Alester’s eyes widened instantly, and the calm composure that had rested on his face moments earlier began to disappear as he quickly increased the volume upon hearing her give her statement.

As he listened to Aliana calmly explain the events of the previous night, the more everything began making sense to Alester.

With an approving nod, he took another sip of his coffee before murmuring, "So she’s handling it on her own. Good. I suppose I don’t need to interfere after all, right, James?"

But James, who had already heard Gavriel Valentine casually drop a life-altering bombshell on live television moments ago, merely pressed his lips into a thin line, wondering how exactly he was supposed to break the next part to his boss.

Before he could even respond, Aliana’s clear voice rang out from the iPad.

"There is only one man in my life whom I am set to marry, and that is Mr. Gavriel Valentine."

"PFFT!!"

Alester abruptly spat out the coffee in his mouth.

Unfortunately, the victim seated directly opposite him happened to be his peacefully sleeping wife, Portia Vanderbilt.

Portia jolted awake the moment warm liquid splashed across her face.

"Oh my God! Did I fall asleep in the spa again?" she exclaimed. "You should have warned me before starting the facial-" She trailed off as her sleepy mind registered the reality of her husband coughing violently.

"Alester, what happ-" She stopped mid-sentence before slowly touching her cheek and staring down at the coffee droplets staining her blanket.

Her green eyes widened in disbelief, "Don’t tell me..."

"Did you just spit on me, Alester?!" she gasped in horror. "What is wrong with you?!"

Immediately, she began frantically reaching around for tissues or anything to wipe her face clean as if she had just been attacked with acid instead of coffee.

Meanwhile, Alester hurriedly forced himself to calm down before quickly grabbing the tissues from the corner and handing them over to his wife.

"I’m so sorry, dear, I was just so sho-"

But Portia did not even let him finish speaking as she snatched the tissue and began frantically dabbing the liquid off her skin, terrified that her skin might be ruined. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Just then, another familiar voice rang out from the iPad, instantly grabbing all three of their attention.

"And now, you will hear the statement given by the acting CEO of the company."

All three of them frowned simultaneously before Portia tilted her head slightly and asked, "Why does that sound like Nigel?"

Alester quickly settled back into his seat before picking up the iPad he had tossed aside earlier while trying to help his wife clean up the coffee mess. Releasing a long sigh, he muttered, "Portia... you need to see what our daughter has been up to."

The moment she heard her daughter being mentioned, Portia instantly straightened in her seat.

"Ali? What did she do?" she asked suspiciously.

Just then, the air hostess returned to clean the spilled coffee and politely asked, "Sir, would you like another cup—"

Before she could finish speaking, Alester let out another exhausted sigh before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No. Just get me some whiskey."

The moment those words left his mouth, both Portia and James turned to look at him in surprise. They both knew very well that Alester only drank alcohol when he was deeply stressed.

James quietly released a resigned sigh of his own. At this point, he could fully understand the chairman’s suffering because of the young miss.

All he could do now was pray there was some reasonable explanation behind all of this, especially since Miss Vanderbilt had refused to answer any of the chairman’s calls since yesterday.

Turning their attention back towards the screen, the three of them watched Jacob Grant step onto the stage.

...

Back at Van Empire, the moment Jacob was brought backstage and met Nigel, he had barely opened his mouth to ask why he had been called before Nigel beat him to it.

"Thank you for showing up, Mr. Grant. The boss requested that I pass this transcript to you and asked for your cooperation in giving a statement to the media. She’s just finishing up, so you’ll be up next."

The moment those words landed, Jacob’s expression stiffened.

But before he could even process, Nigel had already placed the transcript into his hands before turning around and walking straight back towards the stage without giving him even a second to respond.

Moments later, Nigel’s voice echoed clearly throughout the entire conference hall.

"And now, you will hear the statement given by the acting CEO of the company."

Jacob’s heart immediately dropped.

He hadn’t even gotten a chance to read through the transcript before the head of the PR department hurried towards him and urged in a tense voice, "Sir, you’re required on stage now."

Swallowing hard, Jacob instinctively turned around to look for his assistant, only to realise there was no one else backstage anymore.

Only the six massive bodyguards standing around him like silent walls, their cold stares making it painfully clear that he had no choice but to move forward.

Understanding that he had neither the choice nor the time to deny the request, Jacob forced his shaky feet to move.

Internally, he was seething with rage at the sheer audacity of the situation.

Taking a deep breath, Jacob silently swore to himself that he would settle the score with everyone involved later.

For now, he quickly fixing his suit, forced his expression back into a mask of professionalism before walking towards the stage, where the harsh, glaring lights immediately invaded his vision.

Blinking rapidly, he forced himself to adjust before continuing towards the podium.

Nigel stood there waiting for him, offering a polite smile that looked perfectly courteous on the surface yet carried not even the slightest warmth within it.

Then, without another word, he stepped aside, leaving the microphone waiting for Jacob like a silent execution platform.

Under the suffocating scrutiny of every single person present, including Aliana, Gavriel, and Cillian, Jacob had no choice but to walk towards the podium before placing the transcript before him.

Having delivered countless speeches and presentations in the past, he knew the drill.

With a final deep breath, he began. "Good morning, everyone. I am Jacob Grant, the acting CEO of the Van Empire, and I am here to provide my statement today."

When the hall fell completely silent, Jacob finally lowered his gaze towards the transcript before him and began reading aloud.

"I’m here to share my side of the story so that there is no room left for further speculation. As Miss Vanderbilt stated earlier, yesterday, while I was waiting near the elevator, Miss Vanderbilt accidentally tripped because of my own miscalculation and got caught on my foot. The pictures and videos currently circulating online have been deliberately tampered with in order to create a false narrative between Miss Vanderbilt and myself, when in reality, we have shared nothing more than a professional working relationship."

The more Jacob read, the more bitterness spread through his chest.

Right now, with his own mouth, he was personally destroying everything he had carefully set up. Yet he had no choice but to continue.

However, the moment his dull yellow eyes landed on the next paragraph, his pupils constricted. His breathing visibly hitched in his throat as he stared at the unbelievable words written before him.