“Mr. Cho, it’s an honor to meet you in person, Young Master Cho.” This was the line that almost every executive that Stephen met that day said.
He could recite by heart the praises they rained on him.
It wasn’t all the same, some spoke of how good looking he was. Other about how impressed they were with his presentation.
They also told him how much they looked forward to working with Stephen in the future.
Stephen wanted to laugh and roll his eyes at most of them. He knew that many had been loyal to his uncle and father, some even knowing that the two men had plotted against Stephen. And yet, here they were while his father and uncle waited for their trial, rotting in jail.
<Stephen, Vanessa, and Stephen’s uncle Armand drove up to the apartment complex where Charlie lived. When they arrived, both Vanessa and Armand were shocked by the sight of the residetial complex.“Uncle Armand, do you have any idea what this place is and what Uncle Charlie does that would allow him to stay in a place like this?” Stephen asked as his driver pulled up to the driveway.“I am aware of what Charlie does, but I didn’t think that he had managed to climb this high up.” Armand looked out, as he seemed to be trying to process his brother’s situation. “The only sure way for us to find out is Charlie tells us, but knowing what he does, he might never tell you.” Arman shrugged as they saw Charlie at the entrance, walking up to meet them.“Armand?” Charlie gasped as he suddenly ran towards Armand and hugged his brother. “I didn’t think you would want to see me after last time.” “Why wouldn’t I?” Armand questioned his brother as he gave him a hug. “Our relationship can survive s
Charlie stared at Stephen, he was shocked that the younger man had lost his temper. Normally Stephen was calm and collected, rarely making any rash decisions.But the Stephen before him was nothing like that. “Stephen.” Vanessa had placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder to calm him down. She knew that this topic was not something that Stephen would address normally.It was closer to his heart, it was the man who had helped him escape his uncle’s clutches that had lied to him for years. “Don’t try to intervene, Vanessa.” He hissed, not making a move to shrug her hand off his shoulder. “What do you want me to say, Stephen?” Charlie asked as he placed down his utensils and looked Stephen in the eyes. “I’m not an idiot or a child, Charlie.” Stephen hissed. “How many lies have you told me over the years? And until now you insist on lying to me.”“I only lied to protect you. What truth do you want, Stephen? One that will just hurt all of us?” Charlie questioned, his deep voice echoing
“Why did you hide it from me?” Stephen asked Charlie as they settled back down.The air in the room was much lighter and everyone was smiling, even Charlie who had been forced to tell Stephen the truth.“Stephen, at that time I didn’t even know if you knew your father had a fourth brother.” Charlie pointed out. “If you had not known about me, you would have thought I was someone trying to take advantage of the Cho name.”Stephen nodded, understanding his uncle’s reason.“Don’t think that I hired you and later on treated you as family just because your last name was Cho.” Charlie told his nephew. “You are an amazing young man, Stephen, you are th
Stephen did not utter a word as his driver took them from Charlie’s apartment complex to the Cho Mansion.Armand had not brought a car so the couple had to drop him off at home.After Charlie had given him and Armand the files on Eldrich Cho’s medical condition, the brothers got into a fighting match.Luckily, they were both adult enough to recognize that it wasn’t anyone’s fault.“Anastasia needs to know.” Armand suddenly said, breaking the silence. “He’s her father too and we need to face this problem like a family.”Stephen nodded in agreement.
The next day Stephen went to the office with a heavy heart. He couldn’t help but wonder if everything he was doing would be worthless in the end. The Cho family had so much money, and yet it seemed like they couldn’t even save their patriarch. On the outside Stephen simply looked calm and aloof. The employees greeted and bowed, but they weren’t surprised when he didn’t smile or greet them back. It wasn’t his job to make them happy, it was their jobs to satisfy him with their work. To those who knew him, however, it was clear that there was something on his mind. “He was fine at work yesterday.” Andrew said as he sneaked a look at Stephen as his boss looked out the large windows of his office. “What are you gossiping about Andrew Wong?” Amalia asked as she arrived, spotting Andrew whispering to Isabelle. Andrew suddenly stood straight, looking guilty that Amalia had caught him gossiping about his boss. “You better tell me or I’m marching in there and telling my brother tha
Stephen knew that Isabelle and Andrew would be worried after seeing Jonathan arrive.He made Jonathan sit before stepping out to speak with his right hand man and assistant.As Stephen waved both of them over he could see the worry in their eyes. Having a doctor as a visitor was rarely a good sign.“Are you alright? I hope Jonathan didn’t harass you.” Stephen asked Isabelle as he gave her a concerned look.He knew that Jonathan couldn’t resist hitting on pretty women, this often got the doctor in a lot of trouble. He might be quite attractive, but the women rarely appreciated his approach.“It’s fine, I actually found it quite funny.” Isabelle chuckled. She had never been hit on by a man that way. “Don’t tell me you actually like him?” Andrew looked at Isabelle, shocked that she didn’t find the doctor annoying. “Hey! I’ve known your boss longer than you have!” Jonathan said as he suddenly stepped out of Stephen’s room, making Stephen groan in annoyance.“Didn’t I tell you to stay in
“I know that since I am new and my grandfather is old you think that half assed plans will be approved by us.” Stephen hissed as he glared at the product development team of Cho Industries as they stood before him.As he had ordered, all proposals needed to be presented to Stephen, the most urgent ones were the first to go though.“N- n- no sir.” One of the employees managed to blurt out. He was clearly scared of Stephen.The young Vice President hadn’t even raised his voice. His words cut through them like a sharp blade.They didn’t need to admit that he was right, he could see it in their eyes. Their reaction also after being criticized also revea
“Vice President Cho, your next appointment is here.” Andrew said with a smile as he led Catherine Ying and her team into Stephen’s office.They all couldn’t help but look around in awe.That was always the first reaction of the employees when they entered the new Vice President’s office.It was almost as big as the Chairman’s office with more modern designs and more practical spaces. It was built to suit the much younger and harder working Vice President of Cho Industries.“Let’s take this meeting to the board room.” Stephen announced as he took out a remote and pointed at the far end of his office.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