Seated in his office, Tedmond crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. The seat had been adjusted, making it look puffy and soft. His gaze was fixed on the tablet, but he wasn’t reading from it.He couldn’t help but wonder what expressions the Griffins must have had when they received Lora's call.They would do everything in their power to gain further recognition from him, but he had no intention of revealing his identity just yet. He pondered whether he could play with them a little, like chess pieces.Considering all the terrible things they had done to him and his mother, it was only fair that he did as he pleased with them.Just then, Lora walked into the office. “Sir, I called them as you asked, and I’ve also gotten the mask and a voice changer.”Tedmond raised his head from the tablet to look at her. “A voice changer? Is that really necessary?”“I thought you didn’t want them to recognize your face, and you might also want to disguise your voice,” she replied.Thinking ab
A glint of satisfaction crossed Tedmond’s face when he saw the look of astonishment in the eyes of the Griffins. He had intentionally called Max dumb, knowing that Max hated being called that, even though he was.Max was taken aback and hurt flashed in his eyes for a few seconds. His lips parted as he searched for words, but he couldn’t find any. After a few moments, he finally spoke up.“Why do you think I am dumb?” Max questioned hastily. “I only said what needed to be said.”Tedmond grinned. “No, you didn’t,” he replied. “Xinca doesn’t need to put others down to get ahead or stand out.”Harold didn’t like the fact that his son was being called dumb. From how things were going, he had a feeling they might lose this opportunity, so he stepped in.“I am sorry for my son’s rudeness, President,” Harold said. “He didn’t mean to offend you.”Harold gestured for Max to apologize, but before that could happen, Tedmond spoke up.“Are you sure you know what your son did?” Tedmond asked.Harol
Tedmond walked out of the company, twirling his car keys on his finger before slipping them into his pocket. He held Bianca in his arms as he headed toward the garage. Just as he took a step forward, someone brushed past him.From the person’s silhouette, Tedmond could instantly tell who it was.“Max!” Lisa’s voice reached his ears as she rushed past him to meet Max.He paused for a moment but didn’t turn around. She fell into step beside him. “What?”“Where are you going?” she asked. “We should go back together.”“No need,” he replied.Tedmond glanced at Bianca, who was already sleeping peacefully in his arms, still clutching her doll. He sighed in relief—he didn’t want her to see them.“He called me dumb, and I guess I am dumb. Why did Dad listen to him when he said I should take a business class? I’m already studying business,” Max ranted, raising his thumb to his lips and chewing his nails. “What if he uses that against me and doesn’t appoint me as the heir to the company?”Lisa s
Frowning, Tedmond stared at Lisa, whose face was red with anger. He arched his brows. Why was she finding it so hard to accept that he had a child before their relationship, and she knew nothing about it?“What are you talking about?” Tedmond asked Lisa. “I already have a kid, and asking me questions is a waste of time. I. Am. Leaving.”Maxine’s eyes scanned the child from head to toe, her eye for luxury immediately identifying the expensive clothing.“Who is the mother of this child?” Maxine demanded. “The kid seems to be dressed in luxurious clothes.”Hearing that, Evelyn glanced at her daughter. “Luxurious clothes?”Maxine nodded. “That dress alone is worth $20,000, the shoes are worth $5,000, and even the doll in her hand is worth at least fifty thousand!”“For the child to dress that way, she must have a rich mother! If she hadn’t been with her mother all this time, the child would have been living with us!” Maxine asserted.The Griffins pieced the words together and nodded in ag
Getting back to the company, Tedmond couldn't stop grinning. His plan for revenge was going smoother than he had expected.At first, he had thoughts about revenge, but he had no idea that the Griffins would be connected to the first company he visited.Their presence made it easier for him to deal with them, but so far, nothing had been accomplished yet.“You're grinning so much, brother,” Bianca said. “Is it because of those crazy people from before?”Tedmond froze and glanced down at Bianca, seeing her curious blue eyes staring at him.He hadn’t expected her to be awake. What did he expect? They had been too loud, and their voices had woken her.“No, it's not because of them,” Tedmond replied.“Who are they? And why did you lie that you’re my father?” she questioned, her brows furrowing as if she was about to scold him.“Mommy said that it isn’t good to lie, and all liars aren’t good children. Does that mean you’re a bad child?”Tedmond peered down at her, worried about how to answe
Hours passed, and soon all the tests were concluded. Tedmond stretched his arms in delight and checked his phone to see the time and contact Bianca. It was almost time for him to pick her up, and he wanted to be punctual.The students were still murmuring about him submitting the test early, and the top student couldn't help but feel jealous because everyone was paying attention to Tedmond instead of him.Usually, he was always the first student to submit his exams. He was Finn, the most intelligent student in the class and the class president.“He must have submitted nonsense or an empty sheet of paper,” Finn said. “There’s no way he could have passed if he was that bad in the past.”The others nodded in agreement.“As expected of Finn. He knows right away that Tedmond isn’t a smart student.”Tedmond paid no attention to them; their voices were just background noise.Just then, a student walked into the class. She glanced at Tedmond for a moment before walking past him to get to Finn
