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.
Stephen looked up at the building before him, he hadn’t expected Charlie to move into such a high profile place. The apartment buildings also had state of the art security, the kind which even the Cho family couldn’t even breach. Most of the occupants were dignitaries from other countries and high ranking officials based on what Stephen could gather.He never knew that Charlie had that much money, or that he had placed such a premium on his security. It was the complete opposite of everything Stephen thought Charlie was. Throughout their travels, Charlie would place them in any apartment that could fit their budget and their needs. He never seemed to look over his shoulder and lived carelessly.“Young master, won’t you go in?” One of his bodyguards asked.They had found it odd that Stephen was just standing outside and didn’t even bother entering the lobby. He had been so deep in thought that they didn’t want to question him before. “I will.” Stephen said as he looked at the sim
“I think it’s him.” Stephen said as Edward, Robert, Andrew, and John sat around his dining table.He had invited them over on neutral territory. It was dangerous for Edward and Robert to be seen too often at his club.If the authorities or rival mafia families and gangs realized that it housed the headquarters of the Essen Mafia, it could be used as leverage against his friends.It was best to meet at a place where no one would look or suspect anything.“We will still need proof, he could either still be hiding, not wanting to reveal his identity, or it could be someone your uncle planted.” Robert suggested as he slowly considered the situation.
“Hi Charlie.” Stephen greeted as Charlie picked up the call. Stephen was currently being driven by one of his bodyguards to the airport. His uncle Armand would be arriving in the next hour with his entire family. “Why did you call me, Stephen? Isn’t it enough that you pestered me yesterday?” Charlie grumbled as Stephen watched the scenery as his car drove by. “I just wanted to ask how you are. Vanessa and I both realized that we haven’t been visiting as much or checking up on you.” Stephen told Charlie. He wasn’t lying, both he and Vanessa felt bad about how much they had neglected Charlie while they were in Marina. Back when they were in another country, Stephen lived with Charlie so they would see each other everyday. Even when Vanessa and Stephen moved in together, they still lived with Charlie. Now that they were in Marina city they hadn’t even had a proper dinner with him yet. “You guys have been busy, I’m sure Eldrich Cho has been keeping his grandson busy.” Charlie hi
Stephen watched as Eldrich Cho exchanged fake pleasantries with Armand and his family.The old man acted as if there was no bad blood between him and his third son, but Stephen knew better.He thought back to the car ride from the airport to the Cho Mansion.“There have always been families that are interested in our wealth and influence.” Armand explained as the car drove through the highways, unobstructed by traffic. “But they never attempted to do anything.”Stephen nodded as he listened to his uncle.Armand Cho might have been younger, but Stephen believed he might just be smarter and wiser than both Vincent a
“Now Anastasia, we both know that your situation back then was very different to Stephen’s and Vanessa’s.” Claudette Cho said, scolding her sister-in-law.Since Vincent’s arrest, Claudette seemed to recover faster. In the past she was not as active or as happy. She would normally sit down and stay silent when there was a large group.It also probably helped that everyone that had gathered that day was family.Vincent’s siblings all knew that he was not a good husband to Claudette. As a matter of fact they had all backed Eldrich Cho when he forbade Vincent from divorcing Claudette.With the combined influence of Claudette’s family, the So family, as well as Eldrich Cho’s influence, there was no way Vincent could divorce his wife.“Let me at least tell them.” Anastasia grumbled. “Who knows, they might pick up something from this story.”“Mom, just let Aunt Anastasia tell her story.” Stephen urged as he placed a hand on his mother’s shoulder. Claudette frowned, but didn’t object as eve
The meal went quite well, Stephen was surprised at how well everyone got along especially when his grandfather was merely watching.It seemed that if it weren’t for Armand’s and Anastasia’s issues with their father, the family could be quite peaceful.It was already late when Stephen and Vanessa bid everyone goodnight and made a move to leave.Stephen’s friends had left before them in order to give the family more privacy.“Stephen!” Armand Cho called out as he ran after the couple as they were about to leave the Cho family Mansion.“Uncle Armand, is there anything I can do for you?” Stephen aske
“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.