"Give the bow respects to Mr. Giordan and Mrs. Jane."
Darren stared at the two crates laid out in a row in front of him. Along with Mrs. Miller and Mr. Miller-his father, he was at the funeral home to pay his last respects to his nanny parents.
Following his father Mr. Miller's orders, Darren, the Miller family members and the bodyguards bowed.
While doing so, Darren's heart burned with anger. He remembered all the good deeds of his foster parents.
After straightening up, there was a moment of silence.
Then Mr. Miller said to the bodies of Mr. Giordan and Mrs. Jane, "You have worked with the Miller Family for almost ten years. We thank you for the many sacrifices you made."
Darren gritted his teeth, trying to contain his anger. The more he looked at Mr. Giordan and Mrs. Jane's bodies in the open casket, the more guilty Darren felt.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you both," Darren said softly.
Darren's words were heard by Mr. Miller and Mrs. Miller. Seeing the look in Darren's eyes radiating sadness made Mr. Miller then embrace him.
Mr. Miller shook Darren's shoulder briefly to calm him down.
"Be strong, Darren. We can't change what happened," Mr. Miller said firmly.
With an expression that radiated anger, a single tear fell from Darren's right eye. Darren immediately wiped away the tears that had suddenly fallen. After that, he took a deep breath and exhaled deeply.
"It's true, Father. At least I was able to detect this incident, too bad the culprit was too fast," Darren replied.
Mr. Miller looked at Darren from the side. In the split second that Mr. Miller did, Darren only flinched.
"We will get revenge for what was done to your nanny's parents," Mr. Miller said confidently.
Darren turned his gaze to Mr. Miller. His brows furrowed in confusion and curiosity.
"I don't know how to do that," Darren replied.
Mr. Miller curved a meaningful smile. He didn't answer anything. But from that smile, Mr. Miller showed he already had a plan.
Without continuing the conversation with Darren, Mr. Miller looked at his guards.
"We're going to do the cremation process now. You guys get ready," Mr. Miller gave the order.
The guards bowed their heads in obedience. They immediately dispersed after getting the order from Mr. Miller.
After the bodyguards dispersed, Mr. Miller and his bodyguards immediately carried out the cremation process. Instantly the atmosphere became very busy.
On the sidelines of the busy cremation process, Darren accidentally saw the arrival of several familiar people along with a group of bodyguards. The echo of their steps could be heard in the hallway of this funeral home.
It was Mr. Charlotte, Cloe's father, and the rest of the Johnson family. Including Cloe.
"Hey, isn't that Mr. Charlotte?" Anthonio who was beside Darren said.
Darren instantly froze where he stood without being able to say anything. As the Johnson family stepped closer, Darren realized that the Johnson family's expressions displayed smiles full of satisfaction.
"Oh my, it's so sad and busy in here," Charlotte said as she stood in front of Darren.
Darren's gaze briefly fell on Cloe who was staring at him intently. He realized there was an implied hatred there.
"Hello, Darren. We meet again after all these years. I'm sorry that you had to face the death of both your nanny parents," Charlotte said.
Charlotte's tone did not convey empathy at all. Darren was well aware that Charlotte intended to mock him.
"What are you here for?" Darren asked with emphasis and menace.
Charlotte was somewhat taken aback by Darren's reaction.
"I don't know why you're being so cold. You should have greeted me," Charlotte retorted.
"I don't need to greet unimportant people like you," Darren replied without hesitation. The look in his eyes radiated seriousness.
Charlotte immediately laughed sarcastically while looking away briefly.
"Are you mocking us? Our visit was well-intentioned because we care about you. Mr. Giordan and Mrs. Jane were your parents who loved you very much, you must be very sad about their passing," Charlotte said with an expression that pretended to be empathetic.
"Thank you if you really mean it, but I don't need your empathy, Mr. Anthonio," Darren said warningly.
"Because you already have the Miller Family's help?" Charlotte quipped with a sardonic smile.
This time Darren only frowned.
This time Darren only frowned.
"I didn't expect the Miller Family to help you. But wouldn't it be arrogant of you to feel powerful just because of that? You're not even a member of the Miller Family," Charlotte continued.
The curve of a sardonic smile spontaneously formed on Darren's face. It felt like laughing at Charlotte because it turned out that the Johnson Family did not know about her true identity yet.
"I don't care what you say, Mr. Charlotte. I don't need the Johnson family here."
"..."
Charlotte was taken aback, as were the rest of the Johnson Family.
