At this moment, seeing that James hadn't made any moves, Eric took out a business card and respectfully handed it to James along with a bank card. "Mr. Smith, I know you might not be able to accept this right away. You can take your time to think about it. This is my contact information. If you need anything, feel free to call me. By the way, I've also found a place to settle those orphans for you!"
With that, Eric respectfully bowed and left.
Even after Eric's figure completely disappeared, James still stood motionless in place. He was quite conflicted now. This money was stained with the blood of his parents, and he should refuse it.
But thinking about the past fifteen years since his parents passed away, he didn't find his life easy. He had endured a lot of scorn in Haven's orphanage and suffered bullies in the Brown family.
All of this was because of the Smith family! Now that the Smith family was offering him compensation, why shouldn't he take it?
Moreover, Haven's medical bills still required a million dollars, which, for him, was an astronomical sum.
Thinking of Haven's sickly face, he clenched the bank card in his hand, frowned, and went to the payment counter, "Hello, I'm here to pay for the surgery!" He swiped the card and verified his identity, the next second, one million dollars was directly transferred to the hospital's account.
After doing these, he felt a bit unreal. Had he just gone from being a nobody to a rich man?
James returned home somewhat dazed, but the house was already in chaos. When Sophia married James, they originally lived in the Brown Mansion. But ever since Ryder passed away, Mia had directly kicked their entire family out, and they were living in a house of less than 1200 square feet.
At this moment, his mother-in-law Aurora Rivera was pointing at Sophia and shouted, "James, that wuss, dishonored our family, yet you say you don't want to divorce him? What? Do you want our whole family to be kicked out of the Brown Group by your grandma?"
Facing Aurora's anger, Sophia just coldly replied, "I have hands and feet, I can work anywhere."
Hearing this, Aurora almost jumped in anger. "What is James worth? Andrew is so much better than him. If you divorce and remarry Andrew now, our family can return to the Mansion and regain our former status!"
At this moment, Sophia's father Max Brown chimed in, "Exactly, the Anderson family is much stronger than our Brown family. As long as you marry Andrew, your grandmother will treat you as her favorite!"
Facing her parents' questioning, Sophia frowned and said, "No matter what you say, I will not divorce James!"Aurora angrily threw the things in her hand at the door. "Why are you so stubborn?"
As she finished speaking, she happened to see James standing at the door, then she spoke disdainfully, "You trash. Away with you."
James knew very well that over the years, Aurora felt he had ruined Sophia's life, so she humiliated him at every turn.
But now he suddenly felt a bit expectant. What would Aurora's reaction be if she knew he was the chairman of Apex Global Enterprises and had a bank card with a monthly limit of one billion dollars?
However, he didn't plan to reveal his situation now. He had left the Smith family for fifteen years and didn't remember what the Smith family was like!
Moreover, in such a large family, there were bound to be many internal struggles. Since he didn't know anything now, it was best to be cautious and low-key!
Thinking of this, James apologized, "Aurora, I'm sorry for causing you trouble today!"
Facing his apology, Aurora became even more furious. "Causing trouble? I think you just want to completely remove us from the Brown family! If you have any decency left, you should leave my house as soon as possible!"
Seeing Aurora humiliating James like this, Sophia quickly said, "Mom, James is your son-in-law! Don't go too far!"
Aurora sneered, "Having a son-in-law like him is worse than not having one at all!"
Seeing that she couldn't persuade Aurora, Sophia gently pushed James and said, "You go to your room first!"
With Sophia's protection, James gratefully glanced at her and obediently went to his room.
Although they had been married for two years, nothing had ever happened between them. Every night, he would sleep on the single sofa next to the bed, while Sophia would sleep alone on the bed.
But tonight, James had a rare bout of insomnia. What happened today had completely overwhelmed him, and he felt a bit lost.
Seeing that he was still awake, Sophia worriedly said to him, "Are you still worried about Haven? I don't have much money left, only two hundred thousand dollars. You can take it tomorrow to help out."
James shook his head and said, "No keep it. It's covered."
Hearing this, Sophia was pleasantly surprised. "So Haven is saved?"
James nodded. "Haven has saved no less than a hundred orphans in her life. She would rather go without than let them suffer. Now, it's finally paying off."
Sophia breathed a relieved sigh and said, "That's good. You don't have to carry such a heavy burden anyway."
James felt complicated and didn't say much.
Sophia got into bed, a bit helpless. "There's a lot going on at the company lately. I need to rest early. I have to get up at six tomorrow."
Hearing this, James frowned. "What happened?"
Facing James's question, Sophia sighed.
Sophia let out a sigh and said, "Recently, the company's business has shrunk a lot. Mia wants to cooperate with Apex Global Enterprises, but the Brown Group is too weak. They make light of us."
Hearing Apex Global Enterprises, James was a bit surprised. "The Brown family wants to cooperate with Apex Global Enterprises?"
Facing his question, Sophia smiled.
Sophia smiled, "It's not up to the Brown family. Even John only has a bit of cooperation with a subsidiary of Apex Global Enterprises."
James nodded in understanding.
The Brown family was trying every way to cooperate with Apex Global Enterprises, but the Brown family would never know that Apex Global Enterprises now belonged to him, James!
James didn't reveal this. He didn't know why his parents left Phoenix City back then. But he knew that the internal struggles within the Smith family were definitely not simple.
