Chapter 20 The Lake Family’s Plan

In Titanium Corporation, Vanessa and Rachel patiently waited in the lobby for Dahmer to show up, but seconds turned into minutes, and minutes to hours and soon they were waiting for three hours.

Rachel moved uncomfortably in her seat, her eyes moving around the place in awe and in a little embarrassment.

The receptionist had been throwing strange, but familiar glances her way.

She shifted her eyes to Vanessa who was happily tapping away on her phone. "We've been here for three hours. Are you sure the chairman will still come today?"

Vanessa paused for a moment and glanced up at her, "My father said he'd come. Let's wait one more hour before we leave, or are you tired of waiting?"

Vanessa raised an aggressive brow which prompted Rachel to shake her head vigorously. "Of course not! I'll stay with you until we're done here!"

"Good." Vanessa said and returned back to her phone. If not that she heard James took a liking to Rachel, she'd never have let someone of her class get close to her.

After one more hour of waiting, Vanessa and Rachel both heard hurried footsteps and got up immediately thinking it was the person they were looking for.

However, Vanessa sighed when she saw it was just her father. Her disappointment soon disappeared when she heard what he had to say, "Regarding I and your mother's wedding anniversary celebration party which would be held tonight, the chairman just informed me he'd be gracing us with his presence!"

"The Chairman? The Chairman would be coming?!" Vanessa half-shouted in happiness, already thinking of the million and one dresses she could wear for the party.

"That is not all, dear." Theophilus smiled broadly and held his daughter's hand, "He also says he'd be coming with someone. An important friend of his. You know what that means, don't you?"

Vanessa smiled and covered his hand with her palm, "Any friend of the Chairman is definitely an important person. I'll try my best to get on his good side."

"Good." Theophilus exhaled in satisfaction before settling his eyes on the girl beside his daughter. "And who is she supposed to be?"

"Oh, this is Rachel Philip, my schoolmate." Vanessa introduced Rachel, dragging the word 'schoolmate'.

"She's from the Philip family." Theophilus merely said and pursed his lips. The disapproval on his face was quite obvious and something Rachel noticed.

Ignoring how unwelcoming he was being, Rachel still forced herself to smile. At the end of the day, she needed to get close to the Brad family and other top-tier families in order to rid herself of the stigma of belonging to a family merely managing to be a third tier.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Brad. I've heard a lot about you and I'm honoured to finally meet you in person."

Her introduction got her nowhere as Theophilus promptly returned his attention to Vanessa, ignoring her presence, "You should go home now and tell your mother the good news. Make sure everything is in place for the party tonight."

"I will, dad." Vanessa nodded and watched her father walk away.

Then she turned her attention to the more silent Rachel, "He doesn't approve of me being friends with people who are from third tier families. I thought the ridicule would be something you're used to by now. Anyway, are you coming or not?"

Rachel didn't have time to brood as she forced on a smile, "Of course. I'm elated to meet your mother too."

"You should be. The only reason you have an invite to my parents' anniversary is because James seems to fancy you." Vanessa said smugly as she walked ahead.

As soon as they left, Dillon who had somehow found his way into the lobby when he was walking around the building, came out of where he had been standing.

Rachel left him because he was not one of the privileged kids. Now, the privileged kids she somehow made friends with blatantly treated her like she was a pet whose owners were harsh.

He subconsciously felt his pocket for his phone before recalling Vanessa destroyed his phone earlier. It's a good thing Merlin had purchased two of it.

With that thought in mind, he slipped both hands into his pocket and walked towards the door. He had just gotten to the parking lot when he heard someone call his name.

"Presi–i mean, Mr. Grendel. I got you a new phone and two invitation cards to Theophilus Brad's anniversary tonight." Dahmer said and scratched the back of his neck.

Dillon took the cards and the new phone. Two cards. Dahmer must know about Merlin.

"Thank you for the cards." He thanked him, turned and headed towards the gate.

Dahmer smiled wryly. He couldn't exactly ask Dillon if he had a girlfriend. Giving how tall and handsome Dillon was, Dahmer had no problem thinking he had a beautiful girlfriend. And if he had a girlfriend, he'd naturally give the second invitation to her.

Dahmer exhaled in relief and walked into the building again. He'd have the company's legal investigators crack down on Theophilus after work, then the arrest would be made during the anniversary party.

Outside Titanium Corporation, Dillon had a hard time finding a taxi, so he spent the next ten minutes walking to the main road. He found one almost immediately and boarded it.

Now being aware that where he lived drew attention, he told the driver to stop him a street away from the street his house was.

In the taxi, Dillon suddenly frowned when he noticed a car he had seen outside Titanium Corporation, behind the taxi. He had a hunch, but dismissed it when he reasoned the person could simply be going towards his direction.

Nevertheless, he didn't let his guard down. A few minutes later, his phone vibrated with an incoming message and he opened it to see it was a text from Joel.

Joel sent: "Mr. Grendel, I just got informed the Lake family hired someone to kill you."

Dillon had just finished reading when Joel sent another message: "Please tell me where you are so I can come over to help you."

Dillon stared at the two messages for a minute before he glanced at the time. It was almost 5pm and the fixed time for the anniversary party was 7pm on the dot.

