Their Queen's Back - Chapter 37: Chapter 37

Of course the security guard recognized Matthew—the former young master of Quinn Holdings. But this was no longer his family's domain; it was now Hughes Corporation.
He couldn't possibly let him pass.
The security guard blocked his way and said politely, "I'm sorry, sir. You're not permitted to enter."
Matthew's eyes widened in disbelief as he glared at the impudent security guard. "Who does this guy think he is, blocking me—of all people?" he fumed inwardly, clenching his fists. "This audacious fool will pay for this. I'll have HR fire him today!"
"Last chance—get the hell out of my way now, or I'll call my sister Olivia and you'll be sorry!"
The security guard still didn't budge. Just as Matthew was about to lose it, he spotted Olivia's assistant. "Tom!" Matthew bellowed. "Get your ass over here right now!"
Tom froze for a second, then turned to see Matthew. His brows furrowed—what was Matthew doing here? Still, out of respect for their past connection, he reluctantly walked over.
Tom walked over and asked politely, "Mr. Quinn, is there something you need?"
Matthew was still seething with anger, too preoccupied to notice that Tom had started calling him "Mr. Quinn" instead of "Young Master"—a change that spoke volumes about his fallen status.
Matthew snapped, "Get this idiot out of my sight right now! Can't he see who he's dealing with? He actually dared to block me from coming in! Where's my sister, Olivia?"
Saying this, Mr. Quinn started to walk in, but Tom blocked his path with an outstretched arm. "Mr. Quinn," Tom said, "you can't go in."
"Tom!" Matthew jabbed a finger at him, his face contorted with rage. "How dare you block me too? Think I can't make you pay for this?"
Seeing Matthew in this state, Tom figured it out—he must not have heard about the Quinns' bankruptcy yet.
"Mr. Quinn, hasn't your family told you? This isn't the Quinn Group anymore."
Matthew was still seething when he heard this. He was momentarily stunned and snapped, "What the hell do you mean by that?"
"What do you mean this isn't the Quinn Group anymore?" Matthew snapped.
Tom said patiently, "Mr. Quinn, the Quinn Group has gone bankrupt. This is now the Hughes Corporation. If you're unsure about anything, you can look it up online."
Matthew immediately pulled out his phone. A flood of trending bankruptcy news hit him all at once, leaving him unable to process it all. Seeing the shock on his face, Tom silently slipped away.
He was just a low-level employee. After the Quinn Group went bankrupt and Hughes Corporation took over, they recognized his competence and let him stay. For that, he was deeply grateful.
Loyalty meant nothing to him. He was just a hired hand—whoever signed his paycheck, that's who he worked for.
Matthew stared at his phone, unable to process the flood of news. His pupils dilated in shock as he shouted, "No! Absolutely impossible! How could my family go bankrupt? How is this possible? Where's Olivia? Where is she?!"
Matthew was screaming in utter despair, while the security guard stood rigid as a statue—silent, alert, his eyes fixed on Matthew, ready to intercept him the moment he tried to rush in.
"Matthew, where are you?" Olivia called out.
Hearing that her brother Matthew was being released today, Olivia specifically went to the police station to pick him up. Not finding him there, she tried calling—and to her relief, he actually answered.
Matthew called out, "Sis, I'm outside Quinn Group headquarters. What the hell is going on? Is the news online actually true?"
Olivia fell silent for a moment, then said softly, "Come back first. We'll talk when you get here."
Matthew stepped into the rented apartment. The living conditions were abysmal—the place wasn't even as big as his old bathroom. "How can anyone live like this?" he thought in disbelief.
"Mom, Dad, Olivia—what the hell happened? How could our family go bankrupt?"
It was clear Matthew simply couldn't accept this. Just days ago, he was still the young master of Quinn Holdings—on top of the world, wanting for nothing.
Now, after being told about the bankruptcy, the Quinns was left penniless, crammed into this shoebox apartment—smaller than the walk-in closet Matthew used to have.
Matthew asked, his voice full of disbelief, "Are you saying all of this was done by Sophia's sister, Skye?"
Matthew was astounded and skeptical. "How could Hughes Corporation possibly drive us into bankruptcy and acquire our company?" he thought in disbelief.
