The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 547 The Beautiful Sister In The Photo

Feeling the need to respond, David responded to Mr. Shen, "Can you please tell me how Mr. Lu's child would affect the normal operations of Sun Company and Shining Company?" He believed it was necessary to argue with the elder directors present when it came to the matter of Charles' son.

"David, you have no authority to speak in this meeting!"

Mr. Shen's sarcastic remark was meant to dismiss Charles' assistant.

But Charles was not about to allow an attack on his trusted man, so he questioned his rival, "Mr. Shen, is it true your son has been accepted by a prestigious university in America?" The question was surprising, but not unwelcome.

"Yes, he has," he beamed with pride. To glorify his family, Mr. Shen had been proudly announcing his son's scholarship.

So everyone, including Charles, felt that the matter merited a closer look, and Mr. Shen suddenly realized this.

"I replace the matter irrelevant to this stockholders' meeting!" the man quickly exclaimed. Mr. Shen felt threatened by Charles' strong character, but he would never admit to it. He knew that great care was necessary when dealing with the young Mr. Lu.

"And neither is my private affair relevant!" Charles snapped. Seething inside, Charles kept his composure.

The stockholder looked at Charles with contempt and proceeded to argue. "Your case is different! You are the chairman of Sun Company and Shining Company. These two companies have images to protect. But a scandal such as your having a love child damages that good image!"

Anger colored the man's face.

Charles tapped his fingers on the table. "Mr. Shen, here's a rumor that needs an explanation."

He sneered and looked at the other stockholders before continuing. "I was told that the night before the admission test, your son was in a bar with a woman. He was later detained by the police after the woman filed attempted rape charges against him. Fortunately, because of your influence and power, he escaped prosecution. However, he did bribe someone to take his place for the admission test." With an eyebrow raised, he looked at Mr. Shen straight in the eye.

"Stop this nonsense!" the man shouted. He felt beads of perspiration forming on his forehead. Charles' revelation was shocking. It aroused the curiosity of everyone in the room, who began talking about the

matter.

Mr. Shen could not believe how Charles found out about the scandal involving his son, considering he had given strict orders to handle everything discreetly.

But at that very moment, the enigmatic Charles was challenging him in front of other shareholders, and he was not happy about it.

"I think we should begin our meeting now," Charles declared. He then cast an arrogant glance at those present, particularly Mr. Shen. Charles made a good leader because he was bold and brave and never backed down from people who were hostile towards him.

Now that he had the upper hand on Mr. Shen, he pressed his advantage.

Before making an official statement, he brought out documents relevant to the issue. "We have been informed that BM Corporation has been actively doing business in Y City. They are heavily advertising the launching of their spring and summer fashion event. And this is cutting into our market share for this field of enterprise. Therefore, we must come up with a plan on how to transform our company into a profitable competitor," Charles reported.

Meanwhile, Alice was assigned to watch over Charlie while the stockholders' meeting was going on. Since the meeting had dragged on, there was little the boy could do inside Charles' office. Alice offered him juice, and he politely thanked her. The child was surprisingly well-behaved and quiet. Because they were alone, it gave her the opportunity to study the child up close.

She couldn't help but admire Leila for having kept this boy a secret for four years, and wondered whether Leila would be their boss's next wife.

The boy finally ran out of patience and dropped the book he was reading. He asked Alice, "May I look around here?"

"Of course!" Alice replied with a smile. She offered, "I can show you around if you like."

"No, thank you," the boy smiled back at her. "I'm only going to stay in this office."

While he was reading, his eyes wandered around the office and became curious about its layout.

From his position, he had an entire view of the spacious room with huge French windows, where he could see the constant stream of people below. Charlie stood up and wandered over to the shelves filled with documents, which did not appeal to him. Walking towards Charles' desk, he began inspecting it.

It was a large desk, perfect for Charles. The boy poked around the desk until he saw a framed photograph that got his attention.

Charlie was surprised to recognize the smiling woman standing beside Charles. It was Sheryl, his new friend.

He became curious why Sheryl would be in the same photograph with his father.

"Charlie, put the photo down," Alice ordered him. She panicked when the boy picked up the frame to look at it more closely, so she raised her voice.

Alice was responsible for cleaning Charles' office, but she was forbidden to touch that particular framed photo.

Then there was the sound of crashing glass. Alice's outburst startled Charlie, so he dropped the frame and its glass cover shattered. This made Alice aghast. She knew Charles would likely blame her for what happened.

Deep inside, Alice knew she was partly responsible for the broken photo frame.

And she was starting to regret agreeing to watch over the little boy.

The child was shocked over the accident and quickly took the photo out of the frame before brushing off the broken glass.

But he remained curious. With childlike innocence, he asked Alice, "Who is this woman in the photo?"

What also caught Charlie's interest when he saw the picture was Charles' expression while posing.

In the time he had spent with Charles, Charlie noticed his father rarely smiled. If he did, it was as if he carried a burden. So it was a pleasant surprise to see him looking very happy in the photograph. And his curiosity about the connection between Charles and Sheryl grew.

"This woman..." he pointed to Autumn. Alice was in a dilemma. Considering he was Leila's son, should she tell Charlie the truth or make something up about Autumn's identity?

"Please, tell me, and I promise to keep it a secret," he begged. Charlie was intent on learning the truth. And he was skillful enough to use words that would make Alice give in and reveal what she knew. Alice was also astonished about how convincing the child was.

Finally, she said, "That woman in the photo is Autumn. She was your Dad's previous wife."

Alice paused to look at the boy. Sadly, she related, "She went missing three years ago. But in your Dad's mind, she will come back. This picture is Mr. Lu's treasure. And I have to deal with him when he discovers what happened to it."