Orphan To Unbreakable Queen - Chapter 103: Chapter 103
You are reading Orphan To Unbreakable Queen, Chapter 103: Chapter 103. Read more chapters of Orphan To Unbreakable Queen.
After returning from the orphanage, they could confirm that Alice had indeed abandoned her child. Caesar had already started compiling evidence for the case.
Aubree wasn't planning on filing a lawsuit for the time being. 'Litigation will drag on for too long,' she thought. 'It'll be far more efficient to use this as leverage to pressure Alice into agreeing right away.'
Aubree wondered what Bowen and Mark had discussed at the orphanage last time. She hadn't seen him come to visit her in a while.
Ever since they got back from Gracefield Church, Bowen had been like an NPC that respawned on schedule, showing up at every mealtime or whenever she was free.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Aubree pulled herself together and turned her attention back to business.
The investigation that Aubree assigned to Birgitte and Vincent, exposing Rosepoly Group's embezzlement of worker safety funds, use of inferior materials, and blatant disregard for laborers' lives, was finally bearing fruit.
Vincent moved quickly. He'd already uncovered some leads.
This type of news began appearing sporadically in the media. At first, it didn't seem threatening at all. Many people even dismissed it with a laugh.
Rosepoly Group was a veteran company and a subsidiary of the Wilson Group at that. People thought that they couldn't possibly stoop so low for such a paltry sum.
But Aubree wasn't rushed. She was laying the groundwork and building momentum.
As Vincent uncovered more evidence, Aubree had Birgitte feed the media a strategic blend of fact and clever embellishment, making the stories all the more convincing.
As public skepticism grew, many demanded that Rosepoly Group's management produce evidence to clear their names. The company could only offer vague responses, merely pledging to investigate the matter.
As the scandal gained traction, Wilson Group's top executives also began to take notice.
The news reached Ronald.
"Who's behind this scandal?" Ronald asked his assistant.
The assistant replied, "Mr. Carr from Rosepoly Group still hasn't been able to track down who was behind this."
"Then hurry up and clear this mess up!" Ronald snapped, his patience wearing thin. 'How could such a trivial issue blow up like this?' he thought. 'Maybe Anthony's just getting too old for the job. Looks like he's ready for early retirement.'
"Mr. Carr..." the assistant hesitated before saying, "It appears he did embezzle the safety funds."
"What?" Ronald was shocked. He'd always known Anthony had sticky fingers and usually just turned a blind eye. But he never imagined Anthony would even steal the safety funds. 'If someone gets killed, how much will it cost to deal with it?' Ronald thought anxiously.
At that thought, Ronald grew restless, and he couldn't sit still.
Ronald could tell it was targeting the Wilson Group. He turned to his assistant. "Is Emery in the office right now?"
"Yes," the assistant replied. Ever since Emery proposed selling Apex Squad and moving to Koraland, Ronald had asked someone else to manage Apex Squad and appointed him General Manager at the Wilson Group.
Emery had been learning how to run a company lately.
Ronald ordered, "Get Emery in here."
Emery had been with the company for a while now, but even though he and Ronald crossed paths at work constantly, they had barely spoken. Deep down, Emery had developed an aversion to anyone from the Wilson family.
Or rather, he was taking his anger out on them.
He blamed the others for Aubree's reluctance to come home.
Ronald called him in to hand over the Rosepoly Group matter. Like Bryan, Emery had studied financial management. Back when he was managing the Apex Squad, Ronald never pressured him to join the company.
'Now that he's no longer managing Apex Squad and wants to leave the family, I might as well give him some responsibilities to keep him around,' Ronald thought.
"He's here," Ronald's assistant announced.
Emery remained silent.
Ronald gave him a measured look and didn't immediately assign him any tasks. "Last time, when Aubree was seeking investment, Bryan and I went to see her. She made a demand."
Emery's eyes flickered as he looked over.
Ronald let out a wry chuckle. He knew Emery all too well. 'Like father, like son,' he thought. 'Who could know my son's nature better than me?'
"She demanded all the shares of the Wilson Group," Ronald said.
Emery blurted out, "Aubree, she..." As the words left his mouth, he caught his father's meaningful gaze fixed on him, making him pause mid-sentence.
Ronald said, "Didn't you always want Aubree to come back to the family? Then why don't you hand over your shares first?"
Emery fell into silence.
He could bring himself to sell Apex Squad to Aubree, but when it came to handing over his shares of the Wilson Group, that was out of the question.
It was because he knew he could always rebuild the club, but without his shares, he'd lose his leverage.
A wry smile tugged at the corner of Emery's lips. 'Turns out I'm not as selfless as I thought. When it comes to what matters, I still put myself first,' he thought.
Emery's silence spoke volumes to Ronald.
Ronald sighed and said, "Emery, Aubree is your sister, and she's my daughter too. You're not the only one who wants her to come home. I'm trying to work it out as well. Sure, we've made mistakes before, but as long as we're willing to try, there's always a way."
At the same time, Ronald thought to himself, 'As long as it works, who cares if it's right or wrong?'
