Chapter 195

Chapter 195

Gabe, the foreman for the Port Liberty renovation project, stared at Benjamin for a long moment. Maybe it was the sincerity in Benjamin's eyes that lowered his guard. Or maybe he'd been holding it in for so long that he just needed someone to talk to. Either way, he started talking.

He talked for a full forty minutes.

The Port Liberty renovation was a flagship project the Howard Group had launched last year—a multi-hundred-million-dollar investment with a projected two-year timeline. The contractors were Gabe's crew and two other subcontractors. Everything had been going smoothly at first, but three months ago, fifty million dollars in project funding had simply vanished.

The Howard Group claimed they'd sent the money. But it never showed up in the contractors' accounts.

Gabe's crew had fronted over twenty million in materials, labor, and equipment rentals—all of it tied up in the project. Without that money, they couldn't keep working. The site had gone silent.

"It's not that we don't want to work," Gabe said, his voice hoarse, eyes bloodshot. "I've got over two hundred guys on my payroll. Some of them have families counting on that paycheck. I can't just let them work for free, can I? I mortgaged my house. Put in everything I could scrape together. But without that fifty million? There's no way to plug this hole."

Here's the kicker: after the crew stopped working, all the dock equipment they'd already started installing was left sitting in seawater. That equipment wasn't cheap—some of it was precision machinery imported from overseas, millions of dollars per unit. Every day it sat there meant more corrosion, more damage. Worse, because the project was stalled and tangled up in contract disputes, no new crew could come in and take over. The whole Port Liberty project was just... stuck.

The longer it dragged on, the bigger the Howard Group's losses became. If this project fell through, they wouldn't just lose the hundreds of millions already invested—they'd lose Port Liberty's future as Empire City's primary foreign trade hub. Most major international shipping routes depended on Port Liberty's transit capacity. Cargo ships were already starting to consider rerouting to neighboring cities because the docks couldn't accommodate them.

"That Miss Clifford you saw earlier," Gabe said, his lips trembling slightly, "she told me she represents the Howard Group. Said they'd absolutely never settle with us. Said bottom-feeders like us suing the Howard Group was pure fantasy. And she said the Howard Group's already gathering evidence to countersue us for delays, trying to pin massive losses on us. Said they'd throw us all in jail."

By the time Benjamin finished listening, his knuckles had gone white from gripping the edge of the table.

When he left the coffee shop, the sun was already high overhead, its glare stabbing at his eyes. He hadn't slept all night. His whole body felt cold and stiff, his hair damp from dew and then dried stiff, sticking up awkwardly.

But the physical discomfort was nothing compared to the rage burning in his chest—the fury of being deceived, used, played for a fool.

That afternoon, he went straight to the Howard Group and stormed into Angela's office.

Angela sat behind her desk, reviewing documents. Her assistant rushed in after him, flustered, stammering, "I'm sorry, Miss Clifford, I couldn't stop Mr. Benjamin Howard—"

Benjamin shook her off. "Since when do I need permission to visit my own family's company?"

The assistant's tone carried a hint of impatience. "But Mr. William Howard already announced your removal from the group..."

Benjamin caught the disdain in her eyes and suddenly understood why Angela had been so cold to him lately.

All that warmth before? That was when he still had value to her. Once he'd been kicked out of the Howard Group—stripped of all his access and connections—he became useless to her. A spent piece on the board. So she'd stopped pretending. She didn't need to anymore.

Just like this assistant. In the old days, who wouldn't have sucked up to him? Who would've dared talk to him like this? But now? Everyone outside was laughing at him.

Angela waved the assistant out, then removed her glasses and gave Benjamin a smile he recognized. A smile he used to think was beautiful, gentle. Now it just looked fake—like a mask pasted onto her face, its edges starting to peel.

"Benjamin, what brings you here? You should've called ahead."

The office door closed behind him. Benjamin fixed her with an icy stare. "I saw everything."

"The Howard Group doesn't have a leg to stand on in the Port Liberty case. The best move—the only move—is to settle with the workers. But you? Instead of calming them down, you're deliberately provoking them, stirring them up. What's your endgame?"

"Is this about Anthony not being one of your people? Trying to seize power? Angela, who the hell are you really working for?"

Angela was silent for a few seconds. Then that gentle smile vanished. She leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs, and looked at him with the cool detachment of someone watching a child throw a tantrum.

"So you saw."

"So it's true?" Benjamin's voice rose. "You're really sabotaging the Howard Group? You've been using me this whole time?"

Angela let out a soft laugh—cold, mocking. "Benjamin, do you even realize what you look like right now? If I hadn't been kind enough to take you in, rent you an apartment, arrange for someone to look after you—who knows what kind of wreck you'd be. I've been good to you."

It was like being slapped across the face. Benjamin stood frozen, all his remaining words stuck in his throat. There was nothing left to say to her.

"I'm telling William everything. I won't let anyone hurt the Howard family. I won't let anyone hurt William!" He turned toward the door, ready to march upstairs right now and spill it all.

Angela's expression shifted sharply. She shot up from her chair and grabbed him. She wrapped her arms around him from behind, her voice suddenly soft. "Benjamin, don't. If you tell him, William won't let me go. Please, just listen—I had no choice. I was forced into this."

Benjamin's steps faltered. This was his fatal weakness—he could never truly harden his heart against Angela. Those rose-tinted memories from their youth were just too powerful.

He turned around, gripping her shoulders, urgency flooding his voice. "Was it Graham? Is he the one making you do this?"

Angela hesitated for just a beat, then quickly caught on.

"Yes! It's him! He's the one forcing me! I'm just one woman—how could I dare disobey him? Benjamin, I'm so sorry. I've wronged you, wronged William, wronged the whole Howard family. I'll go to William myself. I'll confess everything about Port Liberty, then resign and stay out of all this. Please, just trust me. Give me a little more time, okay?"

Her eyes reddened. Tears streamed down her face. Her voice trembled, sounding so sincere.

Benjamin looked at her—at that face he'd been infatuated with for so long, now streaked with tears. Part of him knew he shouldn't believe her. But seeing her like this, so vulnerable, he wavered. He told himself this would be the last time. One final chance.

If she really did confess, maybe she wasn't all bad. Maybe she was still the gentle, innocent Angela he remembered.

"Fine," he said. "I'll give you three days. You go to William yourself."

Angela nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, then smiled at him. It was the softest, warmest smile. So warm that when Benjamin walked out of her office, he almost believed he'd made the right call.

But what did he get after three days? Angela tried to have him killed. To eliminate loose ends. If Victoria and William hadn't shown up that night, he'd already be a corpse.