Chapter 12
Author: Marina Vittori
After entering Mirage, Lyra vented her anger. "Ugh, that woman is hot, but she's blind to fall for an incompetent fool like Dustin."

"I know, right? What a waste," Chris chimed in with a long sigh. He was rich and handsome, so why was he unable to meet a beautiful woman too?

"That's enough talk. We're here for business," Dahlia interrupted them and said, "Lyra, go and find out which Harmon is in charge tonight. It'd be best if we could promote ourselves."

"I know a close friend who works at this place. I'll give her a call." As Lyra spoke, she fished out her phone and dialed a number. Before long, she informed Dahlia of good news. "Ms. Nicholson, tonight's charity event is organized by the Steel Lady herself. As for the partner, it'll depend on her preferences."

"The Steel Lady? Could she be the famous business prodigy?" At the thought of this, Dahlia's eyes lit up with excitement. The Steel Lady had a well-known reputation for being the only woman who singlehandedly conquered the business world of Swinton, surpassing nearly all of the other businessmen.

Dahlia couldn't help but admire such an exceptional businesswoman. However, she'd never met the Steel Lady.

"Lyra, ask your friend whether she could help us arrange a private meeting with the Steel Lady. We can't miss this opportunity," said Dahlia.

"I can try and ask her, but there’s no guarantee."

"Okay. I will thank her afterward." Deep down, Dahlia was bubbling with anticipation. Being the Harmon family's partner meant a lot to her. If she could meet the Steel Lady in advance, she was confident that she would be able to convince the other and prove herself.

As time passed, the number of guests gradually increased in Mirage. Although the charity event had yet to commence, Natasha was already busy.

"Mr. Rhys, feel free to look around. I have to excuse myself. You can ask anyone here if you need anything."

"Alright. Thanks."

"Julie, help me look after Mr. Rhys." Then, Natasha headed toward her office.

"Ms. Harmon…" Upon entering the room, a middle-aged manager approached her with some documents. "Here is the information you asked for. After several screenings, we have narrowed down only four companies that qualify to be our partner. Please have a look and see if there's anything else you need."

Natasha hummed in acknowledgment and nodded silently. She accepted the documents and began reviewing them. After a while, she raised her eyebrow as her interest was piqued.

"Huh, what a coincidence."

A mischievous smirk formed on Natasha's lips. It turned out that Jackson Group was among the candidates, and in the documents was Dahlia's resume. Out of curiosity, she read everything about Dahlia and soon, discovered something unusual.

Three years ago, Dahlia was a nobody while Jackson Group was unheard of. Nonetheless, ever since she'd gotten married, her career experienced inexplicably rapid growth. In merely three years, the small company with assets worth less than millions of dollars had developed into one of the most valuable corporations.

During that period, Dahlia not only received a tremendous amount of investments but also orders for various projects. In Natasha's opinion, these achievements were questionable and there must have been strings pulled behind the scenes. The problem was, however, Dahlia did not come from an influential family nor did she have connections to pull this off.

"Could it be… him?" An image of Dustin appeared in Natasha's mind. Besides Dustin, she couldn't think of anyone else who would help Dahlia so unconditionally. Subsequently, she became even more intrigued. Who on earth was Dustin?

No one could easily build Jackson Group into a large corporation in only three years.

"Dustin, oh, Dustin. What exactly are you hiding?" Narrowing her eyes slightly, Natasha was enthralled by the mystery surrounding Dustin.

"And that woman, Dahlia… What were you thinking? Why did you let go of a wealthy husband and choose to get entangled with that bastard named Chris instead? Are you really that stupid?" Natasha pondered and silently heaved a sigh.

A man had sacrificed so much for a woman, but in the end, she was ignorant and even self-righteously decided to divorce him. Natasha couldn't wrap her head around that. Nevertheless, she realized that the situation had given her a chance to have Dustin all for herself.

"Ms. Harmon, are you considering Dahlia Nicholson from Jackson Group?" asked the manager tentatively upon the rare sight of Natasha reading the documents so intently.

"Dahlia? Hmph," Natasha answered with a dissatisfied tone. "She is qualified to be our partner, but I don't like her."

"Understood. I will remove her from the list right away!"

"No need. Reorganize the documents and show them to Mr. Rhys. Let him decide," Natasha instructed with an ambiguous smile.

"Yes."

Although the manager was dumbfounded, he didn't dare to question her orders.

"Is there something else?" Natasha asked when he did not leave.

"Ms. Harmon, Edward Spanner from Drey Group had arrived earlier and he wishes to meet you," the manager explained with his head bowed.

"Edward? Trevor Spanner's son? What is he doing here?"

