Chapter 77

"Dad, shouldn't you have talked to me before making such a big decision about the layoffs?"

Just then, a clear voice rang out from the doorway of the conference room.

Everyone turned to see Zoey standing there.

Arthur's face darkened even more when he saw her. "Who let you in here?"

"I own half the company. Why wouldn't I have the right to be here?" Zoey said as she walked in.

Arthur snorted. "You do own shares, but you don't have management rights. I told you, only if you secure the Southern District project will you be qualified to manage the company."

Arthur's mouth twisted in a sneer. "But the former boss of Apex Group is in jail. There's a new boss now. Unless you can get in touch with the new boss and secure the project, get out of here!"

Zoey didn't flinch at Arthur's cold tone. Instead, she smiled calmly. "That project? I've already secured it."

She pulled the project contract out of her bag.

Arthur's eyes widened, and he snatched up the contract. After seeing the name of the Apex Group's boss, he threw it onto the conference table.

"Zoey, are you kidding me? Since when did you become the president of Apex Group?"

"Just in the past few days. Apex Group has been acquired by me. Here's my business card. If you don't believe me, you can verify it."

Zoey handed out several newly printed business cards to the directors and department managers.

Arthur looked at the business card in his hand, his face turning grim.

Juan picked up the contract Arthur had thrown on the table. After seeing the seal on it, he said to Arthur, "Mr. Spencer, this contract is valid. If Zoey weren't the new president of Apex Group, she wouldn't have the company's seal."

Zoey gave Juan a thumbs up. "You're really sharp, much better than my dad."

"You do know I'm your dad!" Arthur shouted angrily at Zoey.

Zoey looked at Arthur with a mocking smile. "Dad, are you planning to go back on your word?"

"What if I don't give it to you?"

Arthur took an unreasonable stance, clearly unwilling to hand over the management rights.

Seeing his attitude, Juan and the others couldn't stand it anymore.

Zoey didn't get angry at his attitude. She just looked helpless and turned to Juan and the others. "Juan, you were all there when my dad made the agreement with me."

Juan knew he couldn't play dumb anymore. Plus, Zoey, though young, clearly had more guts and capability than Arthur.

After Miguel had such a big incident, his large enterprise ended up in Zoey's hands, rather than being reclaimed by the Jimenez Family. That proved Zoey not only had the means but also had a backer bigger than the Brown family.

Only Arthur, this fool, couldn't see it.

Juan immediately nodded. "Zoey is right. We were all there and heard it."

Juan looked at Arthur, whose face was twisted with anger, and said, "Mr. Spencer, you're wrong. You made a solemn promise back then. Besides, you're not handing the position to an outsider. Isn't Zoey your daughter?"

"She's not my daughter!" Arthur blurted out in anger.

But no one believed him. They all thought he was just speaking out of rage.

Zoey had long been disheartened. Hearing Arthur say this, she only sneered.

She had hoped that if Arthur kept his promise, she wouldn't have to bring out the evidence. But now, it was clear that Arthur didn't want to hand over the management rights willingly.

"Dad, I have something to show you. Let's go to your office first," Zoey said, still trying to negotiate.

Arthur snapped, "Just take it out here. There's no need to go to my office."

Zoey took out her phone, flipped to a photo, and handed it to Arthur. "Dad, are you sure you want to show this to everyone here?"

Arthur glanced at it, and his face changed immediately.

He tried to snatch Zoey's phone, but she had already taken it back.

Arthur's eyes darkened, and he said to Juan, "Meeting adjourned."

Then he quickly walked out of the conference room. Zoey didn't follow him immediately but looked at the two managers whose departments Arthur had proposed to cut. "Don't worry. When I take over the company, I will immediately cancel the layoff decision."

The two department managers looked at her gratefully, and Zoey smiled and left.

Juan watched Zoey walk out confidently, seemingly unafraid of facing Arthur, and couldn't help but remark to the director beside him, "It's a good thing Zoey takes after her mother, not Arthur."

Someone nearby said, "Honestly, I don't even think Zoey is Arthur's daughter. I wonder why Ms. Chambers chose Arthur as her husband back then."

A thought flashed through Juan's mind, but he found it a bit far-fetched, so he pushed it aside.

Zoey pushed open the door to Arthur's office, and a cup immediately flew towards her face.

Fortunately, Zoey reacted quickly and dodged it.

The cup hit the door, fell to the ground, and shattered into pieces.

Zoey glanced down at the pieces, then looked up at Arthur, her eyes icy.

"Even if you don't like me, you shouldn't throw a cup at me in the company. If I got hurt, do you think you could get away with it?"

Arthur's face twisted with anger. "If you still consider me your father, hand over everything you've found."

The photo Zoey had shown him earlier was of Derek and his men beating up a family.

Last year, Arthur had sent Derek to buy a piece of land. Because the offer was too low, the family refused. So Derek and his men broke into their home at night and beat them up.

They even raped the underage girl in that family. The girl, tortured, attempted suicide but ended up in a vegetative state.

The incident blew up, and the girl's family took Derek to court. Arthur sought Alexander's help, leveraging the Brown family's influence to pressure and bribe the family. He offered them a large sum of money and promised not to take their land, barely resolving the issue.