Chapter 72 A Gift for Maxwell

Chapter 72 A Gift for Maxwell
At four in the morning, Harrison arrived in a jet-black Bentley right on time at the entrance to the residential complex.
After getting in the car, Donovan lit a cigarette, closed his eyes, rested his arm on the window, and took sporadic puffs. He looked exhausted, his complexion was poor, and he seemed on the verge of losing his temper at any moment.
Harrison glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
What’s wrong with the boss?
Is he exhausted?
That shouldn't be the case. Even when he went days without sleep, he never looked like this.
“Boss, did you not get much rest last night? Should I drive slower so you can sleep in the car?” Harrison asked cautiously.
At those words, Donovan's eyes snapped open, and his tone brimmed with impatience.
"Drive slower? Does that give Maxwell plenty of time to make his move? I need to be at the S Group by 5:50."
“Okay.”
Realizing that Donovan was truly in a foul mood, Harrison replied briefly and then floored the accelerator without hesitation. Still, he couldn't resist asking, "Why are we going to rescue Sage?"
If she was a decoy, she was supposed to die in his place.
As long as Sage was dead, it was like telling those watching from the shadows that Donovan's weakness was gone and that Iris would be safe for now.
Harrison didn’t quite understand.
"We're not going to save her," Donovan said. "We're going to deliver a gift to Maxwell."
“What kind of gift?”
Donovan didn’t answer right away.
The thick, swirling smoke cleared slowly from his vision, clearing his thoughts considerably.
He realized that sleeping while holding Iris felt incredibly good.
But it was also an absolutely terrible decision!
It was like putting a plate of irresistible cake in front of someone who’d been starving for ages.
He could only look; he couldn’t touch!
He’d done nothing all night but take cold showers.
He flicked his long fingers lightly, sending the cigarette ash drifting away.
In a flat tone, Donovan continued, “Sophia sent me word that Maxwell has made contact with the people over at Red Hill.”
Harrison thought for a moment. “Kevin’s crew?”
“Mm-hmm,” Donovan nodded. “Maxwell has always lived under his father’s control. Over the years, more people have mocked him as a fool than flattered him. He’s in his forties and still hasn’t gained any real power, so he’s desperate to prove himself and break free from his father’s grip.”
Harrison couldn’t quite grasp it. “Why not just sit back and enjoy the money? Why does he have to prove himself?”
Donovan snorted derisively.
Perhaps it’s because human desire is insatiable. The more you lack something, the more you crave it.
“There are only a handful of the most lucrative businesses in the world. He chose to partner with Kevin. What do you think they’re up to?”
Harrison thought for a moment, then picked up the thread of the conversation.
"There's still an underground human trafficking ring operating in Silvania. With Jack's support, Kevin has always run that business semi-openly. Maxwell is partnering with him, so he certainly won’t have the upper hand in that operation. That can’t be the reason.”
“That leaves only one option: is he trying to get into the drug trade?"
"Hmm, not too stupid."
Though Donovan had paid him a compliment, Harrison couldn’t bring himself to feel pleased because he still didn’t fully understand.
"If Maxwell wants to kill himself, let him. What does that have to do with us rescuing Sage?"
"It has everything to do with it."
Donovan’s gaze darkened. "My father never thought much of me. He wanted me to disappear sooner rather than later. But when he stepped down all those years ago, he still gave me a five percent stake.”
The finger holding his cigarette trembled slightly.
Donovan closed his eyes and took a deep drag on his cigarette. When he opened them again, he crushed the butt hard into the ashtray.
After a long pause, he continued, "After I got back from Sari, Jasper told me that Maxwell had meddled with something he shouldn't have. That’s when I remembered that I owned a pharmaceutical R&D company with top-notch equipment and a world-class team. Four years of research with hardly any decent results—Mercedes has always mocked it. But if it fell into Maxwell’s hands, with just a few tweaks, he could use it for something else.”
Harrison froze, then followed the line of thought. "Kevin has the best raw materials in Silvania, but he lacks the equipment and purification technology. So, Maxwell has been fighting tooth and nail to snatch shares from you last year—all for the sake of this company?”
“That’s right,” Donovan chuckled wryly.
"My father and Jack are old friends, and their interests are intertwined. They could never turn on each other publicly. He was worried that Maxwell might make a reckless move and ruin himself. He knew that I would never hand over my shares. That’s why he gave me that 5% stake.”
Donovan’s tone was flat, but Harrison’s grip on the steering wheel tightened involuntarily.
He understood.
Donovan intended to go with the flow, using the rescue of Sage as an excuse to hand the company over to Maxwell.
He wanted to let Maxwell commit the crime himself, to walk down that path to ruin.
If this were to come to light, it wouldn't just be Maxwell and Kevin who'd be finished—even Jack would be skinned alive.
But if that were truly the case, it would prove one thing:
Donovan’s father had never intended to hand the business over to him. By placing the company—which Kevin had long coveted—under Donovan’s name, his father was using Donovan as a shield to protect Maxwell.
Harrison suddenly recalled the day four years ago when Donovan received his shares.
Donovan complained about his father’s favoritism, yet his face lit up with a triumphant smile.
He took the Silver Fox Team—which had only recently been formed—on a vacation.
They sped through the streets and threw money around.
That was probably the most reckless and wild Donovan had ever been.
After all, following that wild celebration, the entire team settled down.
Step by step, they gradually became a name that struck fear into the hearts of certain people around the world.
Harrison was silent for a long time, not knowing if he should say anything.
But, knowing Donovan as he did, he knew that if he rashly offered comfort, it would likely worsen Donovan's mood. In fact, Donovan would probably order him to pull over, drag him out of the car, and beat him up.
So, Harrison changed the subject.
“Over at Maxwell’s, they haven’t suspected Sage’s identity, have they?”
“No,” Donovan said, his eyes closed. "He has no idea what Iris actually looks like. His men can only go by the rough description Kevin gave them. The Sage in the video matches that description eighty to ninety percent—it’s hard to tell. As long as I show up, no one cares if she’s Iris.”
“But what if…” Harrison paused to think. "What if Sage figures it out herself and slips up?"
"Unless she’s stupid!"
Donovan hadn’t slept well, and Harrison’s constant questions were wearing on him. He pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes brimming with impatience.
"If she has any sense, she'll never say she isn't Iris."
“Got it.”
Harrison nodded, not daring to ask questions any more.
Right now, the reason Sage was captured no longer mattered. What mattered was that someone had to rescue her.
And that person could only be Donovan.
Even if she realized she was being used as a stand-in for Iris, she would never be foolish enough to expose it.
If she revealed that they had captured the wrong person, she would lose her value. Maxwell wouldn't let her go. He'd just hand her over to Kevin.