Astonishing Beauty

On the next day, Anastasia arrived at Spark Enterprises, dressed in her usual sharp, professional attire. The moment she stepped into the office, she felt the weight of numerous eyes on her, some glaring openly, others subtly watching her every move.

Ever since that devastating incident, she had been demoted from Chairwoman to a low-level Manager, constantly subjected to strange, judgmental looks. Today, however, those looks were more intense and numerous than usual.

Anastasia knew exactly why. The uproar at the Reed Residence the previous day had spread like wildfire, thanks to her loose-lipped relatives.

As she walked into the conference room, a sneering voice greeted her. "Anastasia, I heard your useless live-in-husband has come back. Why aren't you at home serving him today?"

The words came from a man in his thirties, lounging insolently with his feet propped up on the conference table.

A flicker of disgust crossed Anastasia's eyes. It was her cousin, Brendan Reed, a few years older and insufferably arrogant. Despite his incompetence, he had been made deputy general manager after her family had taken Spark Enterprises from her, giving him ample opportunity to suppress and belittle her.

Brendan's smug face reflected his delight in her downfall, as he continued to mock her whenever he got the chance. Today was no different, and his sarcasm cut through the air, igniting a renewed determination within her to reclaim what was rightfully hers.

Seeing that Anastasia was ignoring him with an aloof expression, Brendan became more aggressive. "I really take my hat off to you for being so thick-skinned. You did such a disgusting thing and got berated by everyone, but you still have the cheek to come to the office every day! We're ashamed and embarrassed for you. Oh, you also gave birth to a bastard. Tsk, tsk."

"Shut up!" With a furious expression, Anastasia glowered at Brendan.

She could bear with it if she was being insulted, but she would never let anyone humiliate her daughter!

"Ah, you're getting angry, huh? Haha, am I wrong?" Brendan turned around to look at each other Reed's heirs in the office. Pretending to be innocent, he waved his hands gently and exclaimed, "Everyone here knows that your father is a bastard, and so are you. Your daughter is naturally one too!"

Everyone laughed out loud, not finding his words to be insulting.

They all felt that Brendan was right. Anastasia's father, Charles Reed, was not a Reed and was instead brought over by his mother when she married the senior Mr. Reed. Thaddeus Reed was magnanimous enough to take him into the family, even though he wasn't a Reed. He even gave them some annual dividends of the company to support them. This was the best he could do.

Anastasia was raised because the Reeds took pity on her family. Thus, they felt that there was nothing wrong with scolding her.

Overwhelmed with fury, Anastasia shivered. But before she could even say anything, the door of the meeting room opened again, and a domineering old man with white hair walked in. It was Anastasia's grandfather, Thaddeus Reed, the head of the Reed family.

"Welcome, Mr. Reed Senior!" Everyone stopped laughing and greeted him.

Brendan also stopped behaving nonchalantly and hurriedly went over to hold Thaddeus's arm obediently. "Grandpa, have a seat. I'll make you some tea."

"No need." Thaddeus sat down on the Chairman's seat at the end of the conference table. When he saw Anastasia standing still with a furious expression, he rebuked sternly, "What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for me to invite you to take a seat?"

Anastasia gritted her teeth, contained her anger, and sat down near the other end of the conference table.

Thaddeus glanced at everyone authoritative. "As you all know, the Orion Industries settled down in Emerald Coast County not long ago. The Orion Industries itself is a large enterprise with an annual turnover of more than two billion dollars. It is also backed by the famous Quinn family from the capital. I'm sure you all know how powerful they are. As long as we form ties with the Orion Industries, we will have a chance to get close to the Quinns. Many companies and families in Emerald Coast County are interested in getting close to them. We can't fall behind!

"In short, the Reed family's most important task now is to try to get the opportunity to cooperate with the Orion Industries!"

All of them looked happy. But when they thought of the Orion Industries' haughtiness, they didn't feel confident enough.

"However, the Reed family isn't considered elite in Emerald Coast County. Are we going to be worthy of the Orion Industries?"

"We want to do it too, but it's really difficult."

Thaddeus slammed his hand on the table, his voice booming with authority. "Let me make this crystal clear. I will hand over Spark Enterprises to anyone who successfully secures a cooperation agreement with Orion Industries!"

The room erupted into chaos at Thaddeus's proclamation.

Spark Enterprises was the crown jewel, the most prosperous and advanced company among all the enterprises under the Reeds' umbrella. Since it was wrested from Anastasia a few years ago, many Reeds had been coveting Spark Enterprises. Holding a position in the company meant a significant boost in year-end dividends.

Until now, everyone had accepted that becoming the general manager was out of reach, as it was reserved for Thaddeus's heir, Brendan.

But now, Thaddeus was offering up Spark Enterprises in exchange for a partnership with Orion Industries. He was ready to invest heavily, and the stakes couldn't be higher.

Suddenly, the room was filled with eager, competitive gazes. Each person was calculating their chances, ready to seize the opportunity and try their luck with Orion Industries.

Anastasia stood amid the uproar, her fists clenched tightly, jaw set in determination. She felt a fire ignite within her, ready to take on the challenge.