In less than ten minutes, the news of Tedmond's cheating had spread throughout the university. Through the school forum, everyone learned about his alleged cheating in the exams.That was the talk of the school, and although they had no idea how the cheating occurred, all the influencers were ready to take their shot at broadcasting the whole incident.“I knew he cheated,” a student from Tedmond’s course said to another. “He was the first to submit the test, and I thought he knew what he was writing.”“He doesn’t look like someone who would cheat, though.”“Do they write it on their faces?”Kyle frowned on the other side of the building as he read the post after hearing others talk about it.He knew Tedmond was not a smart student, but from the game they had played earlier and his interactions with Tedmond, he believed Tedmond wouldn’t be stupid enough to cheat.Even though he didn’t like Tedmond, he was convinced that Tedmond didn’t cheat. After all, Tedmond didn’t even cheat in a si
Upon entering the office where the other professors were gathered, Tedmond noticed them casting disdainful glances his way. On the other hand, Finn couldn’t stop grinning, clearly eager to see the outcome of his actions.“Hello, professors,” Tedmond greeted with a curious expression.He could already tell that this meeting was about the test. Lisa had claimed he got perfect scores, but he didn’t understand why that would lead them to believe he had cheated.“Hello to you too,” a male professor responded, tossing a sheet at him. “Can you explain how you got a perfect score?”Catching the sheet, Tedmond glanced at it, seeing a solid 100 staring back at him. He looked up at the professor. “I studied for the test and passed,” he replied. “Isn’t that how you’re supposed to pass a test?”The professor scowled. “You studied?”Tedmond nodded. “Yes.”“How many days did you study?” Scarlett asked.“Two days,” he answered.The professors' eyes widened in shock and disbelief. They had never heard
Three hundred million? Joe wasn’t even surprised. He just recalled the words Tedmond had told him earlier.“They might ask for a billion or five hundred million or three hundred million dollars,” Tedmond had said. “Whatever it is, make sure to give it to them and get them to sign the documents.”‘Here I thought he might be exaggerating; he was right,’ Joe thought, his gaze focused on Evelyn. ‘She just mentioned one of the prices Tedmond warned about, but it seems her family doesn’t approve of this.’Harold and Maxine glanced at Evelyn, their shocked expressions quickly turning into anger.Joe grinned from ear to ear. ‘Boss was wrong, though. He said they would only aim for large amounts and support the person asking for it. But here they are, mad at her for mentioning such a sum.’“What are you doing?!” Harold demanded, confused and pissed. “Didn’t we agree that we were going to take a loan of a billion?!”Joe froze, his body stiffening. He had to blink several times to come back to h
At the mention of Tedmond, Evelyn and Harold glanced at the spot she was pointing to, but they couldn’t see anyone in sight.“No one is there,” Evelyn replied, returning to Maxine. “You must have seen someone else. Tedmond isn’t the kind of person who would be here.”Harold nodded in agreement. “There’s no way they’d let him in anyway,” he said, rolling his eyes. “That useless son of mine isn’t great anytime soon.”Ki overheard their conversation and realized they knew the new boss. He also heard Harold call Tedmond a useless son.Someone doesn’t know their son’s real behavior, Ki thought. How is someone who bought a company like this regarded as useless?Instead of commenting, Ki repeated his usual greetings. “Hello and welcome to Loanbull. How can I help you today?” he asked, a fake professional smile appearing on his face.Their gazes returned to him. Smiling back politely, they nodded before Harold spoke.“We’d like to meet the person in charge,” Harold said. “What we came for is
“What do you mean?!” Max yelled, pulling himself away from his father, but it didn’t work. His arm didn’t seem to hurt as his father gripped it. His mind was still stuck on the words Tedmond had said.‘This can’t be happening!’ Max thought, trying to convince himself. ‘They can’t possibly pick money over me.’However, when he glanced at his parents, they glared at him, expecting him to apologize to Tedmond.“You shouldn’t force him to apologize,” Tedmond told them, making their eyes light up momentarily. But his next words caught them off guard. “I should leave since he doesn’t want me here.”At that, Harold and Evelyn grew paranoid. They couldn’t let him leave without first calling his baby mama and asking her to invest in the company.“Don’t leave yet! We’ll make him apologize!” Evelyn yelled.In a matter of seconds, Max was shoved to his knees before he could react. His eyes widened in shock, and he couldn’t speak, even though he tried.“Apologize to him!” Evelyn yelled the pity sh
