""I don't like beating around the bush." Octavius pointed at Bill and said, "All you have to do is spend a night with Mr. Slater. Then, I'll let Marcus off the hook.""Huh?" Bill was