It was best to keep a low profile for now.
But once he took over Apex Global Enterprises, he could secretly help Sophia. After all, if it weren't for marrying him, she wouldn't be bullied like this!
Thinking of this, James secretly vowed that one day, he would make the Brown family unable to lift their heads in front of him!
A good night's sleep.
The next day, James rented a bicycle and went to Apex Global Enterprises.
Just as he was feeling a bit pained about the three dollars deducted from his account, he saw a Maybach stop not far from him.
He took a closer look and found that the woman looked somewhat familiar.
That big chest and big butt, wasn't that Sophia's sister, Ava? Looking more closely, James found the man beside her was John.
James suddenly felt that today was not a good day to come to Apex Global Enterprises.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind. "James, what a coincidence!"
Although Ava's tone was very friendly, it was full of sarcasm.
James felt a bit uncomfortable, but since she had recognized him, he could only stop, smile at Ava, and say, "Ava, what brings you to Apex Global Enterprises?"
Hearing this, Ava rolled her eyes. "We obviously have business here, unlike you who do nothing at home every day!"
She sneered and continued, "I heard you love finding bargains at the grocery store. Did you hear about some special deals here and come running?"
These sarcastic remarks were not new to James.
So he just smiled, "I just thought I had nothing to do, and I heard Apex Global Enterprises is hiring, so I came to try my luck and maybe ease some of Sophia's burden!"
Ava gave a disdainful smile, and said, "You think you can get into Apex Global Enterprises? Don't you know even the janitors here are graduates from prestigious schools?"
John mocked. "Don't bother, James has no education, no skills!"
Hearing this, Ava laughed, "But he actually knows how to dream!"
Listening to their mocking words, James was seething with anger.
Although Apex Global Enterprises now belonged to him, he couldn't reveal it, lest it attract the attention of the Smith family.
Thinking of this, he didn't argue further. "Excuse me, I gotta go."
With that, he walked towards Apex Global Enterprises.
Seeing James ignore them like this, John's face turned ugly. He thought that their willingness to stay and exchange a few words with someone as worthless as James was already a sign of their magnanimity.
If it weren't for the fact that this was Apex Global Enterprises, he would have punched James!
Watching James's departing figure, John snorted, "How dare this trash go to Apex Global Enterprises?"
Hearing the voices behind him, James secretly thought that one day, he would make these people realize who the real powerful one was!
Thinking of this, he quickened his pace and directly entered Apex Global Enterprises.
Behind him, Ava held John back and said, "We're here for serious business today, don't get angry over this trash!"
Hearing this, John's expression softened a bit. "You're right, we can't delay our business!"
While they were outside checking the contract, James directly took the elevator to the top floor of Apex Global Enterprises.
Eric had already informed everyone of James's identity, so no one stopped James on his way up.
The former assistant to the chairman of Apex Global Enterprises, Nora Adams, was standing respectfully at the door, holding the company's documents.
In Silverlight City, Nora was known as a strong woman! Her workability was outstanding, and the projects she handled always yielded high profits.
Because of her strong abilities, Nora was promoted from head of the sales department to the chairman's assistant in less than five years.
Now that Apex Global Enterprises had been acquired by the Smith family, although the chairman had changed, Eric didn't fire Nora but planned to have her continue to assist James.
Nora had mentally prepared herself, but when she saw James, she was still a bit surprised that the heir of the Smith family was so gentlemanly and young.
Although she was a bit surprised, Nora still respectfully stepped forward, bowed slightly, and said, "Mr. Smith, these are all the current businesses and assets of Apex Global Enterprises. Please come to my office, and I will explain them in detail!"
James nodded while subtly observing Nora.
Although he had heard of Nora's legend before, he had never seen her.
Now seeing Nora, he was a bit surprised. Because she had a great figure with a large chest and hips! Her face didn't have a sharp look, making her seem like a qualified assistant.
After entering the office, James sat in the chair first. Nora stood respectfully beside him, organizing the documents in her hand, ready to start explaining.
James suddenly spoke up, "In the future, you can contact me by phone if there's anything. Just give me a report on the work!"
He intensified his tone and continued, "Apex Global Enterprises will still be under your leadership, and my identity must not be revealed to the outside!"
Hearing this, Nora was not surprised. Because being able to fully acquire Apex Global Enterprises meant James had enough money and power.
A mere Apex Global Enterprises was nothing to such a person. So it was understandable that James said he wouldn't come often!
Thinking of this, Nora respectfully bowed her head and said, "I understand. Thank you, Mr. Smith, for your trust. I will do my best to handle the company's affairs! If you need anything, you can always instruct me!"
Seeing the very sensible Nora in front of him, James nodded slightly.
At this moment, someone knocked on the office door, and a voice came through. "Ms. Adams, a man named John is here with his fiancée, saying they want to see you!"
Hearing this, Nora frowned slightly. "Tell them I'm in a meeting and let them wait in the reception room!"
The person outside responded and quickly left.
At this moment, James tapped the table and said in an unclear tone, "Are you familiar with John?"
Hearing this, Nora hurriedly explained, "Not familiar! He has some cooperation with a subsidiary of Apex Global Enterprises, and their business is relatively reliable. They have been wanting to further the cooperation, but I haven't met with them before!"