In another part of the city, Stephen sat behind his desk, working on the multiple plans and options his team had started work on.As promised, Catherine Ying’s team had sent over the necessary information and everyone was buried in work. Stephen did his best to focus, but with everything going on with his personal life, it was quite difficult. “Mr. Sy.” Michael Ho said as he knocked on Stephen’s office door.“Yes Michael? How can I help you?” Stephen asked as he looked away from his laptop. “Mr. Ong asked me to call you to his office, he said he has another project for our team.” Michael Ho said with a frown, he knew that he didn’t have any good news for Stephen.“He already knows we’re working on this big project.” Stephen grumbled as he got up and closed his laptop. “I wonder what he will give us this time. Let’s go.”“Sir, he said he wants to speak to you alone.” Michael told Stephen as he frowned.“Very well.” Stephen frowned as he left and headed off to Mr. Ong’s office.When
Nicholas hadn’t expected this kind of opportunity to present itself so early on in his life.He thought he would have to wait until he could get back at Emerson Yu for what he had done, but Stephen was lucky. As soon as he left Mr. Ong’s office he took out his phone and gave Edward Hao a call.“Are you bored?” Stephen asked Edward as he waited for the elevator.“Depends what you had in mind.” Edward said in a flat tone, seemingly uninterested.“Come with me to Lowe City, have some fun.” Stephen told Edward as the elevator arrived.“Text me the details.” Edward said as he dropped the call.Stephen smiled, satisfied as his plan was slowly coming together.When he returned to his office, his team members were waiting for him, he could see the worry in their faces.“What’s wrong?” Stephen asked as he opened his office and let them inside.“Vice president Cho was just here.” Natalia Wu told Stephen as she frowned.“Isn’t a visit from the Vice President a good thing?” Stephen asked, preten
Stephen waited outside Vanessa’s building for her to come out from work.He smiled when he saw her step out of the building, she was smiling and glowing as she waved at him.“I thought you wouldn’t be happy to see me.” Stephen confessed as he lowered his head and planted a kiss on her lips.“I just needed to process the errr. . . things I learned on Friday.” Vanessa said with a blush. “Let’s get out of here.” Stephen grinned as he took her hand and led her to the car his grandfather had provided for them.When they were inside, Vanessa was able to marvel at the luxury of the vehicle for the first time.“It’s custom.” Stephen told her as he noticed her looking around. “Huh?” Vanessa asked.“You can’t get this car like this off the line.” Stephen explained. “Grandfather had it bulletproofed and even added some of my prefered features in it. I’m just glad he didn’t send a flashier car.” “So your grandfather. . .” Vanessa didn’t know where to start. She had a whole script in her head
“So, what was your childhood really like?” Vanessa asked as she finally looked away from the dazzling ring on her finger. “I was privileged and happy.” Stephen told Vanessa as he noticed her looking at the ring again. “I grew up in a home where my mother loved me, my grandfather taught me everything, and my grandmother spoiled me.” “I heard about the late madam Cho.” Vanessa frowned as she recalled news from the distant past. “When she died, grandfather was heartbroken. Unlike my father and mother, my aunt and uncle, their marriage was a love match that lasted decades.” Stephen said with a sigh. “That ring on your finger, it belonged to her.” “You don’t need to talk about the past if you aren’t ready.” Vanessa noticed that there was a distant ache in Stephen’s expression. “It’s fine, I’ll be fine.” Stephen said as he smiled at his fiance. “There is something I need to confess.” Vanessa told Stephen as she looked down, embarrassed that she hadn’t told him earlier. “What is it?”
“Grandfather arranged for Mr. Kai to help you choose from his staff. He wants us to get a minimum of one chef and one maid to clean up.” Stephen told Vanessa as one of his bodyguards carried his bag out of the house.“Do we really need staff?” Vanessa asked. “Don’t worry, these people can be trusted. They brought me up and they would never betray me or my grandfather.” Stephen said as he kissed Vanessa on the lips. “I’ll miss you.”“It’s just one night.” Vanessa said with a smile. “We just made up and you just moved back in last night.” Stephen sighed as he pulled his fiance into a hug. “When I get back we need to make wedding arrangements. We have three weeks.”“I don’t even have a gown yet, maybe we should delay?” Vanessa suggested.“You’ll have a gown, trust me.” Stephen told her as he kissed her one last time before finally walking out of the house.He had left his old car for one of the body guards to drive Vanessa. “You done saying goodbye?” Edward Hao asked as he leaned agai
Emerson glared at Stephen as the latter sat at his seat at the head of the table. “Manager Mason, you didn’t inform us that you would be bringing such a big group.” David Lao grumbled as Emerson continued to glare at Stephen, while Stephen seemed unbothered. “Oh well, we got a call from the head office, directly from the Chairman’s assistant, Mr. Kai.” Manager Mason was flustered as he tried his best to explain the situation without offending either party. “Mr. Lao, I was sent by the head office to discuss with Mr. Yu the unlawful blockade of our trucks from entering and passing through Lowe City.” Stephen said as he spoke in Manager Mason’s place. “We have not been unlawfully blocking your trucks.” Emerson Yu spoke up for the first time during the meeting. “Then tell me, Mr. Yu, what reason do you have for blocking the trucks of Cho Industries?” Stephen questioned. “Your trucks damage our roads, Cho Industries should pay more so that our roads are maintained.” Emerson Yu said
“I’m actually at a meeting right now. Chairman Cho sent me.” Stephen calmly said as Emerson Yu’s eyes burned with anger and embarrassment.“I hope you aren’t too busy to have dinner with an old friend.” Edward Hao told Stephen. Edward was no fool, he was in fact quite smart and knew from the start the Stephen was probably with Emerson Yu. The head of the Yu family had invited him for dinner the night before, while Emerson had offered to show him the local nightlife. “Of course not.” Stephen told Edward Hao.“So what do you need?” Edward asked as Stephen looked at Emerson Yu and raised an eyebrow.He could see the look of defeat on Emeron’s face as he realized the grave mistake he had made. “I am in a meeting now with Mr. Emerson Yu, do you know him?” Stephen asked, pretending not to know the implications of his question.Next to Stephen the employees of Cho Industries were shocked by both how capable and how well connected Stephen was. It also puzzled them how humble this employe
Stephen chuckled when he realized that he had arrived a little bit too early. He and Edward had planned to meet at seven in the evening to have dinner and drinks. Stephen knew that the Yu family had dinner in this particular restaurant every Wednesday night. He was planning on making them cave as soon as they realized that Stephen and Edward were really friends.“Do you have a reservation?” The woman at the entrance asked as she carefully eyed Stephen. It was clear she was trying to see if she should ignore him or entertain him.“Under Cho Industries.” Stephen said, making the woman’s demeanor quickly change. “Mr. Sy, this way.” The woman said as she guided him to the best seat in the restaurant. He may just be an assistant manager from the head office, but he was still an employee if Cho Industries meeting with someone important. “We normally offer this table to our more regular guests, but my manager said to prioritize you tonight.” The woman told Stephen as she gestured toward
“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.