"Stop thinking about leaving," Ronald said. "You've been doing well at Wilson Group lately. Even the shareholders praised you for having Bryan's potential. Since you're no longer interested in running the club, why not focus on your work here? Also, Bryan could use a right-hand man by his side."
Faced with this mix of threats and incentives, Emery wavered. After all, he had studied financial management just like Bryan, precisely because he'd always harbored ambitions for the Wilson Group.
"Rosepoly Group, our subsidiary, has run into some trouble. You'll handle it." Ronald pulled out a file and placed it squarely in front of Emery.
Emery hesitated, torn by inner conflict, but in the end, he reached out and took the file.
Ronald smiled in satisfaction.
The assistant at the door couldn't hear the conversation inside, but he could guess more or less. 'Something about this doesn't sit right with me,' he thought. 'Is Mr. Ronald Wilson making the right call by handing this directly to Emery?'
Meanwhile, Playzy had mostly stabilized.
The live-streaming industry once experienced a boom, leading to a market shakeout where many platforms folded while only a few managed to thrive.
Playzy currently faced competition from only four to five rivals, the majority of which had replicated its operational framework.
Aubree hadn't paid much attention to these, but a rising competitor called MindDrift truly caught her eye.
MindDrift pioneered a never-before-seen streaming method, PK battles.
The platform enabled streamers to connect live for PK battles, like setting up fun punishments, competing in talent shows or other challenges, and getting viewers to vote for them. With impressive results, it quickly became a rising star in the industry.
Aubree had a unique perspective on this.
This streaming strategy was something Aubree had seen in her past life, a tactic that later became widely adopted. Naturally, it proved highly lucrative for both streamers and the platform.
Leveraging this strategy, MindDrift had poached numerous high-profile streamers from rival platforms. Even Aubree's Playzy had recently seen some defections.
Playzy hadn't rolled out the PK feature yet, not because Aubree didn't want to, but because she knew the timing wasn't right.
Aubree thought to herself, 'The lengths people will go for money are unfathomable. In the early days, a platform can still keep things under control, but once it scales up, can it micromanage every single detail?
'Once PK battles start, things could quickly go out of control. Unscrupulous individuals might emerge, exploiting loopholes. If the platform fails to rein them in, it could lead to catastrophic consequences.'
She had planned to wait until Playzy's operations stabilized and the development team had built a robust monitoring system before gradually rolling out the PK feature. She never expected a trailblazer to emerge so soon.
If MindDrift takes off, I'll follow their playbook. If they crash and burn, I'll learn from their mistakes and do it even better,' Aubree thought.
Aubree wasn't planning on filing a lawsuit for the time being. 'Litigation will drag on for too long,' she thought. 'It'll be far more efficient to use this as leverage to pressure Alice into agreeing right away.'
Aubree wondered what Bowen and Mark had discussed at the orphanage last time. She hadn't seen him come to visit her in a while.
Ever since they got back from Gracefield Church, Bowen had been like an NPC that respawned on schedule, showing up at every mealtime or whenever she was free.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Aubree pulled herself together and turned her attention back to business.
The investigation that Aubree assigned to Birgitte and Vincent, exposing Rosepoly Group's embezzlement of worker safety funds, use of inferior materials, and blatant disregard for laborers' lives, was finally bearing fruit.
Vincent moved quickly. He'd already uncovered some leads.
This type of news began appearing sporadically in the media. At first, it didn't seem threatening at all. Many people even dismissed it with a laugh.
Rosepoly Group was a veteran company and a subsidiary of the Wilson Group at that. People thought that they couldn't possibly stoop so low for such a paltry sum.
But Aubree wasn't rushed. She was laying the groundwork and building momentum.
As Vincent uncovered more evidence, Aubree had Birgitte feed the media a strategic blend of fact and clever embellishment, making the stories all the more convincing.
As public skepticism grew, many demanded that Rosepoly Group's management produce evidence to clear their names. The company could only offer vague responses, merely pledging to investigate the matter.
As the scandal gained traction, Wilson Group's top executives also began to take notice.
The news reached Ronald.
"Who's behind this scandal?" Ronald asked his assistant.
The assistant replied, "Mr. Carr from Rosepoly Group still hasn't been able to track down who was behind this."
"Then hurry up and clear this mess up!" Ronald snapped, his patience wearing thin. 'How could such a trivial issue blow up like this?' he thought. 'Maybe Anthony's just getting too old for the job. Looks like he's ready for early retirement.'
"Mr. Carr..." the assistant hesitated before saying, "It appears he did embezzle the safety funds."
"What?" Ronald was shocked. He'd always known Anthony had sticky fingers and usually just turned a blind eye. But he never imagined Anthony would even steal the safety funds. 'If someone gets killed, how much will it cost to deal with it?' Ronald thought anxiously.
At that thought, Ronald grew restless, and he couldn't sit still.
Ronald could tell it was targeting the Wilson Group. He turned to his assistant. "Is Emery in the office right now?"
