Chapter 111

Chapter 111

Chase had worked beside Benjamin for so many years—he understood his boss's personality better than anyone.

When it came to business, Benjamin was absolutely uncompromising and maintained a zero-tolerance policy.

But with people who'd stayed by his side all these years, he could never bring himself to be truly ruthless.

It was a matter of principle.

Chase's competence—Benjamin definitely appreciated that.

"Then you should head home and rest early too."

As he said this, he seemed to realize something, looking at Benjamin with an awkward hesitation.

"Actually, I think this can't go on forever. The way I see it, you and Mrs. White have a misunderstanding. If you could just clear it up, it'd be better for both of you."

But that was precisely the problem—too much had come between them. It couldn't possibly be resolved overnight.

"I know. Let's talk about it after this period passes."

Without question, he'd ultimately chosen another approach.

Avoidance.

Chase seemed to read his thoughts and couldn't help shaking his head helplessly.

Still, as a secretary, talking about work was one thing—but personal matters? As an outsider, it wasn't his place to comment.

After he left, Benjamin was alone in the office.

The late night was quiet, but Silverlight City's streets remained bustling with traffic.

The White Group occupied the prime location in the city center. From Benjamin's floor-to-ceiling windows, he had a perfect view of the city's most vibrant scenes.

His phone rang. Benjamin pulled it out, and seeing the caller ID made him furrow his brow.

Samuel.

When had that man ever reached out on his own initiative? It was never about anything but 'that same old mess.'

Though now, it probably also involved Evelyn.

Out of curiosity—or perhaps other concerns—he didn't reject the call. He answered it.

After connecting, he put the phone on speaker and set it on the nearby desk. He remained standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the distant view, his eyes carrying a hint of coldness.

When the call first connected, no one spoke. After a moment, Samuel finally broke the silence.

"Getting my call—you must be pretty surprised."

Benjamin didn't respond to that question. Instead, he said coldly, "Whatever you want, just say it directly. Don't waste my time here."

He and Samuel—from the very beginning, they'd never been the kind of friends who could have a decent conversation.

Too much stood between them. It wasn't exactly some deep blood feud, but there was simply no going back to how things were.

"Actually, I'm sure you've already guessed. Benjamin, what you did today was really too much. I believe anyone would find it intolerable, so right now I just want to give you one piece of advice—stop while you're ahead. It'll be better for both you and her."

Before Benjamin could speak, Samuel continued, "Don't worry, I have no intention of stealing your wife. I'm just saying this as your former friend—seeing you in this state really isn't good. Between Amelia and Evelyn, you'll have to make a choice eventually. And from what I can see, you don't seem as biased toward Amelia as you were at first."

Benjamin's patience had completely evaporated. "Enough. What I choose to do doesn't require any explanation to you. Samuel, I hear the Harris family's been having a lot of problems lately. If you don't want to get dragged down with them, I'd suggest you get out of here as soon as possible. That'd be better for everyone, don't you think?"

By now, the major families of Silverlight City had all firmly established their roots, each developing in drastically different directions.

Some families were thriving more than ever. Others were steadily declining.

Take the Harris family, for instance—these past two years, they were nowhere near as formidable as before. Many families, after learning the story between Benjamin and Samuel, had chosen to side with Benjamin and abandon Samuel.

Under these circumstances, the feud between the two families only deepened—though it hadn't reached the point of wishing each other dead.

"I understand what you're getting at. Basically, I'm no longer capable of being your enemy. In your eyes, I'm not as prestigious as I used to be, so anyone can step all over me now. Am I right, Benjamin?"

There was even a hint of self-mockery in his tone. Benjamin couldn't be bothered to acknowledge it.

"Whatever happens to you has nothing to do with me. I don't care about any of this, and I don't need to explain my intentions to you."

Evelyn's face involuntarily surfaced in his mind. If those things hadn't happened before, perhaps the two of them wouldn't have ended up like this.

But some choices had been made from the very beginning. By the time you wanted to turn back, you realized it was already too late.

Benjamin snapped back to reality and walked to his desk, picking up his phone.

"Samuel, if you were still the man you used to be, I'd definitely be wary. But now? You've lost that edge. The way I see it, if you've become a coward who only tries to disturb your enemy's peace of mind with these kinds of tactics, then frankly, it's pathetic. Anyway, it's getting late. I look forward to seeing you next time—and I hope by then, you'll be in better shape than you are now."

Benjamin hung up first.

On the other end, Samuel seemed to have anticipated this. The corner of his mouth curved into a faint smile.

"Of course. I should've known better than to expect anything decent to come out of that mouth."

But what he wanted to do wasn't finished yet.

The next second, Samuel sent Chase a message.

[Remember to tell your boss—during this race, I'm going to make him see clearly whether Amelia is actually worth it or not.]

The All-Star Racing Competition would take place in one week.

Benjamin learned this news from Chase the next day.

In that instant, Benjamin understood why Samuel had chosen that particular moment to call him yesterday. Everything had a traceable motive.

After Amelia got the news, naturally, she didn't sit idle either. She rushed to the White Group at the first opportunity.

Full of anticipation and confidence, she said, "Benjamin, don't worry. I'll definitely win this competition for the White Group. You don't need to feel any pressure—Samuel is absolutely no match for me."

But after she finished speaking, she noticed Benjamin's expression showed no reaction whatsoever. He even looked somewhat unhappy. For a moment, she didn't understand. Puzzled, she asked, "Benjamin, what's wrong? Did something happen? You have to tell me."