Enchanted By His Charm



Mr. Xu snorted and continued, "Joseph, do you think I cannot see through your true intentions? Most of you are new shareholders of Runestone Group, and I'm certain that you're not fully aware of the history between the Lakes family and Joseph's family. Despite the unfortunate actions of the Lakes family towards Joseph's family, they still treated Joseph as their own child. Joseph, you became the manager of Runestone Group despite having the capability to lead a company. But what have you done for Runestone Group? You are not appreciative of what the Lakes family did for you. Instead, you have selfishly sought to take over the company and claim it as your own. Furthermore, you have taken advantage of Irish, the daughter of the Lakes family. I know you hold animosity towards Mr. Henry. He wanted to speak with you before his death, and none of us know what you discussed. However, we do know that Mr. Henry did not die peacefully, as his eyes did not even close. I am certain that you said something to agitate him."

Mr. Xu paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts before continuing, "Key Group and Runestone Group had no business competition for many years. However, once you took charge, Key Group started to oppose us. But is this the truth? Everyone, please do not be deceived by him. The media has repeatedly captured images of you together, attending the same events. I must ask, why would you meet with your competitor so frequently? This leads me to suspect that you instructed Leo to deceive us. You provided him with the blueprint so that he could plunge Runestone Group into a crisis. Moreover, you recently organized financing. Joseph, this is your true intention, isn't it? Am I correct this time?"

The room fell into an uneasy silence as Mr. Xu's accusations hung in the air.

All of them gazed at Joseph.

Joseph, choosing not to respond directly to Mr. Xu's accusations, turned his gaze towards Roy. "I take full responsibility for the blueprint situation. However, the immediate issue at hand is arranging for someone to retrieve the jewelry from the D club. We can, at the very least, mitigate our losses."

"Reducing losses? I'm afraid you want to drive Runestone Group into bankruptcy," another shareholder angrily retorted. "Joseph, I have never doubted your capabilities before, but this time you have made a grave mistake. We all know the design of the jewelry in the D club, and how can we compete with Key Group? Since Leo took over Key Group, both our companies have been focusing on marketing and sales. Now you plan to compete with them by showcasing outdated jewelry. People will mock us and believe our creative inspiration has dried up. I am concerned about the impact this will have on our company's reputation among customers."

Once again, Mr. Xu spoke up, his gaze fixed on Roy. "Runestone Group is now fragmented. Joseph has strategically placed his people in key departments, and he is even interfering with the Research Department. This is all part of his scheme, and let's not forget that the suspicious circumstances surrounding Mr. Henry's death remain unresolved. We may want to postpone the launch, but we cannot let Joseph have free rein."

Tensions within the room escalated as the shareholders expressed their concerns about Joseph's decisions and the direction of Runestone Group.

Almost the old shareholders adopted counter advice, and Roy needed to take their advice into consideration, but those new shareholders all supported Joseph firmly. Although they gave relevant advice, they had been working here for a short time, so they were unable to convince those old shareholders at all.

The board was divided into two camps.

After a long moment of silence, William expressed his opinion and stopped the argument, "I also agree with Mr. Xu's suggestion. I think we'd better put off our new product launch." Saying this, he then turned to Joseph and then explained, "Joseph, please don't misunderstand. I don't mean to fight against you, but I just think it is not proper to replace this old-style jewelry. It is not a wise choice."

William paused for a while and then turned to Roy and said, "I think it is necessary to adopt old shareholders' advice. They are also safeguarding the interest of the company."

Roy was in a dilemma while Joseph and the shareholders were waiting for his decision.

Joseph looked tranquil, but people still couldn't figure out what he was thinking. The shareholders were anxious, but it was easy to tell what they were thinking. They were worried about profit loss.

After thinking for a while, Roy then said, "Joseph, I think we should put off the new product launch. We need to find out the hidden traitor first."

The shareholders all heaved a sigh of relief.

Joseph frowned slightly but then held back his anger and nodded slightly.

****

Jay finally met Lilith, who looked exhausted and lost a lot of weight. Lilith rushed into his arms and burst into tears.

Jay hastily held her tightly.

Seeing this, Irish walked out to the living room, sitting on the couch, but she was getting more and more flurried since she felt something would happen.

In the bedroom

Lilith sobbed in Jay's arms while Jay comforted her softly. After she finally calmed down, Jay then mentioned what had happened that day. Lilith turned to be anxious and told Jay that the man pretended to be Jay's colleague and deceived her into following him. However, she couldn't remember anything when she got into the man's car.

Jay asked her what happened to her in Florida, but Lilith kept trembling.

"It is a dark place, and I am trapped. I don't know who they are and can't understand what they said. I am so frightened, and I don't know where I am. But someone would feed me timely every day. They did nothing dirty to me, but they would inject me every day. I can't remember anything else. When I woke up, I was at home already," said Lilith with sobs.

"Jay, am I addicted to drugs?" added Lilith, who kept trembling.

Lilith was not sure if she was addicted to drugs. 

Lilith was always protected in a greenhouse, and she had never dealt with a drug dealer. Although she met many drug dealers in the police office when she came to Jay, she couldn't imagine how painful it would be when addiction occurred to them.

Jay was extremely worried because Jay could tell that Lilith was addicted to drugs. Jay exerted his effort to settle her down, and the doctors injected her with sedatives. Kelly was unable to stand her daughter suffering so much and insisted on bringing Lilith back home.

Jay was anxious but unable to do anything.

Jay was speechless at Lilith's question since he had no idea how to tell her the truth. A moment later, Jay turned to her and asked, "Lilith, how do you do these days? Do you feel uncomfortable?"