Stephen rushed after his grandfather, but the chairman continued to ignore him.
Not wanting to make a scene, Stephen walked back to his office and packed his things.
“Have the driver take you to the Cho Family Mansion.” He told his wife as he made sure all his things were in his bag.
“Your grandpa didn’t take it well, I assume?” Vanessa asked her husband.
“No.” Stephen answered. “I’ll go ahead. I need to speak to Uncle Armand and Aunt Anastasia, if Andrew did as I asked they should be at the mansion by now.”
“Good luck.” Vanessa told her husband as they ended the cal
“How did you get him to come here?” Stephen whispered to Vanessa as Eldrich Cho and Claudette Cho stared at the man in shock.They were the only two people in the room who didn’t know that Charlie was alive.“I just spoke to him.” Vanessa said with a cunning smile as they watched father and son reunite.“I’m sorry dad, I know you blame me for mom’s death, I’m sorry.” Charlie sobbed as he fell on his knees before Eldrich Cho.Stephen had never seen Charlie in this predicament before, he had always been the strong one. Even when he was in tears, it wasn’t like this.“Ch- Ch- Charlie
“The Lu and Yang families will be the biggest threat.” Eldrich Cho told his grandson as he passed several documents with everything he had on the Lu and Yang families.“Their sons are best friends, I’m sure they will work together to try and take us down.” Stephen theorized as he recalled what he knew about the two families.Eldrich Cho nodded, he was often surprised by how much his grandson knew about the political and business circles in Marina City.Stephen had been gone for so long that Eldrich didn’t expect him to know much about the city and its inner workings.“Try not to offend them and strengthen the bonds you already have.” Eldrich warned Stephen.
Stephen spoke with many businessmen as they tried to get into his good favor.They praised him and offered him gifts and benefits with their own companies. Some even suggested that they could send him a woman to warm his bed, but Stephen rejected every time.They didn’t take offense in his rejection, they knew that the heir of the Cho family would never want for anything.The Cho family was so rich that if Stephen wanted anything he could easily buy it or have someone acquire it for him.Their only goal for the night was to interact with him and provide a lasting impression so that when their companies approached Cho Industries, he would recall meeting them.
The hostess’ voice was so loud that those nearby turned as soon as she caught their attention.Stephen was quick to act, as soon as Gabrielle had pressed her lips on his, he pushed her away and to everyone’s surprise, he slapped her across the cheek.“What kind of a woman are you?” Stephen asked as he glared at Gabrielle, who was now sobbing on the ground. “Have you no shame?”“But Stephen, I love you. I’ve always loved you.” Gabrielle sobbed as she crawled towards Stephen’s feet. “I’ve remained single and chaste for you.”“Oh just shut up.” Vanessa suddenly said as she rolled her eyes at the ant
Stephen sat next to Vanessa in his car as the driver took them back to the Cho Family Mansion.“I really didn’t know that it was her cousin’s party.” Stephen was still quite defensive over what had happened. He didn’t want Vanessa to misunderstand.Vanessa sighed and shook her head. Stephen had been desperately trying to clear the issue since they left.“It’s fine. It’s part of being your wife, women will always go after you, whether or not they know you are married or single.” Vanessa told her husband as she leaned on him.“I only let her off lightly because grandpa said not to cause trouble while he is gone.” Stephen told his wife. “If i
“I’ll deal with them when they do make a move.” Stephen told his elders as he decided to take on the matter. “She will come after Vanessa, I’m sure about it.”Eldrich Cho couldn’t help but nod in agreement. He too was certain that the Ong family would want to see their daughter as Stephen’s wife.“Be careful.” Anastasia warned her nephew. “If she really wants to be your wife she will try to get pregnant by you. I’ve seen girls like her, they are always bad news.”Stephen nodded as he accepted his aunt’s advice.“On a different note, Alona agreed to come tonight.” Stephen announced, surprising Eldrich Cho
“You could have come in.” Stephen heard his Uncle Armand say as they stepped out of the mansion into the vast backyard.From the shadows a figure approached them, Stephen was sure that it was his Uncle Charlie. No one else would be allowed to sneak up onto the premises aside from him.“I don’t want to be part of that drama.” Charlie chuckled as he brought a cigarette to his lips and lit it.He offered a stick to his brother and Stephen, both of whom gladly accepted.“It’s not drama.” Armand grumbled, making Stephen laugh at the interaction between the brothers.“We both know that if I s
