Bitcoin Billionaire: I Regressed to Invest in the First Bitcoin!-Chapter 78: Ghosts of the Office

Lily Smithers sat at her desk, the heart shaped pendant of her golden necklace dangled below her face, and for a moment, she’d been staring at it.

Even on her dainty face, stress was slowly taking its toll. She appeared greatly tired, the weight of responsibility pressing down on her like an iron shackle.

She was in her office, the sound of the AC humming in the back of her head like an undertone to her thoughts.

How did things change so fast?

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

It had started with that day when Darren had shown up to work with that look of dejection and indifference in his face. The day he had resigned.

Before Lily’s eyes, everything just slowly stopped being as they used to be.

The once-vibrant office, filled with chatter and clacking typewriters, now felt eerily hollow.

The scandal was the main reason of course. It had gutted the company. Not only did the employees who had reported resigned, but others who didn’t want to be associated with any of that dipped as well, even though they were assured it would be handled.

Now, only empty chairs and silent halls were left in their wake.

It wasn’t completely empty of course. There were still many employees, because well... the pay was good, especially now.

But, the difference was still stark.

Lily brushed a strand of her golden curls from her face, eyes scanning the endless paperwork before her.

Numbers, expenses, dwindling assets.

Every line was another reminder that Smithers Group was bleeding out, and she, momentarily occupying the position of Financial Secretary, was left to patch the wounds.

It was times like this that she really missed Darren. He would have helped with these numbers especially.

Her fingers gripped the pen tightly as she tried to push away the thoughts and focus. "That awful guy... Why did he have to do this? Why did he have to leave her like this?"

The exhaustion, the stress— it was eating her alive.

She just wanted to talk to him. She took out her phone, dialed his number.

’This number is unavailable. Please try again later.’

Lily dropped the phone on the table, burying her face in her palms.

She was just about to cry, when—

"LILY!"

Her father’s bellow echoed through the office walls, snapping her out of her emotions. She exhaled and dried the wet eyes carefully. What now?

Pushing back from the desk, Lily rose and made her way out, her heels clicking against the marble floor. As she stepped into the corridor, she took a moment to scan the office.

Usually, there weren’t empty desks and chairs between these employees. Every cubicle used to be filled, every seat occupied by an employee hustling under her father’s rule.

But now? They were so separated from each other it seemed like an examination hall.

She clenched her jaw, swallowing down the lump in her throat.

If things didn’t change fast, the company would crumble.

She could only hope that the batch of applicants currently being interviewed could fill some of the gaps before things get worse.

Her father had promised to give her this company when he stepped down. She would like for there to be something to own when that happens.

Pushing the thought aside, she stepped into her father’s office, where the grumpy old man sat hunched over his desk, irritation twisting his face into something even more unpleasant than usual.

The tension in the air was thick.

Lily braced herself. "What is it, Dad?"

Gareth didn’t waste time. "This is Theodore James, one of my business partners, and that’s his friend John Cartman. We were conversing about business and they just claimed that they ran into Rachel — my damn secretary — in the Secretary of State’s Office. And you know what? She wasn’t alone. Can you guess who she was with, my dear daughter?"

Lily frowned. "Darren?"

Gareth fumed with rage. "That son of a fat whore, scoundrel!"

Lily was shocked, not by her father’s words, she was used to those, but by the situation. She turned to the two men.

"Are you sure it was him? Darren Steele?"

One of the men in Gareth’s office shrugged. "Like we said. The face in the picture he showed us is similar, but—"

He hesitated, as if struggling to put it into words. "—he was more… polished. Wore a suit. Had this terrifying aura about him." The man shivered slightly. "I don’t know how else to explain it."

’Terrifying aura?’ Lily narrowed her eyes in thought. ’I did get that about him when we met in the real estate.’

"Rachel was sent to talk to Darren," she said to her father. "If these men claimed the guy looked like Darren… then it has to be him. He did look different last time I saw him."

Gareth scoffed. "What are you trying to say? That he’s turned into some powerful man overnight? A terrifying aura, stop kidding me! That boy is a joke! And that’s all he’ll ever be."

Lily felt heat creep up her neck, her face growing red. She ignored her father’s rant and focused on the matter.

Darren had somehow poached Rachel, made her join him and leave her father.

Why would she agree to that? And how was he even able to do that? She was a cold buzz kill, wasn’t she?

The Silent Witch was what they used to call her.

So how?

How the hell had he done it?

She thought deeper. "What could he be doing in a place like the Secretary of State’s Office?"

Everyone fell silent.

Then, Gareth’s eyes widened. A slow, dangerous realization.

"…What are you saying?" His tone became even more defensive. "You think he actually did it?" His fingers curled into fists. "That he managed to—"

The words tasted bitter on his tongue.

"—make a company?!"

His voice rose, fury boiling over. "No, that’s not possible!"

"That’s the only reason I can imagine him going there, Dad."

"Nghh!" Gareth slammed his fist on the table. "He spits on my face every time. I’ll deal with that wet toilet paper myself! I’ll mess him up!"

Lily opened her mouth to speak, but Gareth was already grabbing his phone, his thick fingers jabbing the numbers in a barely restrained rage.

The line rang. Once. Twice. Then—

"Morrison’s Hospital. This is Nurse Helen speaking. How may I assist you?"

"I’m looking for a patient. A woman suffering from aortic diseases. Name’s Pamela."

A brief silence.

Gareth thought to himself. ’I’m going to demand that woman be taken out of the hospital. He’ll come crawling back for me to help him!’

Then, the nurse answered:

"I’m sorry, sir, but that client was discharged weeks ago. Her son moved her to another hospital."

Gareth stiffened. "What?!"

His grip on the phone tightened. "And did he pay the bills?"

Helen wanted to ask questions, but she has to remain professional. "Yes he did sir, sir. All of them."

Gareth froze.

Then, his entire face twisted in rage.

"That bastard—! How was he able to pay the bill? It was in the thousands!"

Slamming the phone down, he seethed. "I need to call Ryan Anders. He’ll deal with this riffraff."

Sweating like a bricklayer, he turned back to Lily, pointing a finger at her.

"You have one last chance to bring him back under our control."

He laid out his plan. The things she needed to do. The ways she could lure Darren back, push him into submission.

Lily stiffened. She wanted to tell her father that she couldn’t do it anymore.

Her chest felt tight with fear and anxiety. She knew she couldn’t say no to him.

She had no choice.

Gareth found Ryan Anders’s number and called him.

The soft voice of the Head of MWMO answered. "Ryan Anders speaking."

Gareth wasted no time.

"I have a name for you. I remembered." His breathing was heavy. "The loose end that you need to settle"

Ryan appeared disinterested. "Okay," he exhaled, picking a pen. "Go ahead, Mr. Smithers."

"Darren Steele," Gareth said. "His name is Darren Steele."

Silence. Ryan wrote down the name.

"Alright then. I’ll get to work," Ryan said simply. He hung up.

He relaxed on his chair and crossed his fingers. "Bring him in."

Amelia opened the door and Rico Evans walked into the office, a nervous expression on his face.

"Rico," Ryan smiled devilishly. "Tell me you have a name."

Rico hesitated for a moment, fumbling with the hand of his bag. He was clearly unsettled.

Ryan’s eyes darkened. "Prison cells are cold, Rico. Give me a name and be a free man."

Rico’s face fell in shame for a moment, before he took a deep breath and replied. "His name is Darren Steele."

Silence.

Ryan’s brows creased.

Slowly... mind reeling... his eyes looked down at the name he’d just written a moment ago.

"What did you just say?"