Orphan To Unbreakable Queen - Chapter 87: Chapter 87

At Timberlake Group, Gareth had been humiliated by Bowen. As an elder, he never expected Bowen to show him such blatant disrespect. The slight stung his pride, and there was no way he was going to let this slide.
The secretary eyed the file on Aubree sitting on the desk and smirked. "Mr. Timberlake, since Mr. Turner cares so much about her, we can't go after him directly—but we can certainly make life difficult for Aubree."
"Go ahead," said Gareth.
"Aubree had a falling out with the Wilson family, and it's Mr. Wilson who's been behind the recent troubles targeting her company, Bree Technology. We can't go up against the Turner family, but that doesn't mean the Wilson family are off-limits," he said.
Gareth stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Contact Mr. Wilson for me. I'd like to invite him to dinner tonight."
He had already gathered quite a few allies. With Jacob still recovering from his injuries, he had ample time to orchestrate his plans.
Bowen wouldn't budge—he didn't care about the ties between the two families, but he definitely cared about Aubree. 'If I could get leverage over her, it would serve the same purpose,' wondered Gareth.
Aubree remained blissfully unaware of the Timberlake family's schemes against her. The USB drive Bowen gave her worked like a charm, instantly resolving the club's troubles. As for who was really behind it, she had a pretty good idea—it could only be one of those few suspects.
Aubree saw no point in digging any deeper; it would just be a waste of time and energy.
Her company was thriving. Ronald had tried to crush her with the underage spending scandal, but Aubree turned the tables and leveraged it to her advantage, further enhancing her public image.
Perhaps stung by this setback, the Wilson family abruptly fell silent.
With the Wilson family no longer causing trouble, Aubree was glad for the reprieve. She was now fully focused on expanding her company's gaming division and frequently attended key matches of her esports team in person. Life kept her busier than ever.
As usual, Aubree was there in person for God's Fury's decisive S-tier qualifier match.
However, the previous match was Apex Squad's. When Aubree arrived, she saw them getting steamrolled, the other team already destroying their Nexus. She hadn't been following the matches much lately, but she knew her boys had been killing it, only dropping a single game.
'Killian is actually on the bench,' she wondered. Aubree was taken aback. She might not like him, but she had to admit—he was one of the top mid laners right now, and Apex Squad's heavy investment in him said it all.
But now, Killian wasn't even in the game.
"What are you looking at?" Alvin leaned over in his team jersey to ask.
Aubree asked, "Why did Apex Squad change their mid laner?"
Alvin shrugged, "They switched him out back in Game 3. Apex Squad hasn't won a single series since the regular season started—at this rate, they're probably getting knocked out in Round Two."
Aubree was genuinely shocked this time—even in her old life, Apex Squad had never performed this poorly.
'No wonder Emery looks so grim on the sidelines. But with things going this badly, why isn't he putting Killian back in?' Aubree wondered.
"Rumor has it Emery found out Killian was involved in some shady dealings. But since it's mid-tournament and he can't take official action, he just benched him," Alvin explained.
Aubree had some answers now. "That audio clip online accusing us of bribing Apex Squad to throw the match—it's almost certainly Killian's doing."
Alvin replied, "Figured as much. Apex Squad lost. Time for us to get ready to go on."
As the commentator's final congratulations rang out, the Apex Squad players filed off the stage one by one, their faces ashen with defeat.
"Who cares about them? We just need to win today's match," Aubree thought. Apex Squad's future was none of her concern now, and neither was Emery's.
Backstage, the two teams crossed paths—one, God's Fury, poised for glory; the other, Apex Squad, utterly defeated.
Emery's gaze lingered on Aubree at the front of the team. 'She's truly exceptional now,' he thought.
Another few days passed, and Aubree remained as quiet as ever.
Bowen finally couldn't take it anymore. He called it a day early. "To Rithol High School," he ordered.
Both Ethan and Samson in the front seats, and Kelvin in the back, immediately snapped their attention to Bowen.
Needless to say about the two in front. Behind his glasses, Kelvin's eyes sparkled with an excitement he couldn't quite name. 'It's finally happening. Mr. Turner is finally making his move,' he thought.
Despite being an elite executive assistant, Kelvin has his hobbies, like devouring bossy CEO romance web novels.
'As Mr. Turner's elite executive assistant, I've got to be his ultimate wingman in love—helping him win over Miss Miller is my top priority,' Kelvin thought to himself.
"Mr. Turner, are we really going empty-handed?" Kelvin was practically tearing his hair out. "It's freezing out. How about we grab some coffee to warm her hands?"
'After all this time apart, and Mr. Turner's just going to show up empty-handed?' Kelvin wondered.
Ethan and Samson chimed in, "Actually, a small cake would work too. Don't all girls love desserts? Even if Miss Miller doesn't want it, Mr. Turner, you can always eat it himself."
They grinned, clearly giving him an out—he could always say it was for himself if things got awkward.
'It's really handy for them that Mr. Turner has a sweet tooth,' they wondered.
Bowen's face twitched as he caught on to what they were insinuating. Sure, he was going to Rithol High School for that reason but they really had to spell it out, which embarrassed him slightly.
Through gritted teeth, Bowen snapped coldly, "If you want to work overtime, just say so. No need to beat around the bush."
Ethan, Samson, and Kelvin immediately shut their mouths in unison.
"I'm just picking up Alvin from school," Bowen muttered. "Dad's been missing his grandson."
Bowen insisted defensively, putting on a tough front.
The three exchanged knowing glances and chimed in unison, "Oh, right, I see."
None of them bothered to ask what Bowen was really there for.
'Besides, doesn't Alvin already have his own driver? Aren't Simon and Sebastian specifically assigned to him?' they wondered.
They saw right through him, but wisely kept quiet—everyone was in on it.
His ears burning red, Bowen finally relented and told Ethan to drive to Rithol High School.
They arrived just in time for Rithol High School's dismissal. Since Aubree didn't stay for evening study sessions, she usually exited through the main gate.
With the car parked by the roadside, Bowen had the perfect vantage point to watch for her from inside.
Aubree slung her backpack over one shoulder and blended into the stream of students leaving Rithol High School. Every so often, she glanced around, as if searching for someone in particular.
"Mr. Turner, Miss Miller's out." The three of them were practically buzzing with excitement, all craning their necks to peer outside—way more worked up than Bowen.
"So what if she's out? What's got you all so worked up?" Bowen said dismissively, though his previously upright posture had already shifted toward the window.
Just as he was about to roll it down, his brows suddenly furrowed. "Wait? Who's that?"
Kelvin was still puzzled when he glanced over—his face darkened instantly. "Who is that boy?"
Ethan scoffed, "He looks like nothing but trouble."
"He's no match for Mr. Turner," Samson concluded.
Bowen remained silent, but the storm brewing in his eyes betrayed his foul mood.
As for Bowen's earlier excuse about picking up Alvin, well, Alvin had already left in the family car. Not that anyone cared.
Aubree walked up to a guy with a bright smile. He had a black backpack slung over his shoulder and was dressed casually, looking just like a typical college student.
He looked pretty young and was quite good-looking—not on the same level as Bowen or Alvin's god-tier handsomeness, but still, definitely what one would call a handsome guy.
Kelvin, studying their expressions and lip movements, guessed, "Miss Miller must know this guy—they seem pretty close."
Kelvin couldn't tell what they were chatting about, but one thing was clear—Miss Miller was absolutely beaming.
Bowen's face darkened.