Tedmond made his way downstairs, heading to the one place he knew Max would be. He could tell that if Max met the others there, they would side with him since Tedmond wasn’t in sight.As he approached the kitchen, he heard voices. It was his stepmother and ex-father, speaking so quietly that he couldn’t make out their words.“I can’t believe I have to cook for that brat!” Evelyn cursed loudly, making the maid at the end of the kitchen flinch and frown as she hurriedly cut the fish. “He’s the son of you and that useless maid, and now I have to be a maid to him!”Harold glanced at her, concern etched on his face. “You should be more worried about that,” he said, taking the knife from her and helping cut the fish. “It’s good his mother isn’t around. It’ll be easier to control him once we get custody of his daughter.”Evelyn frowned at his words. “How are we supposed to get custody? Tedmond’s never brought her home before. That means he doesn’t have custody either—it must be with his baby
When Max got upstairs, Tedmond was nowhere to be seen. He searched the guest room, but Tedmond wasn’t there. He decided to check all the other rooms, yet Tedmond was still missing.The last place he hadn’t checked was his own room—and Lisa’s. Turning around, he headed toward the room, his heart pounding against his chest. As he approached the door, he paused. The room was silent, which made him hesitate.‘If Tedmond isn’t in the other rooms, could he be with Lisa?’ he wondered, before reaching for the door. He must not be over her yet.Oddly, the thought of Tedmond being with Lisa made him smile. If that were the case, it would make getting the necklace from him much easier.Opening the door softly, Max peeked inside, only to see Lisa standing there, staring directly at him.“What are you doing?” she asked, her brows arching in confusion.Max straightened up and pushed the door open fully. Without a word, he brushed past her and began searching the room. He checked everywhere—even the
Hearing his father’s words, Tedmond's smile dissipated, but then the grin returned to his face. “What did you say?”Guessing their father’s intentions, the others joined in. Harold had just gotten an idea: if he could convince Tedmond to make his baby mama invest in their struggling company for a fake project, they could get the hundred million back.“There’s a project going on, and we need investors to fund it,” Max added, his face serious. “It’s a big project, and the investment required will be substantial.”“That’s right. Your baby mama will be part of the family too. It would be great for her to help us,” Maxine continued.Evelyn even went as far as holding Tedmond’s hand—something she had only done when she was about to hit him as a child.“You’ll have the right to return to the family as long as you agree to help us with the investment,” Evelyn muttered. “You’re my son, after all, and it makes me sad that you were kicked out.”Tedmond was taken aback. He had guessed they might
The question was one that Duncan had been waiting for. He had thought about what to do and had come across an idea that might help him. He wasn’t sure if it would work, but he knew he had to try.“I would like you to give us the background research documents you have about us,” Duncan said.Silence ensued between them. Tedmond’s gaze fixed on Duncan, who met his eyes without blinking. They stared at each other for a long time. Tedmond hadn’t expected Duncan to ask for background research about his own company.“Why would you need that?” Tedmond questioned. “Do you think it will help clear your name?”Duncan didn’t elaborate. “I’m not going to mention your name or the name of the company when I release the file. I just want to release the details of my company so people can see and judge for themselves.”“Who would release it?” Tedmond pressed, his curiosity rising. “If you release it yourself, it will look fake, like you did it intentionally to clear your name.”“I would have one of t
“Can I get her name?” Harold questioned. “She is the same age as my granddaughter; they could be friends.”Hearing that, Tedmond frowned. The two girls were the same person, and he was trying to get them to be friends with each other. That was the worst thing he had heard all day.“Don’t cross the boundaries, Mr. Griffin,” Tedmond replied, peering at Harold. “Why are you here?”Harold wasn’t shocked by Tedmond’s words—he had been expecting it. After all, he hadn’t paid the compensation or regained trust between them, but that didn’t bother him much. GNN was in crisis, and Griffin’s Cooperation would be the one to be picked no matter what.“I’m here to pay the compensation fee and apologize again for my family’s behavior,” Harold answered.“I thought I told Ms. Fincall to give you the account number to which the money should be transferred. Did you lose it?”Harold flinched. Was it that obvious he had thrown the account number away to have an excuse to meet the president in person?“I
Thomas nodded. “Right!”Seeing that they would be busy, Bianca sighed. “Could you send me to Persis’ place?” she asked.“Okay,” Tedmond agreed.*****“Have you found a lead yet?” Duncan asked his secretary.The secretary shook his head. “Not yet. Were you able to contact Xinca too?”Duncan shook his head. “I sent a staff member to meet with them, but he hasn’t arrived yet. If he had met with them, he would have contacted me.”The secretary sighed. “What are we going to do now that the source of the rumor hasn’t been found?”“We’ll just have to make sure to convince Xinca that it was all a rumor, and at the same time, find the source. All that matters first is Xinca, and then we’ll have to settle the rumors.”“Do you think it was made up by someone? We didn’t offend anyone, did we?”Duncan shook his head, placing his hand on the table. “We didn’t. GNN never offends anyone.”“Then who would spread such nasty rumors about us?”Duncan thought about it, and then it hit him. His eyes widene