Not that he had to go early or anything, but he planned to get enough rest before leaving the house again.

Taking care of whoever was following him didn't seem like it'd be a hassle, but he thought it'd be a good opportunity to let Joel prove himself.

So he took up the phone and sent: "I should be a few streets away from Luxe Noir."

Joel replied seconds later, "Leave this to me, Mr. Grendel."

Dillon turned off the screen of his phone and spoke to the driver, "I'll add an extra 200 dollars. Go round the block two times."

The Lake Family Manor

The entire family assembled in the living room where the family doctor cleaned up a badly battered up Moses.

Moses looked disheveled, with a bruised cheek. His eyes were swollen shut, nose broken and a burst lip. His hair was matted with sweat and dirt.

His clothing were torn and stained with blood as it hadn't been long he was brought back from the school.

His broken leg was visibly swollen. His arm, too, was bent at an unnatural angle.

Moses might've been a troublemaker, bullied others and sometimes got into fights. But this was the first time someone dared to lay a finger on him, talk less of leaving him such condition.

"Take it easy, will you?!" He moaned and snapped in pain as the family doctor carefully wrapped his broken leg and arm in gauze.

"My apologies, sir." The family doctor apologized and rounded up what he was doing.

"Grandfather, we shouldn't let those bastards off!" Moses screamed, seething in rage.

"As someone who'd take over the family's company in the future, you shouldn't act so impulsive." Matthew chastised from where he stood beside Jason.

"You think I'm acting impulsive? You think my predicament will reflect well on the Lake family's name if we don't do something about those imbeciles?!" Moses scoffed, glaring at Matthew.

"Maybe if you hadn't crossed and provoked them in school and followed the plan we came up with, none of these would've happened." Matthew hissed, frowning a little.

"Are you seriously blaming me for trying to get back at the scholarship student who beat up my friend?"

"Your beaten-up friend's mother run the school. She would've taken care of it her own way. But thanks to you, the school might have to issue out an apology to him and the public for the fight that happened this afternoon. The only one you've embarrassed is yourself." Matthew snorted, not bothering to hide the disdain in his tone.

"The school publishing an apology to him on their social accounts is like us admitting that it was my fault for getting into a scuffle with him. It'd be damaging to my reputation and that of the Lake family. I also believe the company's board of directors won't be okay with it." Moses scoffed.

Jason thought it was time to cut into the heated conversation. "Your uncle thought of that too. While the Wright family has promised to punish Merlin Wright, Castillo Red is currently on his way to kill Dillon Grendel."

At this moment, Grant Fabian, the Lake family butler, entered the living room holding two invitation letters. He approached Jason, presenting them with a composed demeanor.

"The Brad family has extended an invitation to you for their 23rd-anniversary celebration."

Jason's eyes lit up upon hearing this news. The Brad family was a prestigious top-tier family, much like their own.

Even though Theophilus Brad held a position at Titanium Corporation, the conglomerate had allowed him to maintain his own company while working under their umbrella.

Another member of the Lake family entered the room in panic, showing Jason something on a tablet. "The media has caught wind of the incident at Yale University. Virtually all major news outlets have published articles and interviews about it."

Jason immediately checked the Lake family's stock price and noticed it steadily plummeting by the minute.

Moses, feeling the weight of his grandfather's disapproval, shrank back in fear realizing he had just caused the company a big loss.

Matthew silenced his ringing phone and discreetly slipped it into his pocket before turning to Jason. "Father, the shareholders have seen the news and are in a state of panic. What should we do?"

Jason's expression tightened as he pondered the situation.

The butler seemed to recall something else important.

"This afternoon, while I was attending to some matters in town, I overheard some people saying Dahmer Wade promised to attend the anniversary party along with a very important friend of his. Rumors suggest that the individual he referred to is the president of Titanium Corporation."

Moses, puzzled, interjected, "Since when did Titanium Corporation have a president?"

However, the others paid no attention to Moses as they awaited Jason's decision. His brows furrowed in deep thought.

He soon lowered his eyes onto the invitation again where he noticed some words written in fine print. There it was clearly stated that Dahmer Wade would be coming with an important friend of his.

Eventually, Jason extended the invitation cards toward Moses. "You will attend the anniversary with your cousin, Nell. Use this occasion to prove to the board of directors that you are a suitable heir to the company."

Matthew's eyes darkened as he clenched his fists, watching Moses reach for the cards. Moses' happened to see this and a mocking smile hovered on his lips.

His hand trembled beneath the bandages, casting an air of uncertainty over him as he clutched the invitations.

He pretended, though not very convincingly, to be disinterested and slightly sorrowful as he uttered, "Father, the anniversary's happening tonight. Given my present state, it would be rather awkward for me to attend. How about letting Uncle Matthew attend instead?"

Jason dismissed his words with a wave of his hand, not even considering his suggestion for a second.

"You are the heir to the Lake family, and your reputation cannot afford to be tarnished over a minor incident. If you extend an apology at the party for your past behavior, it's more likely that people will sympathize and support you."

"Your uncle will remain here to manage matters while you're away," he added, then turned to Matthew, who quickly concealed the cold expression on his face. "Contact Nell right away. The anniversary is only a few hours from now."