Stephen sat behind his desk as Robert and Edward were led in by Andrew.As of today, Stephen was the acting head of the Cho family and of Cho Industries. With his father heading off to get treatment, Stephen was the most powerful and richest man in the city.“You’ve got a lot of targets on your back now, boss.” Andrew informed him as the door slammed shut. “John called. He said it might be best if he came to you for now rather than you going out and being seen in the bar.”Stephen was silent as he considered his options.John’s worries were well placed, Stephen could no longer go around the city in a low profile manner.Latest Chapter “The Lu family is working with the underworld?” Hans asked as he glanced at his cousin in disbelief. Over the years the Underworld was one part of Marina City that both families had failed to control. If the Lu family managed to pull into their fold the leaders of the Underworld and Stephen was not the head of the Essen Mafia, they would have easily crushed the Cho family.“They don’t, sir. At least not yet.” John clarified as he spoke to the cousins over the phone.“What do you mean?” Hans asked.“No one person can rule over the underworld of Marina City, let alone this country.” John told Hans. “The city and this country is too diverse for any one person to take control. There is also the matter of people like the Lu and Cho families that make taking control even more difficult.”“Isn’t the Essen Mafia powerful enough to get them to follow?” Hans asked as he looked at his cousin.“Not as just the Essen Mafia.” Stephen said with a smile on his lips. “Huh?” Hans was now even more When Stephen declared the changes when it came to who would inherit the Cho family fortune in the future, Ina was no longer able to keep the reporters in line.Stephen decided to end the press conference there and move on.He, Vanessa, and Hans all left the stage and returned to Stephen’s office at the top floor. They were greeted by Paolo’s laughter as they entered the room, he was playing with Amalia and Robert. “Shouldn’t you be putting out the fire I just started downstairs?” Stephen asked as he gave Robert an amused look.His friend was never big on children.As a matter of fact, Robert was probably the one that was most against having children in their friend group. So it was quite the surprise for Stephen to see Robert happily playing with a child.“They don’t need me to put out that fire.” Robert chuckled as his phone began to ring next to him.“Shi-” Robert began to curse.“Language!” Both Hans and Stephen shouted, making Robert jump in surprise. “You two are going to scar Paolo Cho was a handsome child, it was something that the reporters couldn’t deny. He had received amazing genes from the Fredrikson, Ong, and Cho families, making him probably one of the best looking children around.But when Paolo Cho smiled he won the hearts of everyone in the crowd, even those that wanted to speak badly of the Cho and Fredrikson families.They might have been bribed by the Ong families and their allies, but there was no denying that Pablo Cho was happy.Pablo waved at the crowd and smiled. He then hugged his father as he shied away from the crowd again.People couldn’t blame the little boy, he had lived his entire life in hiding and now, all of a sudden he was in front of hundreds of people. Every single one of the reporters wanted to snap a photo of him or his father. It was obvious that Paolo was already getting uncomfortable with the situation.“I’ll bring him in.” Amalia volunteered as she took Paolo from Hans, allowing him to stand straight and glare at the Tell me in the comments guys, which you would prefer Daily Chapters or Minimum 7 Chapters Once a Week? Tell me what you think in the comments or send me a dm! I would very much appreciate if you would tell me what you would prefer. As a reader I honestly prefer the second one hehe. I know many of you were shocked by the mass update last night but just think of that as me trying to make it up to all of you on the missed out chapters thoughout the month. Also, don't forget to follow me on my socials for updates. “Ah, I see you’ve noticed it.” Stephen said as he saw the confused expression on some of the reporters' faces.Not everyone had seen a DNA test in the past. Normally when businessmen and actors were trying to prove they were not the father of a child, the match would be much lower compared to what was flashed on the screen.