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Jasper was escorted back to Sicester by investigators for further questioning. That was when the online buzz about the whole thing finally started to die down a bit.
After nearly a week of online drama, tons of users had gotten used to using the Live4U app. During that time, it dropped at bunch of fun short videos and even rolled out some of the hottest mini–series. In just a short time, the project that had been running for over a year had firmly secured its place in the short video platform scene.
When Marina got the feedback from Live4U, she couldn’t help but smile for once. This was the biggest win she’d had in ages. It was also the best move she’d made since coming back to Vrufield from Sicester.
Lavern’s case got postponed because of new evidence and Jasper suddenly changing his statement at the last minute. Marina knew Yara was definitely going to get punished, so she handed the whole thing over to her lawyer and didn’t bother with it
inymore.
With the Finley Group finally getting back on its feet, the company received an invitation to the Vrufield Entrepreneurs‘ Symposium, something they hadn’t seen in years.
ust a few years ago, the Finley family was totally off the official guest list for events like this. So, this invitation was proof hat the powers that be were starting to see the Finley Group’s worth again. And since Elnora had been staying in Port City and hadn’t come back, it was only natural for Marina to attend the symposium.
Cloudstorm Group, Daron’s new company, got an invite to the event too. In just a short time, Cloudstorm Group was rending all over Vrufield, all thanks to Daron’s influence. He even managed to poach several last–minute deals that the Zamora Group was about to lose.
After the whole online drama died down, Garret tipped off Marina. Regarding the negative stories about Daron that popped ip online after the Lavern thing? The Zamora Group was the one stirring the pot behind the scenes.
Cloudstorm Group was just getting started, but it was already making waves. The second branch of the Zamora family felt hreatened, so they started pulling dirty tricks behind the scenes, hoping to trip Daron up.
But what they didn’t realize was that Daron had been letting the drama play out right from the start. As soon as they sensed omething was off, the second branch of the Zamora family bailed out fast, dumping all the blame on Winnie and Yara. They thought Winnie was still clueless, totally unaware that she and Yara were never big enough players to cause such a huge
tir online!
Daron had been crazy busy these days. Before the symposium, he swung by the office to handle some last–minute business. Meanwhile, Marina headed straight for the event, not wasting a single moment.
When she arrived, she signed in and found her assigned seat. Just then, Mila came over, dragging Winnie along, heading straight for Marina’s spot.
Mila sat down next to Marina, flashing a smile as she spoke softly, “Hey, long time no see.” As she spoke, Mila tugged Winnie over, making her sit right next to her.
Marina glanced over at them, her demeanor reserved. In a formal setting like this, she wore a polite smile, but there was a hint of distance in her eyes. “Hi, Mila,” Marina said, greeting her.
Mila plastered a smile on her face, shot a sideways glance at Winnie, and pressed, “Winnie, did you forget what Dad asked you to do when you came here?”
Winnie bit down on her lip, looking like she’d rather be anywhere else. Meanwhile, Marina watched her, looking totally unfazed. ‘No need to think twice, Marina thought. “The Gill family must’ve gotten burned by all that online mess, so now they’re pushing Winnie to apologize.
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Chapter 478
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Winnie looked like she was struggling to get the words out, so Marina just glanced away, not interested in making it any harder for her. She wasn’t exactly holding her breath for an apology from Winnie.
Noticing Winnie still hadn’t said a word of apology, Mila’s gaze turned cold as she spoke firmly, “Winnie, are you still going to act this way, even now?”
Her voice carried just enough so every business rep around could hear her loud and clear. Realizing this, Winnie took a deep breath, her face going stiff.
‘Mila is doing this on purpose, Winnie thought. With all the online drama about Marina, those business sharks definitely knew what was up. She wants me to apologize to Marina right in front of everyone!‘
Winnie clenched her jaw, thinking, ‘Oh, well. There aren’t many people here yet, so I’ll suck it up. She glanced at Marina and muttered under her breath.
“Sorry, Marina. I really didn’t know Yara would go online and trash you, or that you two had any beef. I just thought her resume looked impressive, so I hired her as my assistant.
“But I never thought she’d actually do something like that to you,” Winnie whispered, barely meeting Marina’s eyes.
Winnie instinctively tried to wash her hands of the whole thing. But Marina’s lips curled into a faint, mocking smile as she glanced up at Winnie, a trace of ridicule flickering in her eyes.
“Alright, I heard you,” Marina replied, her voice indifferent.
Winnie froze for a moment, her face a mix of confusion and frustration. “What do you mean by ‘I heard you?” Winnie pressed, her brows furrowing as she stared at Marina.
Marina simply turned her gaze away, clearly uninterested in engaging further. Seeing this, Winnie took a deep breath, jaw clenched tight. She was just about to say something when Mila shot her a warning glance, and that was enough to make her bite her tongue.
Winnie could only hold back whatever she wanted to say, swallowing her words in silence. This wasn’t their family’s section anyway, so Mila leaned over to Marina and spoke in a gentle voice, “Marina, we will head back to our seats now.”
Marina gave a slight nod, staying civil with Mila. As for Winnie, she gritted her teeth but was forced to trail after Mila in silence. The whole online drama really made the Gill family lose face. Hence, Mila took the chance to score some points with the family and prove herself.
Her elders had originally planned to let Winnie take over the family business. But after seeing how clueless Winnie was at handling things and picking people, they started rethinking that idea.
Plus, Winnie’s dad got a call from Harris a few days back. He didn’t straight–up call Winnie out, but he dropped some hints, basically warning him to keep a closer eye on his daughter.
Even though Harris wasn’t running the Zamora Group anymore, his status within his family and the shares he held meant no one could ignore what he said.
That night, Winnie’s dad blew up at her. He called Mila back home and told her to make sure Winnie gave Marina a proper, formal apology.
Winnie knew she’d really pissed off her dad, and now there was a real chance the inheritance she was supposed to get could fall right back into Mila’s lap because of this screw–up.
Winnie was absolutely fuming. But what really made her blood boil was that Harris actually called her dad to complain. She couldn’t figure out why Harris would bother getting involved in their little squabbles.
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Chapter 478
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Moreover, from the very beginning, they had no intention of targeting Daron. His impact on this whole situation was actually pretty limited.
Winnic followed Mila back to their seats, looking pretty sour the whole time. It wasn’t until Daron walked into the symposium that Winnie’s expression finally changed. Her face lit up with something other than gloom.
Daron’s seat was right next to hers, so she quickly waved him over. “Daron, over here!” Winnie called out, waving eagerly. Her eyes were full of hope, and all that earlier gloom was wiped away in an instant.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
