Chapter 100 Take Down

Daphne closed her eyes for a moment, trying to keep her emotions in check.

She gathered the contracts from the table, grabbed her car keys, and headed back to the Anderson Group.

When she arrived, she went straight to the CEO's office.

The sound of knocking echoed through the door.

Without looking up, Lewis said, "Come in."

Daphne pushed the door open, surprised to see Gloria there too.

Gloria's lips curled into a slight smile when she saw Daphne. She probably guessed Daphne was here about the nursing home project.

Daphne walked up to Lewis and started reporting on the nursing home project.

Before Lewis could say anything, Gloria cut in, her face cold and stern. "Daphne! How useless can you be? You can't even handle a simple task. You should pack your things and leave. What are you still doing here?"

With that, she picked up the contract and threw it at Daphne. "The price is too high. Can't you negotiate it down?"

Lewis had intended to speak up for Daphne, but he suddenly remembered what Daphne had said to Julie at the hospital a week ago.

He immediately abandoned the idea, silently sitting aside and tapping on his keyboard, deciding not to intervene.

Seeing that Lewis wasn't going to step in, Gloria became even more aggressive. "Daphne! What are you still standing here for? Go negotiate with the residents' families!"

Daphne glanced at Lewis out of the corner of her eye, seeing that he remained unmoved. She bent down to pick up the contract from the floor. "Okay, I'll go right away."

Outside the office, Daphne leaned against the cold wall, raising her hand to cover her eyes, her vision blurring.

Suddenly, a hot tear fell onto the back of her hand, and Daphne let out a silent laugh.

She said to herself with mock tone, "Daphne, what's the use of crying? Haven't you already decided to cut ties with Lewis? This is how it should be."

Daphne turned and went to the restroom, splashing cold water on her face, pushing down all her grievances.

She began to self-hypnotize again, 'It will get better—everything will get better.'

Daphne went to negotiate with the families once more.

Meanwhile, in the office, Lewis closed his laptop, stood up from his chair, grabbed his car keys, and turned to leave.

Gloria, seeing this, asked, "Where are you going?"

"Where I go is none of your business. You have no right to control me," Lewis said coldly, then turned and left.

Gloria, furious, could only slam the table in anger, but there was nothing she could do about Lewis.

Half an hour later, Daphne found the families again.

"I'm sorry, but I can't meet your demands. Could you possibly compromise?" Daphne asked humbly.

"Compromise? Dream on! I'm telling you, without that money, I won't sign!"

"Yeah, same here!"

The scene was as chaotic as a marketplace, and Daphne's voice grew hoarse, but no one was willing to listen.

"If there's nothing else, don't waste our time. We have things to do," one person said impatiently.

Daphne tried to argue, raising her voice, "Developing this project will benefit you..."

Before she could finish, a loud, crisp slap echoed.

A bright red handprint appeared on Daphne's cheek, and she covered her face.

"I told you, without the money, stop wasting our time. Do you think I'm that patient?" the middle-aged woman snapped, her eyes full of impatience.

Staying any longer would only humiliate herself further. Daphne turned and left with the documents.

Across the street, Lewis sat in his Rolls-Royce, watching the scene unfold. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, a flash of anger in his eyes, his heart feeling like it was being squeezed by a giant hand.

He watched Daphne walk away and pulled out his phone to call Nolan.

"Mr. Anderson."

Lewis then explained the situation with the nursing home.

On the other end, Nolan immediately perked up. "Mr. Anderson, I'll send someone to negotiate right away. It should be resolved within an hour."

"Good."

After hanging up, Nolan scratched his head, sighing, "It's really hard to read Mr. Anderson's thoughts."

As night fell, the streets were lit up with neon lights.

Daphne wandered aimlessly, her whole demeanor exuding a sense of desolation.

At that moment, her phone rang from her bag.

Daphne took out her phone and saw it was an unknown number.

She hung up without hesitation, but the caller immediately called again.

With no other choice, Daphne answered. "Hello, who is this?"

"Is this Ms. Sullivan?"

The voice on the other end sounded familiar to Daphne, like she had heard it somewhere before, but she couldn't place it.

"Yes, this is she." she said.

"Oh, Ms. Sullivan, I'm so glad you answered. I didn't mean to slap you earlier today. I apologize."

No wonder the voice sounded familiar—it was the woman who had slapped her from earlier.

"It's okay, I understand," Daphne replied calmly.

"By the way, we're willing to sign the contract. Most of us agree to your terms." the woman said.

Daphne stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide with surprise. "Are you really willing to sign the contract?"

"Yes, really. We wouldn't lie to you. When can we sign? We're all here now."

They were all there? At this hour, shouldn't they be home?

"When are you available, Ms. Sullivan?" The woman asked.

Hearing the slightly ingratiating tone, Daphne felt like she was hallucinating.

They had been so arrogant earlier in the day.

To avoid any delays, Daphne decided to sign the contract that night. "I'll come over now. It should take about half an hour."

"Great, we'll wait for you."

Daphne hailed a cab and headed to the nursing home.

Half an hour later, she arrived at the nursing home entrance, where the families were waiting.

As soon as she got out of the car, they warmly greeted her. "Ms. Sullivan, you're finally here."

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Daphne apologized.

"No problem, we haven't waited long."

Daphne wondered who was helping her. It couldn't be Lewis, could it? Maybe it was Lorenzo?

Ten minutes later, both parties had signed the contract.

The woman said, "If there's nothing else, we'll leave now. Contact us if you need anything."

Daphne nodded, organizing the contracts and putting them in her bag.

Just as she reached the entrance, a flash of lightning split the night sky, and rain began to pour down.