Anthonio realized the tense situation between Charlotte and Darren. He felt that this kind of situation could not be left for too long.
So Anthonio was forced to smile calmly while holding both of Darren's shoulders. Slowly his hands on Darren's shoulders brought Darren back a little.
In between, Anthonio whispered, "Don't get lost in your anger. Be calm."
Anthonio lowered his face slightly and nodded briefly as a code.
Luckily Darren was able to restrain himself enough not to get carried away by his anger. Darren decided not to say anything.
Meanwhile, Anthonio stood facing the Johnson Family.
"Thank you all for coming. Please forgive Darren who may still be in a grieving mood." Anthonio said with a theatrical smile.
Before Charlotte could say anything, there was a sudden voice, "Would you like to pay your last respects to Mr. Giordan and Mrs. Jane?"
All eyes shifted to Mr. Miller who walked in. The look in Mr. Miller's eyes was very calm. But there was a faint lopsided smile.
"Mr. Miller. Nice to meet you, of course I have to pay my last respects. They were precious people to the Miller Family," Charlotte replied.
Darren was sick to death of all the things Charlotte had been saying.
Meanwhile, Mr. Miller was still calm.
"Of course. I'm surprised you know so much about the Miller Family, Mr. Charlotte."
"You guys are celebrities in America. How could I not know about the Miller Family?" Charlotte replied casually.
"In that case, you should have acted fairly by letting the Miller Family know about the Johnson Family as well. But you tried very hard to block us, didn't you?"
Mr. Miller's last quip finally dawned on Charlotte. Her smile gradually faded into an offended look.
"Are you accusing the Johnson Family of being the culprits behind their deaths?" Charlotte asked.
Mr. Miller was secretly satisfied that Charlotte understood the meaning of his insinuation.
Mr. Miller casually shook his head with a chuckle.
"Of course not. You couldn't possibly be the perpetrator of Darren's parents' deaths, could you?"
"The Corpa Miller Group officially announces the son of our heir apparent is back. For years we've waited for him to arrive, now welcome Darren Awalter Miller!" A loud applause echoed through the room. Everyone seemed both excited and very curious. In contrast to the reactions of all the guests, the Johnson Family was stunned in disbelief. Darren's name was certainly not unfamiliar to them. When Darren walked to the center of the stage, all eyes looked at him in awe. Including the members of the Johnson Family. "How come Darren is the main heir to the Miller Family?" Cloe said with an admiring look. Cloe secretly regretted remembering her bad treatment to Darren sixteen years ago. Cloe could only grimace in her seat and automatically compared Darren's amount of wealth with Jack, her husband. Moreover, Darren's appearance had changed drastically compared to sixteen years ago. "I didn't expect to be standing at this point now, in front of all of you," Darren began to open his voi
"This is all your fault, Darren!" Darren gasped when Charlotte suddenly attacked his collar. He didn't understand why Charlotte had come to the Miller mansion the next day. Charlotte's sudden arrival to attack Darren made several Miller Family bodyguards rush over. They all tried to pull Charlotte's body away from Darren. "You're the one who spread the video! Why are you doing this to me?!" Charlotte asked in a furious tone. Darren tried to calm his shock as he gripped Charlotte's hand. Her face looked up as her neck was slightly strangled. "Let go of me, Mr. Charlotte!" Darren said warningly. Charlotte paid no attention to Darren's words. She growled even more as she gritted her teeth. "Do you think you can be so powerful and destroy the Johnson family?!" Charlotte exclaimed loudly in front of Darren's face. "Calm yourself, Mr. Charlotte! If you keep strangling me like this, the bodyguards will take warning action against you!" Darren said firmly. As Darren said, the Miller
"Mr. Darren Awalker Miller?"Darren slowly turned his body back after hearing someone's voice calling him. Darren's eyebrows furrowed at the sight of a strange man who gave him a smile. Darren didn't know who the man was. He had just arrived at Glitch Ocean Washington Restaurant and had no idea who he was meeting."Yes, that's me. Who are you?" asked Darren, looking confused."I'm Thommy," the man replied, extending his hand. An enthusiastic smile curved his face.Darren briefly looked at Thommy's hand with a serious thinking expression. He had no idea who this man was."I finally get to meet you. I really want to have a serious discussion with you, Mr. Darren," Thommy said before Darren accepted his hand.Brushing off his confusion, Darren finally shook hands with Thommy. But the look in his eyes still looked very serious to guess who Thommy was.Has Darren ever met Thommy in the past?'Damn, why doesn't the system's personal data detection feature appear?' Darren asked in his hear
