Chapter 238

Chapter 238

"Why are you up?"

Alexander put down his work, closed his laptop, his voice low and gentle. "Did you sleep well? You only slept for just over an hour."

Victoria walked over and sat down on the sofa next to him, shaking her head, her face showing a trace of cool detachment and helplessness from being disturbed. "Got woken up by a phone call, couldn't fall back asleep."

"Whose call?"

Alexander frowned slightly. For someone to wake Victoria at this hour, it must be something serious.

"Thalia."

Victoria didn't hide anything and told him the situation briefly. "My jewelry company partner. She called to say that Veda found a discarded jewelry design draft I'd thrown away, made some minor changes, put her own name on it, and entered it in an international emerging jewelry design competition. It even made it to the top five."

She paused, her tone calm but carrying a hint of coldness. "This will affect the reputation of 'Vico,' the pen name I use internationally as a jewelry designer. Thalia is furious and has already decided to return home immediately to confront Liam and get justice for me."

After hearing this, Alexander's expression darkened instantly, a clear flash of anger passing through his deep eyes.

He'd long known about the Gonzalez family's troublemaking, especially that Veda, who had set traps for Victoria before. He never expected she'd dare to do something as despicable as stealing designs and entering competitions under a false name!

"This is outrageous!"

Alexander's voice was cold, carrying unwavering protectiveness. "This behavior is an industry disgrace! Thalia is right to do this. We must get justice and absolutely cannot let this kind of plagiarism and theft succeed! This isn't just about your personal reputation, but also about Victrix Luxury Goods Company's credibility."

He looked at Victoria, his gaze firm. "If you need any help from my side, or if pressure needs to be applied, just say the word. If Veda and whoever's backing her won't admit their mistake and refuse to acknowledge it, I won't just stand by and watch."

With the Garcia Group's influence in the business world and beyond, targeting a small Gonzalez Jewelry Company or Veda personally would be a piece of cake.

Feeling the undisguised protectiveness in Alexander's words and his firm stance on her side, the coldness that had risen in Victoria's heart from being plagiarized was gradually replaced by a warm current.

She wasn't someone who was used to relying on others, but this feeling of being unconditionally supported and protected wasn't bad at all.

She responded softly, not saying much in thanks, but her eyes softened considerably.

The two sat in the living room for a while longer. Alexander didn't continue working, just kept her company, occasionally exchanging a few words in low voices.

Time passed quietly. Outside the window, the sky gradually shifted from bright orange-red to deep indigo blue, and the city's neon lights lit up one after another, weaving into a brilliant sea of light.

Just then, Victoria's phone rang again. It was Chris calling.

"Boss."

Chris's voice was as steady as always. "On Mr. Murray's end, today's operation to clear out the moles at group headquarters is basically finished. All the main targets have been secured."

"The process went fairly smoothly. Most people were intimidated by Mr. Murray's decisive methods and didn't dare make any moves. But there was a small incident in the middle. One deeply hidden mole suddenly attacked when being detained, trying to ambush Mr. Murray with a blade hidden in his sleeve. Fortunately, Mr. Murray reacted extremely quickly, dodged in time, and knocked the guy out. It was a close call, but no real danger."

Victoria's eyes focused slightly. "Is Marc okay?"

"Mr. Murray is fine, didn't even get a scratch."

Chris answered definitively. "He coordinated well with the bodyguards Mr. Garcia sent. They handled it very cleanly. Now, Mr. Murray has returned to the sanatorium and is in his father's hospital room."

"Good, I understand."

Victoria instructed, "You and the brothers worked hard too. Mr. Garcia and I will head over shortly."

"Yes."

After hanging up, Victoria said to Alexander, "Chris called. Marc's side went fairly smoothly handling the company moles today. There was a small incident, but he's fine. He's already back at the sanatorium visiting his father."

Alexander nodded and stood up. "Should we go now?"

Victoria also stood up, thought for a moment, and said, "Let's bring Chase too. He's been worried all day. Now that he knows Marc is back, he'll definitely want to see him right away."

Alexander thought of his cousin's distracted state and didn't object. "Alright."

The two left the presidential suite and went downstairs to Chase's room.

After ringing the doorbell, the door opened almost instantly. Chase clearly hadn't rested well either, with faint dark circles under his eyes. As soon as he saw them, he asked urgently, "Alexander, Victoria, is there news about Marc?"

"Yes."

Victoria nodded. "He just got back to the sanatorium to see his father. We're heading over now. Want to come?"

"Yes! Of course!"

Chase didn't hesitate, grabbed his room key and rushed out, moving so fast he almost hit the door frame. His urgent manner made it seem like if he was a second late, the person would disappear.

The three soon drove back to Sacred Heart Sanatorium.

The VIP ward area on the top floor was still heavily guarded, but the atmosphere was much more relaxed than before.

Pushing open the door to Ronan's room, they saw that Ronan's complexion had improved even more since the daytime. He was sitting up against the headboard with a gentle smile on his face.

Marc stood by the bed with his back to the door, seemingly having a quiet conversation with Ronan.

He'd changed out of his daytime formal wear into simple dark casual clothes, but still couldn't hide the deep fatigue in his features and the cold aura that hadn't completely dissipated yet from handling bloody business.

Hearing the door open, Marc turned around.

"Marc!"

As soon as Chase saw him, his eyes lit up instantly. Without caring that there were others in the room, he immediately called out and rushed to Marc's side at a speed that didn't seem possible for someone with an arm in a sling.

He looked Marc up and down carefully, as if to confirm he was completely unharmed, his voice full of undisguised concern. "How are you? Are you okay? Chris said someone attacked you? Are you hurt? Huh?"

Although they'd only been apart for a day, to Chase it felt like a long year had passed.

During this day, he'd experienced the wild joy of winning the championship, but more than that was the constant worry about Marc being in danger. Only he knew that kind of torment.

Marc looked at Chase's urgent and worried expression, at his arm hanging in a sling, and felt the pure concern in his words. The tension that had been wound tight all day and the gloom accumulated in his heart seemed to instantly dissipate quite a bit.

On his tired face, a genuine and warm smile appeared involuntarily, reaching his eyes and softening his somewhat hard features.

"I'm fine."

Marc's voice carried a trace of hoarseness but was unusually gentle. He even lightly patted Chase's uninjured shoulder, reassuring him, "Just a small incident, already resolved. Don't worry about me."