Rags to Riches

Chapter 20 The 12th of March

At the same time, Luke handed a stack of documents to Nora as he painted Marcus out to be the bad guy.

"Grandma, look at this! Here's what the investigator I hired found. Marcus went to Globestone Investments before picking Vivian up! He was there for a long time, too! What's weirder is that the lady named Wendy from the conference room back then obeyed Marcus' every order! I suspect Marcus is plotting something! He must've gotten Globestone Investments to invest some funds into the Lorimer Group to promote Vivian's work position. His ultimate goal must be to take over the business our family has owned for a century!"

"He wouldn't dare!" Nora's eyes turned into dark pools of anger while she slammed the end of her cane hard against the ground.

Eyes subtly gleaming with malice, he frowned at Nora and hinted, "Grandma, the main issue is I previously accepted Vivian's wager under pressure. I'm stuck in a dilemma now. If I uphold my end of the bargain, we'll lose our family's business. But if I don't, people will think badly of me!"

That garnered a steely response from Nora. "Hmph! What wager? Nothing is more important to me than keeping the family's assets under our name!" she thundered. "How dare a lowly live-in son-in-law covet the Lorimer Group! He must have nerves of steel! Don't worry, Luke. I'm the head of this family, and I'll call the shots!"

Hearing that spread a smirk across Luke's face. He couldn't wait to see what Vivian would do during tomorrow's press conference.

…

Soon enough, the 12th of March arrived.

That morning, Vivian awoke, only to realize Marcus had gone missing. She wondered if he had left early to prepare an anniversary gift for her.

Her cheeks turned pink at that thought, her lips curving upward.

In the past three years, she didn't experience a love that made her heart flutter, nor did she receive a single gift on her wedding anniversary. Because of that, she couldn't wait to see what Marcus had prepared.

Alas, she never saw Marcus again as time gradually passed.

It was almost like she had just blinked, and it was already noon.

Still, there was no sign of Marcus.

Just then, Lisa called out from the living room downstairs. "Have you gotten changed, Vivian? The press conference is at 2 pm this afternoon, and there's only an hour left! We can't be late!"

"Got it! I'm changing now!" Vivian answered, pretending to get dressed when she called Marcus.

"That asshole! Why's his phone switched off?" she thought while throwing her phone onto the bed.

Surprisingly, she found herself disappointed by the situation.

Tearing up uncontrollably, she slumped in a corner of her room and brought her knees to her chest. A trembling ran deep into Vivian's bones as she felt utterly disappointed in Marcus.

"I'm such an idiot for putting my hopes in him! Still, why did he have to lie to me? Even if he couldn't afford an expensive gift, I would've been content with a flower, a box of chocolates—anything!"

…

Half an hour passed when Lisa asked curiously, "Where's that loser?"

She had donned a formal outfit and even wore the ring passed down in her family on her finger.

"Who cares? His presence won't make much of a difference!" Vivian snapped coldly.

She had already decided to divorce Marcus regardless of how things turned out today.

Meanwhile, Luke was also getting dressed at Lorimer Manor. His chest puffed with confidence as he checked himself in the mirror, taking in every detail of his suit.

"Things will change for the better for me today. On this pivotal moment of my life, I want everyone to remember that I, Luke Lorimer, am the talented, most brilliant star of the Lorimer family!" he declared.

That was when his phone rang with a call from his little sister.

"Congrats on becoming the official successor of our family and its business, Luke! How do you plan to deal with Vivian afterward?"

Anyone could tell from Faye's lively tone that she was over the moon that her brother had inherited the family business. That naturally meant her status in the family would get upgraded.

"Rest assured, dear sister. I'll kick her out of our family in front of all those reporters. She can never come back to us again! Oh, and one more thing. Globestone Investments invested 500 million dollars in our company for Vivian's sake, meaning the money has nothing to do with the Lorimer Group. Thus, there's nothing Globestone Investments can do if we refuse to return the money. Their best bet is to sue Vivian for it. She'll be homeless and have a 500-million-dollar debt!" A menacing grin crossed Luke's face.

He was determined to take down Vivian today, no matter the cost.

…

Many of Cromford's famous media outlets had gathered at the Lorimer Group's conference room.

Nora sat at the head of the table. Behind her stood Luke and Vivian. The press conference soon started, and she announced, "I'm honored that you, my dear friends from the press, have accepted my invitation to today's press conference. I'd like to take this chance to make two important announcements regarding the Lorimer Group."

She gradually stood, made eye contact with everyone around her, and continued, "Firstly, the Lorimer Group has received an investment fund of 500 million dollars, so we'll reboot our Centurion Garden project soon. As for the second thing, I'm officially announcing that the successor to Lorimer Group is—"