Chapter 22
Vincent’s face was angry as he returned to his office at the Horizon Group headquarters.
He sat in his executive chair, and his eyes shone and gleamed with hostility.
“Damn it! This damned Taylor family,” he muttered.
“The Taylor family, those insolent fools, how did they have the courage to curse his master behind his back!
“This is unforgivable! They are looking for trouble!
“No. I must immediately sever all ties and cooperation with the Taylor family. Anyway, they no longer deserve a place in this world,” said
Vincent.
With this thought and determination in his eyes, Vincent pressed the button on his desk intercom.
“Come in! Find all the contracts related to the Taylor family and bring them to me!”
In no time, an employee wearing the Horizon Group uniform rushed in, carrying a thick stack of documents.
“Mr. Dunn, here are the documents you requested,” he said.
Vincent’s phone began to ring before the employee could finish his
sentence.
Seeing the displayed caller ID, he immediately sprang up from his chair. He waved to the employee who had entered the room.
Then, he said, “You can leave now. Remember to close the door behind you.”
The employee was dedicated and did as instructed. He promptly turned and left the office, closing the door behind him and leaving Vincent alone.
On this side, Vincent looked reverent. He then connected the phone by a*suming a devout demeanor and a respectful and cautious tone to answer the call.
“Master, are you looking for me? How may I a*sist you?” asked Vincent.
That’s right. The call was indeed from Gavin,
sty,
ready exchanged contact information with Layla, and they had agreed that Layla would call and contact him after the bidding event.
He could then go to the Taylor family to inquire about clues about that year.
However, Gavin waited for Layla’s call in vain. When he tried to reach out to her, Layla didn’t answer. He had no idea about what was happening now. Thus, he decided to contact Vincent directly.
Gavin’s voice came through Vincent’s phone.
“Has your bidding conference ended?” asked Gavin.
“Yes, it has ended. To be precise, I didn’t even attend this bidding conference, so it ended long ago,” replied Vincent.
“Um?” Gavin hesitated for a moment.
Then, as he sounded puzzled, he said, “Does that mean the members of the Taylor family have already returned?”
“Yes, they have returned home early!” Vincent immediately nodded and replied to Gavin.
“The members of the Taylor family were the first to leave. They should be in the Taylor family’s mansion now,” continued Vincent.
In Vincent’s understanding and cognition, it should be Gavin, the all-knowing master of the great powers, who must have known about the Taylor family’s disrespectful behavior and intended to make the Taylor family disappear.
Therefore, he informed Gavin about the Taylor family’s schedule and itinerary.
However, he heard a puzzled tone in Gavin’s voice.
He said, “Huh? Has it been over for a while? Did it end so early?”
That’s strange. How come it seemed to be weird?
Gavin didn’t say much to Vincent on this side and hung up the phone directly.
Vincent felt somewhat curious and puzzled as he listened to the busy tone on the other end.
“What was so strange?” thought Vincent.
However, before he could figure it out and comprehend what was happening, the desk intercom on his office desk rang.
“Mr. Dunn, Miss Taylor from the Taylor family requests an audience,” said his employee.
“Layla?” thought Vincent inwardly.
Vincent’s pupils shrank again.
Layla was the fiancée of his Master, Gavin.
Even though the Taylor family was no longer necessary, Layla differed from the others.
On the one hand, Vincent was aware of the deep affection between Layla and Gavin.
On the other hand, Layla was not a blood relative of the Taylor family.
Thus, strictly speaking, she couldn’t be considered a part of the Taylor family.
Vincent rushed to the intercom and hurriedly replied to the person near the intercom.
“Please, let Miss Taylor in!” said Vincent.
In a short while, Layla, whose eyes were still red from crying, entered Vincent’s office.
Vincent greeted her with a somewhat forced smile as the office door was closed.
However, in the following second, her action shocked Vincent.
There was a thud as Layla knelt straight before Vincent.
“Damn! Oh my God!”