"Yes," the assistant replied. Ever since Emery proposed selling Apex Squad and moving to Koraland, Ronald had asked someone else to manage Apex Squad and appointed him General Manager at the Wilson Group.
Emery had been learning how to run a company lately.
Ronald ordered, "Get Emery in here."
Emery had been with the company for a while now, but even though he and Ronald crossed paths at work constantly, they had barely spoken. Deep down, Emery had developed an aversion to anyone from the Wilson family.
Or rather, he was taking his anger out on them.
He blamed the others for Aubree's reluctance to come home.
Ronald called him in to hand over the Rosepoly Group matter. Like Bryan, Emery had studied financial management. Back when he was managing the Apex Squad, Ronald never pressured him to join the company.
'Now that he's no longer managing Apex Squad and wants to leave the family, I might as well give him some responsibilities to keep him around,' Ronald thought.
"He's here," Ronald's assistant announced.
Emery remained silent.
Ronald gave him a measured look and didn't immediately assign him any tasks. "Last time, when Aubree was seeking investment, Bryan and I went to see her. She made a demand."
Emery's eyes flickered as he looked over.
Ronald let out a wry chuckle. He knew Emery all too well. 'Like father, like son,' he thought. 'Who could know my son's nature better than me?'
"She demanded all the shares of the Wilson Group," Ronald said.
Emery blurted out, "Aubree, she..." As the words left his mouth, he caught his father's meaningful gaze fixed on him, making him pause mid-sentence.
Ronald said, "Didn't you always want Aubree to come back to the family? Then why don't you hand over your shares first?"
Emery fell into silence.
He could bring himself to sell Apex Squad to Aubree, but when it came to handing over his shares of the Wilson Group, that was out of the question.
It was because he knew he could always rebuild the club, but without his shares, he'd lose his leverage.
A wry smile tugged at the corner of Emery's lips. 'Turns out I'm not as selfless as I thought. When it comes to what matters, I still put myself first,' he thought.
Emery's silence spoke volumes to Ronald.
Ronald sighed and said, "Emery, Aubree is your sister, and she's my daughter too. You're not the only one who wants her to come home. I'm trying to work it out as well. Sure, we've made mistakes before, but as long as we're willing to try, there's always a way."
At the same time, Ronald thought to himself, 'As long as it works, who cares if it's right or wrong?'
"Stop thinking about leaving," Ronald said. "You've been doing well at Wilson Group lately. Even the shareholders praised you for having Bryan's potential. Since you're no longer interested in running the club, why not focus on your work here? Also, Bryan could use a right-hand man by his side."
Faced with this mix of threats and incentives, Emery wavered. After all, he had studied financial management just like Bryan, precisely because he'd always harbored ambitions for the Wilson Group.
"Rosepoly Group, our subsidiary, has run into some trouble. You'll handle it." Ronald pulled out a file and placed it squarely in front of Emery.
Emery hesitated, torn by inner conflict, but in the end, he reached out and took the file.
Ronald smiled in satisfaction.
The assistant at the door couldn't hear the conversation inside, but he could guess more or less. 'Something about this doesn't sit right with me,' he thought. 'Is Mr. Ronald Wilson making the right call by handing this directly to Emery?'
Meanwhile, Playzy had mostly stabilized.
The live-streaming industry once experienced a boom, leading to a market shakeout where many platforms folded while only a few managed to thrive.
Playzy currently faced competition from only four to five rivals, the majority of which had replicated its operational framework.
Aubree hadn't paid much attention to these, but a rising competitor called MindDrift truly caught her eye.
MindDrift pioneered a never-before-seen streaming method, PK battles.
The platform enabled streamers to connect live for PK battles, like setting up fun punishments, competing in talent shows or other challenges, and getting viewers to vote for them. With impressive results, it quickly became a rising star in the industry.
Aubree had a unique perspective on this.
This streaming strategy was something Aubree had seen in her past life, a tactic that later became widely adopted. Naturally, it proved highly lucrative for both streamers and the platform.
Leveraging this strategy, MindDrift had poached numerous high-profile streamers from rival platforms. Even Aubree's Playzy had recently seen some defections.
Playzy hadn't rolled out the PK feature yet, not because Aubree didn't want to, but because she knew the timing wasn't right.
Aubree thought to herself, 'The lengths people will go for money are unfathomable. In the early days, a platform can still keep things under control, but once it scales up, can it micromanage every single detail?
'Once PK battles start, things could quickly go out of control. Unscrupulous individuals might emerge, exploiting loopholes. If the platform fails to rein them in, it could lead to catastrophic consequences.'
She had planned to wait until Playzy's operations stabilized and the development team had built a robust monitoring system before gradually rolling out the PK feature. She never expected a trailblazer to emerge so soon.
If MindDrift takes off, I'll follow their playbook. If they crash and burn, I'll learn from their mistakes and do it even better,' Aubree thought.
End of Orphan To Unbreakable Queen Chapter 103. Continue reading Chapter 104 or return to Orphan To Unbreakable Queen book page.