Chapter 161 Thea Gets Beaten Up
Joshua's face turned cold, his icy stare freezing Aiden in place.
"I don't have any other demands. Just hand over Ava, and we'll call it even."
That woman had a group of people secretly protecting her. When he sent people to teach her a lesson, they got beaten back halfway, which pissed him off to no end.
No matter what, Will had suffered such a huge injury and almost lost his manhood. This wasn't just harm to Will—it was an insult to the Howard family. How could they let Ava off easily?
If word of this got out, that Will had been played by a woman, the Howard family would be completely humiliated.
Joshua didn't give him another glance. There was no room for negotiation.
"Get out."
"You!" Aiden refused to give up. "This is outrageous! If you don't hand over Ava, our cooperation... is canceled!"
The Howard Group and the Thomas Group had just finalized a major deal. The Thomas Group had invested tens of billions of dollars. If this cooperation was canceled, it would be a massive loss for both the Howard family and the Thomas family.
As a businessman, Joshua couldn't possibly be unaware of what was at stake here.
Women are like clothes—he couldn't possibly sacrifice such a major deal over one woman.
Aiden was betting on this, using it to threaten Joshua and force him to hand over Ava.
Aiden lifted his chin, absolutely certain, waiting for Joshua to compromise.
"Are you threatening me?" Joshua spoke, his eyes lifting coldly.
Aiden's attitude was arrogant. "I have no intention of going against the Thomas family. My intention is simple—just hand over Ava, make her kneel and apologize to the Howard family, and we'll call it even."
"Samuel," Joshua said coldly.
Samuel immediately came in from outside with a document and placed it in front of Aiden.
Aiden's eyes narrowed. "What's the meaning of this?"
"Mr. Howard, the Thomas Group officially notifies you that all cooperation projects between the Howard family and the Thomas family are canceled!" Samuel said expressionlessly.
"What did you say?" Aiden froze completely, looking at Joshua in disbelief. "Have you lost your mind?"
"Mr. Howard, sign it!" Samuel handed the pen to Aiden.
"Get lost. I'm not signing."
What did canceling all cooperation mean?
Hundreds of billions of dollars in major projects would be halted, all the money lost.
What kind of madness was this?
The Howard family would definitely suffer unprecedented damage, and all of this because of one woman!
Aiden was so angry his eyes went wide.
"For one woman, you're willing to give up a project worth hundreds of billions of dollars?"
"Never mind hundreds of billions—even thousands of billions can't compare to her."
Samuel handed the pen to Aiden again.
"Fine! What an arrogant Joshua, what an arrogant Thomas family. You better not regret this."
"Samuel, throw him out."
Throw him out!
Samuel was listening with his blood pumping. He knew Ava was important to Joshua, but he had no idea she was this important.
Aiden was furious. He didn't sign and insisted on going to Victor to argue his case before leaving.
Not long after Aiden left, there was another commotion at the office door.
"Joshua, what's the meaning of this? Ava hit Thea, and not only did she not come apologize, you actually threw Thea out of the Thomas Villa. Now you want to cancel all cooperation with my Ellis family. Really great! Are you bullying the Ellis family because we have no one?"
Isaac Ellis stormed in angrily, unstoppable.
Thea was trying hard to hold Isaac back. "Grandpa, please calm down. Joshua must have misunderstood. Talk it out nicely."
"Misunderstood? What kind of misunderstanding would cost us a cooperation that's lasted over ten years?" Isaac was furious. "Joshua, what exactly do you mean?"
Joshua's face was dark. "Exactly what it sounds like."
"The Ellis family and the Thomas family have maintained cooperation for years, and you want to end it over one woman. Have you gone mad?"
Joshua's eyes narrowed. "Thea touched my daughter. Your Ellis family failed to discipline her properly, so your entire family must pay the price."
"What do you mean Thea touched your daughter!"
Thea's face stiffened.
"If Isaac wants to know, he can ask Thea."
The cold voice was almost frozen into ice, without a trace of warmth.
Isaac looked at Thea. Thea bit her lip, tears in her eyes, shaking her head. "Grandpa, I didn't. I really didn't do anything."
Isaac patted Thea's hand. "I know you're a good girl. I believe you."
Isaac looked at Joshua again. "Joshua, you and Thea grew up together. Don't you know her character? That woman Ava wrongly accused her. The Thomas family believed Ava's words and treated her this way. I won't say anything else, but Ava must apologize to Thea..."
A loud crash.
The large desk in front of Joshua was kicked several feet away. He stood up, and when he looked at Isaac, his gaze was cold enough to freeze someone to death.
His eyes moved to Thea. "Ava wrongly accused you?"
Thea's heart was pounding wildly. She forced herself to meet Joshua's gaze. "Joshua, I really didn't do anything. Ava really wrongly accused me. I genuinely wanted what's best for Cleo. How could I hit Cleo?"
Isaac's expression was stern. "I heard from Thea that this woman Ava is ruthless, unscrupulous, extremely selfish—how can you keep such a low-class woman by your side?"
Thea's heart sank. She never expected Isaac to repeat everything she had cried to him about.
Joshua's brow twitched hard.
Ruthless, unscrupulous, selfish, low-class!
Good!
Very good!
He hadn't even settled accounts with her yet, and she was busy badmouthing Ava behind his back.
Asking for death.
Isaac sensed something was wrong with the atmosphere. By the time he realized it, Joshua was already in front of him.
Thea also sensed something was wrong and kept hiding behind Isaac.
"Joshua!"
Before Isaac could stop him, Joshua's hand had already grabbed Thea's shoulder.
Before Thea could scream, a powerful force swept between her legs, accompanied by two sounds.
Thea only felt a piercing pain. Her knees buckled and she knelt down, her face instantly turning awful.
Without giving her a chance to cry for help, Joshua grabbed her clothes and kicked her body against the wall.
Thea's back slammed hard against the wall, her whole body in too much pain to breathe.
This simple sequence of actions took less than a minute.
No chance to stop it.
Isaac witnessed Joshua's terrifying nature firsthand. Having seen many situations, he froze in place. Watching his most beloved Thea lying on the ground wailing continuously, he couldn't react for a moment.
"Thea!" Isaac cried out in pain, rushing forward to help Thea up.
"Joshua, this is outrageous."
Joshua took the handkerchief Samuel handed him and carefully wiped his hands.
His expression was cold as he looked at them.
"Since you can't discipline your own junior properly, I'll help you do it."
Thea's whole face was pale. She collapsed in Isaac's arms, her whole body trembling. "Grandpa, Grandpa, it hurts!"
"Joshua, what gives you the right to hit Thea? You... you've gone too far."
"Too far?" A clear voice fell.
Joshua looked toward the door and saw Ava in a black trench coat standing at the entrance.
Joshua immediately walked toward Ava, taking her hand. The cold terror from moments ago seemed like just a dream. Joshua's face was now full of tenderness as he asked, "Why did you come?"
"To solve the problem. I'm happy you can do so much for me and the child, but if some things aren't explained clearly, others will think we're in the wrong."