“Are you stupid?” Stephen asked, directly insulting Vanessa’s family for the first time. “Do you really think this is the Cho family’s style?” “Wha- what do you mean?” Lynn asked in a shaky voice. “If the Cho family went after you, you wouldn’t even know till it was too late.” Stephen hissed. “If it were really the Cho family after you, there would be no collateral damage. Clearly this is someone else.” Lynn was about to say something but was stopped by her daughter. “If not the Cho family, then who?” Vanessa asked, worried about the answer she was about to get. She was well aware of how powerful Stephen could be if he took advantage of his resources, but that was the thing about Stephen, he didn’t like making too much noise. Stephen frowned as he looked at his fiance, he tried to gauge if she would be mad, but as usual, she kept a calm demeanor around her family. “The Chos have a guest in the city now.” Stephen told them as he looked at Vanessa. “I heard about him from som
When Vanessa had calmed down, Stephen drove them home. That night she slept soundly in his arms, but when she woke the next day it was as if the whole world around her had gone crazy. “What’s wrong?” Stephen asked as he noticed her staring blankly at her phone. “Your people have already started?” Vanessa asked as she looked at him. Stephen placed a hand on her back and gently stroked her, trying to calm her down. “They have, I wanted this to be done as quickly as possible.” Stephen explained. “Are you mad?” Stephen had considered that there was a chance that Vanessa would hate him for what he had done. Emilia was still family, and he had gone after hers, something he had long sworn never to do. “No.” She answered, surprising Stephen. “Emilia deserved it, and you are in a way, saving my family from its members that would leech off of them.” Stephen nodded as he understood her answer. “Ginny sent me a message, she’s worried. So is Kimberly.” Vanessa explained. “They heard ab
When Stephen returned to the office people were smiling and greeting him as he headed up to his office.Andrew had arrived just as he had and quickly squeezed in to the same elevator he was on.“Good morning, boss.” Andrew greeted, smiling at Stephen.Stephen glared at him and shook his head. John had reported that Andrew passed the loyalty test with flying colors and that Stephen had nothing to worry about.“Why are you so cranky?” Andrew asked as he rolled his eyes at his boss.“Too early.” Stephen said as people began to leave the elevator, getting off at their respective floors.When they were finally alone, Stephen sighed and shook his head.“What’s going on?” Stephen asked as he looked at Andrew. “Everyone is smiling and greeting me as if I’ve gotten the biggest promotion of the year.”“Well, you are about to get the biggest promotion of the year.” Andrew shrugged.“What are you talking about?” Stephen asked, looking at the man as if he was crazy.Andrew shook his head and laugh
In another part of Philip Tower, the headquarters of Cho Industries. Stephen was waiting for his coffee. “Did you hear?” Someone next to him gossiped. “Hear what?” A woman asked, clearly annoyed that her friend left her hanging without even giving her context on what she was going to say.“There was a team given an impossible task and according to rumors, they’ve cracked it!” The first person exclaimed as Stephen paid for his drink.Stephen was so focused on listening to what the people in line were gossiping about, that he didn’t notice that Michael Ho had passed him with a panicked expression.Michael was in a rush, but he noticed Stephen and pulled him away.“What the hell, Micahel?!” He asked as he looked at his staff.Michael didn’t say a word, he continued to pull Stephen away from his initial path as he kept glancing back. “Michael! I’m not into men, don’t drag me into this mess!” Stephen tried to tease, but to no avai. It seemed that Michael needed Stephen to get away from
“Dad, you have to go!” Amalia pointed towards the hallway as she looked directly into her father’s eyes, her expression burning with anger.She hated him for what he did to her mother, she hated the fact that he had chosen Liam over her, and she hated that he could be her brother’s killer.It hurt her that it didn’t even sound that crazy that Vincent Cho could have killed his own son.“I’m a vice president of Cho Industries! I have every right to be here.” Vincent Cho grabbed his daughter by the arm and spoke to her in a stern tone. “Don’t you forget your place, Amalia.”Amalia was furious, but before she could answer or fight back someone joined them, someone that made Amalia worry even more.“Brother, what are you doing here?” William Cho was practically laughing when he entered the area which Stephen’s team worked from. “Amalia? I didn’t think your grandfather would put you in a department as miserable as this one.”Amalia could see the confusion in her uncle’s eyes. She would have
Vincent Cho slammed the door to his office as soon as he arrived, he was furious that Andrew Wong could get away with punching him.“That fucking bastard!” Vincent Cho hissed as Cookie Ye came running into his office with a nurse carrying an ice pack.“Vincent, babe, I was so worried when I heard you were hurt!” She cried out as she waved for the nurse to check on Vincent Cho.The nurse tilted his head back and leaned forward, giving Vincent a good view of the woman’s anatomy. It was clear that she was there to not just give him first aid, but to calm his anger as well.“It was your fucking son that did this!” Vincent hissed. “I’m guessing my dad wants him and Amalia to become friends, if not lovers, that’s why he placed her there.” Vincent had already considered that as the reason why Amalia was placed in that team. He knew how much damage Andrew Wong could inflict on Cookie Ye, and having him as Amalia’s ally was dangerous. She could use him in order to distract both Cookie and Li
“Boss.” John was shocked when Stephen entered the bar. He was drinking a beer with some of the higher ranked members of the Essen mafia family when Stephen suddenly arrived.It was ten in the morning on a work day, Stephen never showed up to the bar at that time.“Relax, I’m not here to catch you all slacking, it’s fine.” Stephen said. “Serve me a beer too.”John snapped his finger and the bartender quickly opened a bottle of beer and handed it to Stephen. “I just have some issues at Cho Industries that need to be settled without me there.” Stephen further explained as he took out his phone and dialed a number. “I decided to settle the matter with the gangs first.”The phone on the other end began to ring, and Robert answered the call.“Any news?” Stephen asked as he sipped his beer. “The other party has tried to use all its connections to pull the news we released out of circulation.” Robert reported. “How did you know this would work? They have done much worse crimes and yet you
“Have you heard anything from the Essen Mafia’s end yet?” One man asked his companion as they passed behind Stephen and John.“No, it’s complete silence from their end, they aren’t even claiming that this was their doing.” The other man said just loud enough for Stephen to hear.Stephen was quite happy at the convenience of being unknown, he didn’t even need spies to watch over this den of fools. He could just sit in the restaurant with his right hand man and they didn’t even know the heads of the Essen Mafia were listening in on their conversations. “That group is crazy, I don’t even know why our bosses wanted to go against them.” The first man hissed. “They have such a powerful presence in other countries, but no one know how their boss looks.”“They say he is disfigured. That he was in an accident years ago, so he goes around in a mask that hides his identity.” It was not the first time Stephen was hearing this rumor, but every time he did, he found it funnier and funnier. There
“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.