Olivia lowered her head, her eyes burning with a mix of hatred and jealousy.
"That bitch Skye is connected to Synergy International Group," Olivia spat, her voice dripping with hatred. "Now Hughes Corporation has their full backing."
"How could... No way Synergy International Group would partner with a small fry like Hughes Corporation! I don't believe it. This must be... must be some mistake!"
Try as he might, Matthew couldn't find a single plausible explanation.
Wilma grabbed his hand, her voice trembling with excitement. "Son, this isn't a problem at all! You're still engaged to Sophia, and you two are still dating. Once you get married, the Quinn Group will be yours again, and our family can go back to how things were. So go now—find Sophia and marry her!"
Hearing this, Matthew clapped his hands as a sudden realization dawned on him. "Of course! It all makes sense now—this was all Sophia's plan! She orchestrated the downfall of the Quinn Group just to force me to seek her out. She desperately wants to be with me!"
Wilma said with naive excitement, "That's right, son, you're absolutely right. That bitch Sophia is so obsessed with you—everything she's done is all for your sake!"
They all knew just how obsessively in love Sophia was with Matthew. The thought of her becoming their daughter-in-law filled Wilma with glee—finally, they could vent their anger and feel vindicated. Wilma couldn't have been happier.
Matthew fell silent, utterly shocked. "I never imagined Sophia would love me this much," he thought, his ego swelling. "She'd even go so far as to use such extreme measures just to be with me... Well, if that's what she wants, I suppose I can reluctantly marry her."
Unaware of the Quinns' scheming, Sophia went about her work as usual.
Ever since being locked up as punishment, Linda had been too afraid to go anywhere near Skye.
Whenever Skye was home, Linda would hide away in her room.
Upon seeing the news of the Quinns' bankruptcy and the partnership between Hughes Corporation and Synergy International Group, her first reaction was sheer disbelief. "How could Skye possibly pull this off?" she thought bitterly.
Richard looked at his daughter, who was reading on the sofa, and smiled. "Skye, I never imagined you could actually broker a partnership between Synergy and Hughes Corporation."
Skye ignored him, her eyes glued to the book.
Seeing that she was ignoring him, Richard wasn't bothered. Just then, Linda burst out of her room and rushed to his side.
Linda blurted out in surprise, "The Quinns went bankrupt? Now the Quinn Group belongs to Hughes Corporation?"
After speaking, Linda shot Skye a probing look.
Richard let out a noncommittal grunt. "Is there something else you want? If not, just go back to your room."
Richard certainly wasn't about to let Linda be the reason Skye got upset again.
"Richard, I do have something to say." Linda smiled sweetly. "Skye, now that Quinn Holdings is ours, you must be stretched thin managing everything. How about I recommend a few people to help you out? What do you think?"
Skye set her book down with casual indifference, her icy gaze sweeping over Linda's face. "Not a chance. The Hughes Corporation belongs to the Hughes, not yours. Stop shamelessly trying to push your way in."
"You—!" Linda gnashed her teeth in fury, but Skye showed absolutely no regard for her dignity. In Skye's eyes, this so-called elder held no authority whatsoever.
Linda looked at Skye and said with a hint of self-justification, "Aren't I just looking out for you? I'm only trying to lighten your load."
Before she could say more, Linda's phone rang. She rushed off to answer it, only to come storming back moments later.
Linda stormed in, shrieking, "Skye, you bitch! What gives you the right to fire all my people?"
Over the years as Mrs. Hughes, Linda had been quietly placing her relatives throughout Hughes Corporation, one by one.
Over the years, nearly two-thirds of Hughes Corporation's employees were Linda's own people—her relatives and cronies she had quietly placed in key positions.
She had become the pride and joy of her entire extended family—the one all the aunts and uncles couldn't stop bragging about.
To everyone's shock, overnight, Skye purged everyone—Hughes Corporation went through a sweeping shake-up!
Skye watched with icy detachment as the woman before her spiraled into hysterics.
Skye's piercing gaze locked onto Richard, silently pressuring him to make a choice.
Richard caught the silent ultimatum in Skye's eyes: "Stay or go—make your choice."