"Thommy Patrick Albern, CEO of Charath D'Joungth Compan, officially invested ten million dollars into Corpa Miller Company. Wow, you are really great!"Darren took a sip of the red wine served on the dining table after Mr. Miller, his father, said that. Since three days after the official announcement of Thommy investing into Corpa Miller Company, the news spread everywhere.In Mr. Miller's hand, there was already a newspaper with a photo of Darren shaking hands with Thommy. Of course it was something to be proud of.Thommy was known as an investor who would not carelessly put his money into a company. That is also the track record of Charath D'Joungth Company. There has never been a significant downturn or decline in shares. The company earned huge profits as long as it issued every business innovation.Therefore, Thommy is a very influential investor. Almost all investors will follow in the footsteps of the company where Thonmy gives his money."Who trained you to negotiate with M
"Walt, Mr. Charlotte is about to be released from prison," Darren said after the family dinner was over.Walt furrowed his brow as a look of surprise crossed his face. He stepped closer to Darren with an incredulous look."How come? How did you know?" Walt asked.Darren realized Walt didn't believe a word he said. Therefore, he just sighed heavily."I figured you wouldn't take my word for it, Walt. I got a phone call a little while ago," Darren explained slowly.Seeing the serious look on Darren's face, Walt's body automatically moved closer. Walt looked at Darren with great curiosity. Darren had time to check the surrounding atmosphere to make sure no one heard their conversation."The phone call was from Mr. Charlotte. I think he used the prison phone to call me. He said he would meet me and see what he would do," Darren explained.Walt was still frowning."Did Mr. Walt really say that? Oh, aren't those phone facilities only for the privileged, moneyed inmates?"Darren snapped his f
"Why are you calling me, Cloe?" asked Darren after picking up the phone call.In front of Darren, Walt wore an expression of astonishment and glanced in the small rearview mirror. Walt had already thought of all the bad possibilities about Cloe calling Darren."Darren, I actually want to have a serious talk with you. Are you... are you still angry about what I did to you?" asked Cloe in a hesitant voice.Darren furrowed his brow. Cloe's question confused him. He could hardly believe that Cloe would ask him such a question."Why do you ask that?" asked Darren.Cloe was silent for a few seconds. During that silence, it felt like Darren couldn't calm down. Darren guessed various things in his mind about why Cloe suddenly asked him that question. His senses couldn't help but be alert."I'm just making sure. Considering what you did to my father, I'm guessing you're very hurt," Cloe said.Realizing Walt was both curious and suspicious of him, Darren turned on the speaker mode. Eventually
"What do you mean, you want me to agree to a deal to release Mr. Charlotte?" asked Darren.In front of Darren, Mr. Kimberth and Mr. Jansen-the two investors who were his main targets-looked on with challenging expressions. Darren was still squinting, watching them in astonishment."That's right. When you say professionalism, you have to prove that you can get rid of your ego in business?" Mr. Kimberth asked."You exposed Mr. Charlotte's secret conversations about wanting to destroy the Corpa Miller Group. But in reality, Mr. Charlotte hasn't done anything yet.""Then what did I do wrong?" Darren asked, still confused."Your actions show that you were so scared that you got defensive and attacked someone like that," Mr. Jansen replied.Darren immediately let out a rude breath as he laughed sarcastically. Now he was starting to get the picture:Mr. Charlotte called Darren to give a vague warning, Cloe called him to negotiate, and then the two investors he was targeting gave a warning an
"Are you doing this on purpose, Mr. Charlotte?"The atmosphere in the inmate and guest visiting room was tense. Darren and Mr. Charlotte were sitting opposite each other with serious expressions.A few hours ago Darren sent a visit request which was immediately approved by Mr. Charlotte. Darren deliberately wanted to talk directly to Mr. Charlotte after many suspicious events."I didn't expect you to come visit me here," Mr. Charlotte said with a chuckle.Darren snorted in disgust. He knew Mr. Charlotte was deliberately provoking his annoyance."Yeah, you planned for me to come here. Right?" asked Darren."What do you mean? I complied with your wishes by staying in this prison. You don't seem satisfied," replied Mr. Charlotte."No need to pretend, Mr. Charlotte. You called me to give an implied ultimatum.""I'm just warming up before facing you in our upcoming business competition, Darren.""You're indirectly saying that you'll be free from prison in the near future. I can see what yo