Chapter 204 Mother and Daughter
Willow was also surprised to see Kate. “Mom? Why are you here?”
Kate solemnly replied, “Hello, Willow. I’m here on behalf of the Stewarts to discuss our collaboration.”
The crowd watched closely as they wanted to see if Willow would give preferential treatment
to the Stewarts.
“The Stewarts will have to sign a contract like every other company before we can talk,” answered Willow.
Kate replied, “May I have a copy of the contract? I’d like to take a look.”
Willow had her secretary hand over a copy of the contract to Kate.
Kate took her time to read through the contract, and her face slowly distorted from shock.
The new contract would lower their profit by at least 60% from their original contract with Glorious Group.
Kate voiced her disapproval, “Willow, what’s the deal with this contract? Isn’t the profit way too low?”
Willow knew that Kate was sent by Marilyn in an attempt to convince her to help. “I have responsibilities to uphold as the CEO of Southlake Corporation, Mom. You may sign the contract if you wish to work with us. Or you may just leave and go home. It’s up to you.”
She would not allow that family to take advantage of her ever again.
“The Stewarts have already invested most of our money into Glorious Group. Can’t you give us a better contract, considering that we’re family?” asked Kate.
“Absolutely not. Every company working together with us will be treated equally with
Southlake Corporation’s profits in mind. We can’t afford to show any preferential treatment. for family members.”
Willow would not back down from her decision no matter how much Kate pleaded with her.
Kate was still upset. “You’re just trying to monopolize the market and suppress every other company with this contract! You’re correct in the fact that business is only about profit, but you’re handling Southlake Corporation with too much greed.
“With such low profits, we’re just teetering on the edge of losses if we sign the contract- especially if we have to pay reparations if anything goes wrong!”
The crowd agreed with her words and felt that Willow’s contract was unethical.
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Willow angrily replied, “I’m not going to say it again. You may leave if you don’t wish to sign the contract. Stop bothering everyone else!”
She had the situation under control until Kate’s appearance roused the crowd once more.
Kate started threatening her, “You want to do this the hard way, huh? Then don’t blame me for exposing your secrets!”
Willow’s expression sank as she never expected Kate to threaten her just for the sake of a profitable contract.
Caspian became enraged when he saw Kate threatening Willow.
He had hated Kate for a long time for partly causing Lilith’s demise.
He had been holding a grudge against her ever since.
The crowd fell silent as they anticipated Willow’s secrets being revealed.
Willow angrily replied, “Try me, then. You make it sound like I have secrets that I can’t risk being exposed to the public.”
Kate smugly explained, “You’re giving me no other choice, my daughter. I’m giving you one last chance to change the contents of the contract before I reveal your secrets. It’ll be enough to completely ruin your image in the public eye!”
She was ready to do anything simply to gain the 10% shares of Stewart Group promised by Marilyn.
The crowd began speculating about Willow’s secrets.
They wondered if she had cuckolded her husband or something.
It was a plausible theory, given the fact that Willow was the most beautiful woman in the city.
“I’m not your daughter! I’ve already made it clear that I don’t want anything to do with you! Why don’t you speak up properly instead of trying to slander me with baseless rumors?” argued Willow.
She didn’t want Kate to ruin her image with a false claim.
She had always stayed by Caspian’s side and had never gone to look for other men since they got married.
Willow felt that she needed to resolve this matter immediately or the murmuring crowd would soon spread rumors across the city to ruin her image.
Kate was furious that Willow had truly decided to break ties with her. “I see. So you don’t even see me as your own mother anymore. Very well, then.”
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“Enough games! Just say what you want to say!”
Willow wasn’t scared of Kate as she was truly innocent.
She wouldn’t be threatened by false claims without proper evidence from Kate.
The crowd was seemingly on Kate’s side at this moment.
Kate angrily shouted, “How ungrateful! You’d sever all ties with your own family now that you’re the CEO of Southlake Corporation. You’re even worse than an animal!”
“Is this the secret you’re claiming will ruin my life once exposed?” asked Willow.
Kate continued, “That’s right! You ungrateful and cold–blooded woman! We raised you from a child to adulthood and into your current success. Yet, you’re discarding us now that you’re able to survive on your own! How shameless!”
Willow personally couldn’t care less about her image in this regard.
The crowd was convinced by Kate that Willow was an ungrateful daughter.
Willow didn’t back down at all. “Who’s the cold–blooded one here, I wonder? The entire Stewart family shunned and insulted me throughout my entire life. You even tried me when I married Caspian.
to disown
“When Southlake Corporation was about to collapse, the Stewarts immediately looked the other way and invested all their money in Glorious Group instead. Now that Glorious Group is no more, you’re crawling back to me.”
She finally let loose her feelings and spilled everything she wanted to say. She had never expected to quarrel with her own mother about this.
She began to wonder if Kate was actually her mother or not, given her unreasonable attitude.
Willow felt regretful for protecting Kate after she had partially caused Lilith’s demise, which had also caused a rift between her and Caspian.
She wanted to show the world just how horrifying Kate was as a mother.
Willow composed herself and decided not to go through with it, as she still pitied her own. family.
The crowd started shifting to stand with Willow instead of the Stewarts after listening to the exchange.
Kate was left speechless after being scolded by her own daughter.
With the crowd now on Willow’s side, she felt that her advantage had disappeared.
With her face bright red from embarrassment and