“Allow me to explain for those who are seeing a DNA test for the first time.” Stephen said with a smile. “The report you are seeing behind me says that I am somehow related to Gabrielle Ong’s child. Now for those that are familiar with the genealogy of the Ong and Cho families, we are not in any way related.”The members of the media nodded as they slowly absorbed the information that Stpehen was telling them.Most were genuinely surprised at how kind Stephen sounded and at how willing he was to explain the situation to them.Normally, leaders in the same position as Stephen had little to no patience to explain trivial thing such as these, but Stephen took his tim The parking lot of Philip Tower was filled with people chatting among themselves.It was no mystery what the Cho family was about to announce, they all knew that the biggest issue of that time was if Stephen Cho did or didn’t have an illegitimate child.Many people claimed that it was just a ploy of the Ong family to get their members out of jail.Others said that there was truth to it, especially since Gabrielle Ong was Stephen’s ex girlfriend.No matter what rumor people believed they all still wanted to be there. They all wanted to hear the truth and they all wanted to report it first. Inside the lobby of Philip Tower, Stephen looked out at the crowd that had formed.He had never expected that these many people would be interested in their personal lives. He thought that mostly gossip columnists would appear, but it seemed that every kind of reporter stood in their office’s parking lot.“You can’t seriously be surprised.” Hans said as he stood next to his cousin.“I just didn’t th “We need to make a press release, the media will not leave us alone if we don’t.” Amalia told her brother as they sat around the meeting table in his office.Among those Stephen had invited were people he believed were crucial when it came to the matter of Paolo Cho’s identity.“Have you gotten the Ong family under control?” Stephen asked as he looked to his cousin.He knew that only a few days had passed and that Hans had his hands full watching over Paolo, but they needed to make sure that the Ong family wouldn’t cause them problems.“Almost, there are still some who are trying to question my ability.” Hans said with a malicious grin. “My people are making sure they understand who I am today.”Stephen nodded, impressed by Hans’ efficiency with dealing with the matter of the Ong family.“So we can schedule a press release today, the news agencies will publish it tomorrow and everything will be settled.” Amalia said as she thought of the timeline in her head.“No, we won’t just releas Miguel and Manuel might come from a weaker family than the Cho’s but they had begun as Stephen’s friends, so Stephen decided to accompany Miguel to the airport the next day.He had offered for Miguel to use his private jet and the younger Villanueva brother happily accepted the offer.Stephen and Manuel stood on the tarmac with Miguel as they said their final goodbyes.“I’m guessing I won’t see you for a while, boss.” Miguel teased him.Technically now it was true that Stephen was their boss. With the trade to protect their family name, they were more like his henchmen doing his bidding rather than his partners through a treaty.“Most likely.” Stephen said with a nod.His wife was pregnant and he had no intentions of leaving her alone for too long. “I just wanted to say, thank you.” Miguel told Stephen. “You helped us back then and you helped us again now. Jacob would have ruined our family if news got out about his cases.”Stephen nodded, then he realized something, he forgot to as Stephen had been exhausted by the night before.Paolo had woken up in the middle of the night and cried out for both Hans and Stephen. Stephen had been sleeping with the little boy at the time, but he refused to calm down unless his Daddy Hans was there.It seemed Paolo had settled on what to call them.Hans was Daddy, and Stephen was Papa. In the same way, he called Vanessa his Mama. When Stephen had asked a maid to call for Hans, his cousin seemed like he was about to burst into tears because his son had called for him.“Boss?” Andrew called, waving his hand in front of Stephen. “Sorry, Paolo had a hard time sleeping after yesterday’s incident. What were you saying Andrew?”Stephen asked as he tried to focus on the discussion at hand.“The bidding for the latest piece of land that that government has put up for sale starts in a week. The procurement director wanted to ask if you wished to purchase it.” Andrew informed Stpehen as he handed him the details of the piece of property.Alliances
New Threats
Next Heirs
Update Schedule
Press Conference 2
Press Conference Part 1
Always
Miguel Villanueva's Departure
The Villanueva Name