Chapter 196: Liquidation

Chapter 196: Liquidation

Aviah's POV

The next morning, Skyline Group.

I pushed open the door to the CEO's office. Griffin was sitting behind his desk reviewing documents. Sunlight fell on his sharp profile, his eyelashes casting faint shadows on his eyelids.

"Cooper might sabotage the partnership." I walked to the desk and laid out Ethan's analysis point by point.

He put down his pen, his fingertips tapping the desk with crisp sounds. "Got it, I'll handle what comes next." He looked up at me, his gaze deep. "By the way, have you thought about when to get married?"

My heart jumped. I quickly looked away toward the skyscrapers outside the window. My fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of my clothes, my voice stuttering, "I, I haven't decided yet."

"Once I finish dealing with these matters, we'll get married." His tone was firm, without a hint of hesitation.

"Okay." The word slipped out before I realized it. I turned to glare at him. "Wait, who said I'm marrying you? In your dreams."

I shot him a look and quickly fled, my ears burning. His low laughter came from behind, making my heart race even faster.

Back in my office, my phone screen suddenly lit up. It was an invitation from the Lakeview Music Association, inviting "Skylar" to perform at the music festival in two weeks, with detailed schedule and timing.

Two weeks flew by in a flash.

I walked into the hospital room carrying a fruit basket. Mason still lay in the bed, his face pale. The monitor beeped with regular, monotonous sounds, dragging my mood down with it.

I sat by the bed, tucked in his blanket, and quietly told him about recent events. He gave no response, his eyelashes resting quietly.

The TV on the wall was playing the news. The anchor's voice came through clearly: "Aethermoor's well-known entrepreneur Joseph was shot dead on the street yesterday. The shooter's identity is unknown, and police have launched an investigation."

The fruit basket nearly slipped from my hands. I stared blankly at Joseph's photo on the screen.

Could this have something to do with Griffin?

I wanted to message him to ask. My finger hovered over the screen, but I couldn't bring myself to hit send.

I didn't know how to ask.

I thought of Chloe. Our relationship was okay. I wanted to ask her about it, but I didn't have her contact information. I was also worried that acting rashly might cause problems for Griffin.

In the end, I could only pretend I hadn't seen anything.

Tomorrow was the music festival. I needed to prepare well. This was about the truth behind Alexander's death.

When I left the hospital, the sunset was slowly sinking below the horizon, painting the sky orange-red. I got in my car, started the engine, and drove slowly along the street.

As the car reached a suburban stretch of road, a black SUV suddenly rushed out from the side and crashed into my vehicle. It happened so fast that before I could react, I'd already blacked out.

When I woke up again, I was in an abandoned warehouse scattered with rusty metal parts. Chloe stood not far away, wearing a black leather jacket, her eyes cold.

"I'm going to avenge my father." She spoke, her voice filled with grinding hatred. "When Griffin gets here, I'm going to kill him with my own hands."

My back pressed against the cold wall as I slowly retreated. "Joseph's death might not have been his doing. Calm down."

"If not him, then who?" She pressed forward step by step, madness flashing in her eyes. "In all of Lakeview, only he would dare assassinate my father."

I quietly reached for my pocket, only to find my phone was already gone. Chloe saw through my move and laughed coldly. "Don't waste your energy. I have your phone."

She pulled my phone from her pocket and casually threw it on the ground, crushing it viciously with her high heel. The sound of the shattering screen was piercing.

"At Carl's birthday party, I was the one behind it all. Too bad only Daron and Walter died—it didn't meet my expectations." Chloe's tone carried a hint of boasting. "I also stole Skyline Group's core technology and gave it to my father."

My pupils shrank. I stared at her in disbelief. This seemingly gentle Chloe had been hiding so many schemes.

"Guess how far Griffin will go for you?" She paced around me, like examining prey. "Will he give up everything for you?"

The warehouse door suddenly burst open. Griffin rushed in with Sebastian and others. His gaze instantly locked on me, filled with worry and concern.

"Let her go, and I'll let you walk away." He spoke, his voice low and dangerous.

But Chloe laughed. She pulled a knife from her waist and pressed it against my neck. The cold blade against my skin made me shiver.

"Let me walk away?" She sneered. "My father is dead. What's the point of me living?"

"My whole life, the person I admired most was my father." Her voice choked up, but her eyes grew more determined. "Everything I did was just to earn his approval. Now that he's dead, I must avenge him, or he won't be happy."

"Is it worth throwing away your own life for someone as vicious as Joseph?" Griffin questioned, his brow furrowed.

"It's worth it." She didn't hesitate. "Griffin, why won't you just admit defeat? If you'd let my father win, maybe we could have been together."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Sebastian, her tone provocative. "Or is it because Alice died?"

Sebastian's body jerked violently, his face instantly turning deathly pale. He stared hard at Chloe, his voice hoarse. "What do you mean by that? What really happened with Alice's death?"

A cruel smile curved Chloe's lips as she slowly revealed the past. "Back then, Alice came back from Drakonia to help Griffin take over Skyline Group. My father drugged her with an aphrodisiac, planning to frame them for incest and ruin his reputation."

"But Griffin fought through the drug's effects and went out for help. My father had no choice but to arrange for men to rape Alice and filmed it as blackmail." Her voice was light and airy, yet it stabbed like a knife into the heart. "Alice couldn't bear such torment and eventually chose suicide."

Sebastian's whole body trembled, his fists clenched tight, his knuckles drained of color. He suddenly looked at Griffin, his eyes full of pain and accusation.

"Aunt Alice made me promise not to tell you the truth before she died." Griffin closed his eyes, his voice weary. "I planned to keep it from you forever. Now, I can't anymore."

Chloe suddenly pushed the knife forward, cutting my skin. A trace of blood seeped out. "Sebastian, kill Griffin. Avenge the woman you loved."

She sowed discord, her gaze moving back and forth between the two men. "He kept this from you for so many years. He never saw you as a friend. Someone like that doesn't deserve your loyalty."

Sebastian remained silent, his face drained of all color, but he didn't move.