There was an awkward and confused silence that took over the room when the door closed after Vincent was taken out by the police.No one knew what to say or do. Stephen still stood in front of everyone else, as if his presentation had not finished, while Eldrich Cho settled back down on his seat at the head of the table.“Are you satisfied, grandfather?” Stephen asked, as if asking Eldrich Cho if he was satisfied with Stephen as his heir.Eldrich Cho smiled and nodded.“Very much so, Stephen.” The executives had never seen Eldrich Cho so happy, not even those that had been there when his sons completed their first successful projects. Something about his grandson simply made the Chairman prouder. “Sir, what do you plan to do about the Vice Presidents and the Young Master?” One of the elder executives asked nervously.They all knew that these changes would have an impact not just on Cho Industries but on the entire economic situation of Marina City.The Cho family controlled most of
“How’d it go boss?” Carissa asked as she saw Stephen, Andrew, and Amalia approaching. Everyone on the team had been on edge since Stephen left to do the presentation. “Gather everyone in my office.” Stephen told Andrew who nodded and went off to look for every member of his team. Something about Stephen’s demeanor and attitude had changed and Carissa could see it. She began to become nervous thinking that the presentation had not gone well and they would all lose their jobs. Seeing the unease in Carissa’s eyes Stephen placed a hand on her shoulder and sighed. “It went well, don’t worry.” Stephen explained as vaguely as he could. “Let’s go to my office and wait for the others, I still have a lot to explain to everyone.”Carissa was confused with Stephen’s words, but she nodded and went with him and Amalia into Stephen’s office.They didn’t have to wait long for the others to join them. They hadn’t gone far since most of them were anxious about the presentation.“Cookie and Liam we
“Cho Industries called for a big press conference.” Ginny Yeoh said as she stood next to Vanessa’s table. “That's all everyone is talking about. It’s all so sudden, no one can figure out what it’s about.”Vanessa frowned as she heard the news. Stephen had warned her not to come to work because he knew his grandfather would want to make a big announcement.“Do you have any guesses, Vanessa?” Ginny asked, pulling Vanessa back from her thoughts. “I know you’re quite friendly with Amalia Cho now, did she tell you anything?”Vanessa sighed and shook her head.If Ginny was acting like this before the press conference, she already knew that it would get worse after Stephen’s true identity was made public.“No, she didn’t.” Vanessa said as she stood up and began packing her things.“Woah, where are you going?” Ginny asked Vanessa as the latter’s sudden actions caught her by surprise. “I’m not feeling well, I’ll take the rest of the day off.” Vanessa said as she walked towards her boss’ offi
The press had gathered outside the lobby of Philip. They were all eager to hear what Eldrich Cho had to say. It was quite rare for the old man to personally call for a press conference. “Did your boss say anything?” One of the reporters asked a man dressed in the uniform of Ke Network. “No. He should have had prior information, he always does, but this time he just told us to prepare today.” The reporter told his companion.Inside Philip Tower, both Robert Ke and Edward Hao sat down waiting for Stephen and Eldrich Cho to make an appearance.Stephen had given them prior notice since they would still be affected by the announcement. Prior to his death it was well knownt that the young masters of the Ke, Hao, and Cho families were best friends. After Stephen had died, they were the most affected. When the elevator doors opened, Robert and Edward quickly stood up, bowing towards Eldrich Cho, greeting their senior properly. “Why am I not surprised that you are here?” Eldrich Cho tea
Stephen looked out to the crowd as they all started to snap photos of Stephen and Eldrich Cho. They weren’t sure if their suspicions were correct, but they knew the man that stood before them was important. It only added to his importance that Robert and Edward quickly chased after him, something that didn’t slip the reporter’s attention. “The fourth announcement.” Eldrich Cho said with a smile as he reached out and held his grandson’s hand. “Six years ago, Stephen Cho didn’t die. He managed to escape the accident and was manipulated by William so that he could be his puppet in the future.” Stephen held his grandfather’s hand tightly as they faced the press together. “I am proud to announce that my grandson, Stephen Cho has returned.” Eldrich Cho looked at Stephen and smiled. Hearing the Chairman’s confirmation, the press began to snap photos of Stephen. They couldn’t initially recognize Stephen because he hadn’t been a public figure in his youth. He was too young for scanda
The reporter hadn’t realized his mistake until it was too late. Stephen was not laughing with him at his joke, instead the man’s expression remained stoic, making the reporter panic.Everyone was aware of how powerful the Cho family was, and one wrong offense could not just end his career, but even the careers of those he cared about and worked for.“We will keep our plans to ourselves, for the meantime.” Stephen answered. “My fiance wants to keep her privacy and for her to continue to pursue the career she wants. She isn’t someone that would want to be dependent on the Cho family.”Stephen knew that as soon as he said those words people would not only search for who Vanessa was, but they would also assume the worst. “Let me remind you all, my fiance only found out about my identity very recently. She didn’t know about this until after she agreed to marry me.” Stephen said as he warned people against calling Vanessa a gold digger. When he was satisfied, Stephen turned to his grandf
Stephen and Vanessa got a taste of popularity as the entire day people were either trying to contact them or the press was camping outside of Cho Industries. They believed that Vanessa would come to Philip Tower and that she would make an appearance, unfortunately for them she was already in the building. Stephen returned to his old office and continued to work as if nothing had changed, so did most of his team except Amalia and Andrew.He had given the pair the task of finding which department each team member would be more suited to work at. Stephen wanted his people to earn the respect of the other employees, he wanted their work ethic and intelligence to shine.“Sir, some of the department heads were wondering if you would have dinner with them.” Isabelle asked as she knocked on Stephen’s office door.“Not today, Isabelle.” The good thing about being the new Vice President, Stephen didn’t even need to explain himself. He could refuse and people wouldn’t dare question him.Step
“We have always been supportive of Vanessa and Stephen’s relationship.” Amalia rolled her eyes as she watched the news. “They wanted to engage Vanessa to someone else while Stephen was there, what are these idiots talking about!” Amalia exclaimed as she continued to watch the interview.Stephen chuckled behind her as he leaned against the frame of her bedroom door. “I have a high tolerance for their bullshit.” Stephen said as he walked over and sat next to his sister. “I don’t want Vanessa to lose her family the way we just did.”Amalia frowned and crossed her arms. “Did you ask Vanessa what her thoughts on her family doing this are?” Amalia asked her brother, choosing not to sugar coat her words.She loved him and cared for him and she didn’t want to see him making a mistake because he was too stubborn. “We will discuss it tonight. There are many things that Vanessa and I need to talk about.” Stephen said, shaking his head as the news flashed several photos of Stephen growing up.
“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.