Vincent was shocked by this sight when he witnessed this scene.
He quickly jumped aside, not daring to accept Layla’s grand gesture.
He exclaimed in a lost voice, “Mistress! What are you doing? Please get up, get up!”
Mistress?
Layla should have found this strange title odd, but she couldn’t afford to worry about such details in her current situation as she was too preoccupied to think about it.
She had agreed to her family’s request to meet Vincent, but spending a night with him was absolutely out of the question.
That was impossible!
10.33)
So, she intended to sincerely plead with Vincent to spare her family, the Taylor family.
If he refused to agree, she was willing to die rather than give her innocence and purity to anyone other than Gavin.
Layla shakily told Vincent and began apologizing, “Mr. Dunn, I’m sorry!
“It is all my fault!
“All the blame falls on me. I don’t know when I offended Mr. Dunn. I apologize, and I… Huh? Mr. Dunn, why are you kneeling on the ground? Why are you kneeling, too?” said Layla, in doubt.
Before Layla could finish her apology, she noticed that Vincent had also knelt on the ground at some point.
Vincent was in agony as his heart was in turmoil.
“Oh, my ancestor! Goodness!
“You’re asking me why I’m kneeling on the ground?
“I wanted to get you up and help you but didn’t dare to touch you. Since you are already kneeling, I can only kneel. We were both kneeling. Then, I will prostrate myself on the floor,” thought Vincent.
At this thought, Vincent prostrated himself on the ground and cried out to Layla.
“Mistress, could you please get up quickly? Please, don’t kneel on the ground. If you keep kneeling like this, I, Vincent, will lose my life!” said Vincent.
The scene in the office was bizarre.
Layla had tears in her eyes, but her expression was peculiar.
She asked in a puzzled voice, “Mistress? Mr. Dunn, what are you calling me just now? Why are you calling me that? And why are you doing this?” Vincent still had a pained expression on his face.
He said, “You get up first. I’ll tell you when you get up. Also, we can discuss the Taylor family’s matter.”
Hearing Vincent’s words, Layla stood up cautiously.
Vincent then heaved a heavy sigh, supported himself on the ground, and slowly stood up.
He ma*saged his aching back while addressing Layla, asking, “Do you think I expelled the Taylor family today because of you?”
10
Upon hearing these words, Layla had a trace of sorrow and a tinge of desolation in her pupils.
She said helplessly, “My family.” Layla pronounced these two words with gritted teeth. “They all believe it’s my fault,” continued Layla.
“Bullshit! They are talking nonsense!” shouted Vincent, and this action startled Layla.
Then, he continued to respond to Layla’s question.
He said, “Tell all the Taylor family members that this has nothing to do with you when you return. The problem lies entirely with them. Let them deal with it themselves!”
Layla, who had come to Vincent with a determination to face death, left Horizon Group with a baffled expression after receiving a profound gesture of respect from him. She couldn’t comprehend the situation. However, she remembered and noted Vincent’s words in her heart and was determined to convey to her “family” that Vincent himself said she had no responsibility.
On the other side, in a high-end residential area in Brookspring, this was the house that Gavin had rented for himself and his sister.
Zoe stood at the room door and held her elder brother’s hand.
She asked, “Gavin, are you going to find Layla?”
Gavin looked at his sister and nodded with a smile.
He replied to Zoe, “Of course, this is because the Taylor family holds the key to the information about the Clifford family’s destruction back then.” Zoe nodded in agreement after hearing Gavin’s words.
“Gavin, please be careful and pay attention to your safety.
“If possible, can you bring Layla back with you? It’s best to do that as I feel the Taylor family people are not treating her well,” said Zoe.
Upon listening to Zoe’s words, Gavin raised an eyebrow. Even Zoe could sense it, and of course, he felt more clear-headed and that his point had become even more apparent.
There was a hint of coldness in his eyes, and he nodded.
He replied, “Don’t worry. If it’s possible, I will bring her back!”
