Mr. Chairman’s Devious Wife by Brey Mitchylle
Chapter 78

Chapter 78

“A special board meeting?” Sofia narrowed her eyes as she read the email again. It seemed that Lawrence was making his move. Something must have happened to change his plans. She quickly read the details and frowned.

Lawrence had called for a special meeting with the board to discuss her grandmother's health. Eulanda was already in her 70s, so it was easy for people to wonder if she was still fit to handle the company. Meanwhile, with Eunice still in a coma, the only possible solution was to pass the responsibility to Eunice’s daughter—Sofia.

It would be nice, but Sofia herself knew that she was not prepared to handle a conglomerate. She was raised to think that she would handle it one day, but she knew she still lacked the proper training and would not be confident enough to take up that responsibility and risk the company that employs thousands of people.

She opened her phone and dialed a number. "Hey," Karina’s voice came from the other line.

"Hey, how was it?" Sofia asked, curiosity lacing her voice.

“We are working with the authorities,” Karina replied. “Don’t worry, we will do everything we can to complete it.”

"Thank you," Sofia let out a sigh of relief. She then ended the call and looked at the file that Alexander sent. This was about Daniel. Apparently, Daniel was taken to a facility to heal. Alexander did not really talk about the reason why he was taken to a facility, but Sofia already had her guesses.

Daniel mentioned how difficult his life was when he was younger. This was because of the constant comparison and the blatant disregard from his father. Because of this, he was diagnosed with various mental illnesses and was taking some prescription drugs.

However, Sofia never thought that their breakup would prompt Daniel to fall that hard. After all, he still had Charlotte. Speaking of Charlotte, the woman had been silent lately and, honestly, this was worrying to Sofia. She couldn’t understand why Charlotte would just agree to leave after everything. Alexander told her that Charlotte was obediently staying in Europe. In fact, she had been posting a lot of images on her socials lately. It seemed that she was enjoying her vacation.

Charlotte had yet to call Sofia. She also stopped sending her messages or tagging Sofia in her posts. Which was honestly good, but then again, Sofia could not help but feel that she was missing something.

She let out a sigh and closed the email. She was no longer Daniel’s woman. This has nothing to do with her. Whatever happens from now on has nothing to do with her anymore.

“Miss, here is your schedule for the rest of the week,” Miss Amores said as she started reading Sofia’s schedule. Somehow this made Sofia smile. She simply listened before she asked Miss Amores to get her a cup of coffee. Then she started working again.

The next few days were just peaceful. Sofia had been very busy creating strategies for the future of the company. With the rise of social media, Sofia thought it would be very important to involve herself in the process of creating a buzz in the world of social media. To do this, she had meetings with various influencers as she wanted to send some of their clothing to influencers for them to promote online.

Soon, the minutes turned into hours and hours into days. The day that Lawrence scheduled was only two days away. However, Lawrence was not exactly in a very good mood.

"Leave me alone," Lawrence muttered as he slammed his fist on the table, his eyes glaring at the papers before him.

The FBI had been sniffing around his operations. They had been tracking his shipments for a while now, and Lawrence knew that any misstep could lead to his downfall.

"They’ve been watching me for months," he snapped, his voice barely a whisper. "Like clockwork, each operation had lined my pockets with millions. But now, I need a bigger score. I've exploited LH Group’s subsidiaries to forge connections, making my plans easier to execute. Blinded by greed, I poured even more money into the recent shipments, expecting a windfall."

Then the news hit. The FBI had busted the smuggling ring. Luckily, Lawrence had been clever enough to stay out of the direct line of fire. He’d used his money to manipulate others into doing the dirty work. However, the sting of losing tens of millions was undeniable. Those smuggled goods, destined for various states, were supposed to be his golden ticket.

"Who snitched?" Lawrence growled, his eyes narrowed.

"I'm on it," Mr. Oh replied, his jaw clenched. He, too, had lost a significant amount in this failed scheme. "Whoever tipped them off will pay."

Everything, down to the last detail, had been meticulously planned to ensure the smuggled goods remained hidden. Now, their carefully constructed house of cards lay in ruins.

Lawrence paced the room like a caged animal, his frustration simmering. "We can’t afford any more slip-ups, Mr. Oh. The FBI is breathing down our necks, and if they replace even a shred of evidence linking us to this mess, we are done for." He was done for. This time is crucial. He needed the money for his plans.

"Agreed. We need to cut our losses and lie low for a while. Let the storm pass before making any further moves," Mr. Oh, who looked usually composed, looked pale and shaken.

Lawrence was pacing with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Lying low isn’t my style. We need to replace a way to salvage this."

"But how? We can't risk another operation while they’re still watching."

Lawrence pondered for a moment, then said, "There's one way." After a few hours, Lawrence found himself inside another restaurant with Mr. William Clarence.

"I see you still decided to see me," William smiled, his voice a little croaky. "Is there something I could help you with?"

"Do you still have connections in Russia?" Lawrence said. In response, the old man only smiled.

"I believe you already know about the recent arrests. With your access to the black market, I believe you already know that they are somehow connected to me."

"The smuggling ring that the FBI had been following around lately is related to you?" William lifted an eyebrow.

"Stop feigning ignorance," Lawrence said. The smuggling ring had been his hope. He needed the money that it was bringing. He could obviously approach other people, but he had once worked with William.

He thought it would be better to work with William than with other people. Besides, William was also really careful because of Eulanda. They have a common enemy.

The old man chuckled. He slowly took a sip of his tea before he asked, "What is it that you want this time?"

"I need another safe passage for my goods," Lawrence said. "Just assure that it would be evenly distributed in the states."

"Fifty-fifty sounds about right," William immediately added.

Hearing this, Lawrence let out a sigh of relief. "When it comes to business, I knew that the old man would agree."

"I can only offer you sixty-forty," Lawrence said. "Fifty-five, forty-five and this is my bottom line."

"Deal," William immediately agreed. After talking about the specifics, Lawrence happily left the place, thinking that everything had been fixed. With William’s backing, he was almost confident that everything would go well this time.

"Hehehehe," William started chuckling the moment Lawrence left, his laughter echoing inside the closed Japanese restaurant. "How did you know that he would actually come here to offer me something like this?" William asked without looking at the person who walked out of the shadows. Slowly, this person walked and sat opposite the old man.

"Because I was the one who reported the shipments," the other person was none other than Sofia. She looked at William, a smile appearing on her face.

"So, you guessed it," William nodded.

This time, Sofia did not say a word. On the outside, she looked composed and confident, but she couldn't lie to herself. Talking to someone like William honestly made her nervous. However, she came here for a reason.

She was going to fight Lawrence, fight fire with fire. And this was just the start. "It seems that you are just like Eulanda all along," William said.

4o