Chapter 543: Chapter 543: Time to Leave
The gray-haired man thought for a moment and nodded, "I thought about it, but I didn’t realize it would be you... or him."
Saying this, the man suddenly became excited.
"He used to be defeated by me!"
His aged hand tightly gripped the armrest beside him, his eyes locked on Serena Sterling’s face.
"He lost! Completely defeated!"
"It was I who eradicated him!"
"Even if Evan Sheridan was proficient in psychological warfare, so what? No matter how many times he calculated, no matter how risky it was, in the end, he was still driven to despair, mentally broken, and jumped off a high building!"
"I, Michael, with the support of the royal family for years, am the head of the consortium, and the entire SKR is under my control! If I hadn’t made one careless move, how could I have lost!"
Michael became more and more agitated as he spoke, his aged face fully feral, written all over with his unwillingness.
In stark contrast to him was Serena, who quietly watched him.
"You are nothing but backed by numerous forces, Serena, hiding behind them is the only reason you had the qualification to battle me!"
"I did not lose to you, nor to Evan Sheridan!"
Michael’s unwilling shout filled the room.
The retro and luxurious decor, the style of old money, along with the elderly man sitting there, seemed extravagant yet decayed.
Silas Hawthorne listened to Michael’s roaring, chuckling coldly, and tossed a file onto the table beside him.
"Take a look." Silas said, "After you finish, you might not think the same way."
Michael viciously grabbed the file, flipping through it continuously.
Serena watched the elderly man in front of her, waiting quietly.
Feeling the gaze beside her, she looked up, her eyes meeting Silas’.
Silas watched Serena, his eyes full of admiration.
In these three months, he saw more of her.
Those like Michael believed that Serena was backed by numerous forces, but that wasn’t truly the case.
In these past three months, she led every important decision.
From financial warfare to breaching the sieges on the map, every move was her decision.
She wasn’t authoritarian, many times they’d discuss outcomes, but every time they’d instinctively ask her opinion, and they knew, as long as she disagreed, the entire plan could be overturned.
Several times, her suggested adjustments improved the situation.
She seemed not to be the leader, yet she was the sole center.
Her presence lacked any overpowering feeling.
Gentle and firm.
This was her strength.
Moreover...
Silas glanced over at Michael still flipping through the file.
Whether it was him, Julian Lawson, Xander Linton, or Jasper Ford, they had all received her help from the beginning.
He got her Blue Diamond Necklace at sea, thus relying on the Sheridan Family to get through the toughest year, leading to gradual growth afterward.
She had stood by Julian Lawson for seven years, fighting life and death, personally leading the transformation of The Lawson Corporation.
Xander Linton wasn’t always the head of the Linton Family, living a careless life day by day, without big aspirations, if it continued this way, there were only two outcomes, either falling into decline, or one day dying inexplicably in some sea territory.
It was she who injected a shot of adrenaline into Xander, causing a complete change, leading to the current Xander and the present Linton Family.
Jasper Ford is even more different.
In the Ford Family’s struggles, Jasper, being the youngest, could never match his two elder brothers, it was Serena who decided to cooperate with him. From "Heavenly Sound" to Aether, step by step, personally supporting Jasper Ford.
It wasn’t that Serena depended on them, but from the beginning, there existed her indispensable presence here.
All this were seeds Serena personally planted, now bearing fruit.
MKK was the seed sown by Serena’s father Evan Sheridan.
No one spoke in the room, only the sound of Michael flipping through the file echoed.
As Michael turned to the last page, his hands trembled continuously.
He seemed on the verge of collapse.
"Impossible!" Michael tossed the file away.
His eyes were bloodshot, staring intently at Serena.
As he stared, that face suddenly seemed to transform into Evan Sheridan’s face.
Even though Serena looked more like her mother, even though she and Evan didn’t even share the same basic gender.
Yet Michael saw Evan Sheridan’s face.
It was as if Evan Sheridan had been resurrected through Serena.
"No..." Michael clutched his chest.
He was already very old, even maintaining life with wealth, his bodily functions were still not as they once were.
"You can’t possibly come back to life!" Michael shouted loudly.
But Serena merely watched him quietly.
"I didn’t... I didn’t lose!" Michael was still yelling.
Serena slightly lowered her gaze.
"No, you lost." Serena said softly.
Just a few words, yet they seemed like a heavy hammer to Michael’s heart.
Michael stood stupefied.
"SKR is facing bankruptcy, whether it’s MKK or us, neither will let go of this piece of fat."
"Moreover..."
Serena picked up the file from the floor, saying, "My father didn’t die because he collapsed mentally from losing."
"He chose to die."
Serena looked at the stunned Michael in front of her, "He calculated a way to protect my mother and me in a dead-end situation."
"He left me, and openly separated from MKK."
"He wove an enormous web with time and his life."
"Then..."
Serena placed the file on the table next to her.
"He won."
Evan Sheridan of the past, won against the current Michael.
Michael’s face was ashen.
"Enough." Serena stood up, "I should be going."
She nodded to Silas Hawthorne as she spoke.
Silas held her hand; together they walked towards the outside.
"Don’t go, wait!" Michael seemed to finally react at this moment.
"Spare me!" He wanted to rush over, but the bodyguards Serena brought stopped him.
"Spare me and my future generations!" Michael shouted loudly.
But Serena simply continued walking forward with Silas.
"Serena!" Michael called hoarsely from behind.
"You should plead with MKK." Serena paused slightly and said, "This is not the area I’m responsible for."
Saying this, she did not pause further and went outside.
Michael’s shouts still echoed behind, but Serena already couldn’t hear.
At the entrance, Archie greeted them with a smile.
Serena smiled back and nodded to him.
But that was all, she said nothing more.
An agreement on the division of labor had been made between both parties long ago.
The subsequent cleanup work of SKR would be handled by MKK.
"It’s time to go." Serena said to Silas beside her, "There’s another place we need to go to."
Silas nodded, holding her hand as they walked out together.