Richard suddenly stood up and, without warning, delivered a resounding slap across Linda's face.
Linda's head snapped to the side from the force of the slap, her mind blank with shock. An angry red handprint instantly bloomed on her cheek, the stinging pain mixing with the bitter taste of humiliation.
Linda stared at Richard in utter disbelief, her hand trembling as she reached up to touch the numb side of her face.
All these years, she had lived in the lap of luxury as a wealthy socialite—never once in her life had anyone dared to lay a hand on her.
Richard bellowed, "You deserved that slap! Skye is my daughter—how dare you insult her!"
Linda's pupils dilated in shock. "His daughter?!"
"Over the years, I've been slowly turning Richard against those three bitches—Sophia and her sisters—making sure he'd despise them," Linda thought to herself.
I've driven a wedge between them.
sowing discord between them.
"That bitch Skye has barely been back for a few days, and now Richard's already calling her his daughter?" Linda fumed, unable to believe it.
Skye was quite pleased with Richard's move. Behind her, the butler and Wendy, who had been itching to step in with their sleeves already rolled up, quietly lowered their hands and stepped back.
Skye observed coolly, "Father, it seems Ms. Collins isn't too pleased with that slap of yours."
Richard let out a cold snort. "How dare she! Linda, don't overstep your bounds when I'm being generous. Since when do you have a say in Hughes Corporation? Your people? What people? They're nothing here. We don't keep useless deadweight around—if they got fired, they got exactly what they deserved."
With Skye's acquisition of Quinn Holdings elevating the Hughes' status, Richard basked in the reflected glory.
Who would dare underestimate Hughes Corporation now?
The gleaming million-dollar watch on his wrist said it all—Richard wasn't stupid. When it came down to it, leaving the Hughes for someone like Linda would be sheer folly.
"He never loved Linda; he could clearly separate sex from love."
Though filled with resentment, jealousy, and unwillingness to let go, Margaret was the only woman Richard had ever truly loved.
Margaret was sheer perfection—the eternal muse in every man's heart, his unattainable dream woman.
Compared to Margaret, Linda wasn't even fit to lick her boots.
If it weren't for her ability to wait on people, he wouldn't even bother with her—he'd have kicked her out once and for all.
Linda was left speechless, her face turning livid. She knew only too well just how useless her relatives really were.
Linda seethed with hatred at how Skye could act with such impunity, treating her like she was nothing.
Linda couldn't believe it—Richard had actually slapped her, all because of Skye!
Without Richard backing her up, Linda didn't dare make a move.
As Sophia stepped out of her office after work, she spotted Matthew waiting by the entrance. She paused for a split second, then ignored him completely and strode away without a second glance.
"Sophia, stop right there!" Matthew barked.
Sophia crossed her arms and stared at him coldly. "What do you want? Spit it out."
As Matthew walked up to Sophia, he couldn't help but notice how much more beautiful and graceful she'd become lately. Her whole demeanor was worlds apart from before—now radiating an elegant charm.
Matthew's lips curled into a smirk as he thought, "She's changed all this just for me." He couldn't contain his delight at the thought.
Matthew declared with finality, "Sophia, I've decided to marry you."
Sophia's lips twitched in disbelief. "What did you just say?" she shot back, thinking, "Did I just hear that right, or is this guy actually out of his mind?"
Seeing Sophia's stunned expression, Matthew thought smugly to himself, "Of course she's shocked—she's so obsessed with me. Hearing that I'm going to marry her must have her over the moon!"
Matthew cleared his throat, straightened up with exaggerated formality, and declared, "I said I'll marry you. Let's get married!"
Sophia had truly never seen anything like it. What nerve! This utterly shameless man actually had the gall to come running up to her and brazenly declare he wanted to marry her!
"Matthew, if you're sick, go see a doctor. Stop polluting my sight with your presence."
Thinking she was still upset, Matthew stepped in front of Sophia and insisted, "Look, Sophia, I'm not lying. I mean it—I really want to marry you."
Sophia's eyes flashed with biting sarcasm, her voice thick with contempt.
"Matthew, are you out of your damn mind? Who in their right mind would marry you? We're already broken up! Or are you suffering from early-onset dementia at your age?"