Natasha was stunned.

"He says he wants to discuss business matters with you, but I doubt that it is his true intention. Should I order the guards to kick him out?"

"Trevor sent his son in his place? Ha… Never mind. I want to see what tricks he has up his sleeves."

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    The hall where the event was held had become lively. On the stage, a group of dancers dressed in vintage clothing danced to classical music. Every facial expression and move was full of charm and grace, leaving a lingering impression in the audience's mind. Below the stage sat a crowd of well-dressed celebrities. While some clinked their glasses and chatted, others quietly enjoyed the performance. Dustin had found an empty seat and sat down, sipping on a glass of juice as he watched the show. "Yo, Rhys! Didn't think you would actually sneak in here!"Suddenly, a discordant voice disrupted Dustin's moment of peace. Glancing over at the source, Dustin spotted Chris and Dahlia together with the secretary."Hmph, what an unlucky day. Why are you everywhere?" Lyra huffed in annoyance.Dahlia didn't say a word. She threw a cold glance at Dustin and went to take a seat in the front row. "Hey, the charity auction is starting soon. Can you even afford to participate? Why are you sittin

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    "We were chosen?" Dahlia was shocked. She couldn't believe his words. The general manager wasn't talking about her place on the candidate list, but was referring to their appointment as the Harmon family's partner! They’d even skipped the final assessment. What was happening?"Did you mean what you said?" Dahlia questioned tentatively."Of course. If you don't believe it, you may come to our office tomorrow to sign the contract. I have other things to attend to, so I'll hang up now." After saying a few words, the general manager ended the call.Dahlia on the other end was feeling both astonished and delighted. Never had she expected things to go so smoothly. A few moments ago, the Jackson Group was just about to get removed from the candidate list but in the blink of an eye, they had become the Harmon family’s partner. Everything was happening too abruptly.Of course, it must've been due to Chris' help that she was able to make it this far. The Nolan family's influence was surprisi

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    Never in Dustin's wildest dreams would he think that was how Dahlia viewed him. She had no faith in him at all. As it turned out, three years of marriage meant nothing when compared to an outsider."You're right. I'm despicable, while Chris is a hero. I slandered him. Are you happy now?" Dustin said self-mockingly. It was pointless to defend himself when there was no trust to begin with."What's with your attitude? Are you saying I'm accusing you?" Dahlia frowned."Not at all. I'm the one to blame for badmouthing a good person," Dustin replied curtly. "You're so stubborn!" His words angered Dahlia. She never knew that Dustin would act like this out of spite and refuse to admit his mistake. Was he finally showing his true colors after their divorce? "It's all right, Dahlia. Don't get too worked up." At this time, Chris put up a pretentious act of kindness and said, "Dustin must be doing this because he doesn't like that I'm too close to you. I don't blame him. Everyone makes mist

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    "What the hell? Why did he bring so many people?" Chris gulped, feeling faint for some reason. Weren't they supposed to fight one-on-one? Edward had disrespected the rules of a fair fight by involving a gang. Though Chris was cursing in his heart, he had no choice but to face them head-on. No matter what, he couldn't lose face in front of Dahlia. "That's them. Surround them!" With a wave of his hand, the bodyguards led by Edward dashed forward at once, surrounding Chris, Dahlia, and Lyra. "What are you doing? I'm warning you, don't you dare touch me. My father is David Nolan, the president of Nolan Pharmaceuticals!" Sensing that he was at a disadvantage, Chris hurriedly threatened them with his father's status."So what?" one of the bodyguards yelled. "Do you know who you've messed with? He is Sir Spanner's son, the heir of Drey Group!"His words caused an uproar among the crowd."Sir Spanner? Is he talking about Trevor Spanner, King of the Underworld from East City?" "It must

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    “Then go to die!” Dustin stated expressionlessly, but his hard gaze was unnerving.“Go to thell?” Edward burst out laughing.Even the group of bodyguards standing behind him burst into laughter; all of them looked at Dustin as though he were an idiot.“You little punk! Don’t you know who I am? You’ve got some nerve speaking to me that way,” Edward said cockily.“I don’t know who you are, and I couldn't care less. You have three seconds to let her go, or else,” Dustin stated plainly.His words instantly caused a stir; even the people who were holding Dahlia were shocked.None of them expected that Dustin would say such a thing; he was remarkably brave compared to the silent Chris.However, such bravery was useless.“You really don’t know what’s good for you. You’re going to die!” Chris’ face was full of resentment because Dustin’s show of bravado only made his cowardice even more apparent.Naturally, Chris was irritated and even filled with resentment when a good-for-nothing l

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