In the VIP ward, Old Ashley's gaze fell on the two children after Deanna left. "Tell me, what is your mommy hiding from me?"
The two children exchanged glances.
Chloe looked at her brother, indicating she wanted to tell Great-grandma the truth.
But as before, she was refused.
Gregory put on an innocent smile and said, "Great-grandma, what are you talking about? How could mommy be hiding anything from you?"
Unbeknownst to him, the more he acted this way, the more convinced the old lady became of her suspicions.
"Enough with the evasions. I raised you two myself. One look at you and I know what you're thinking. Did your mommy and daddy have a fight?"
The old lady voiced her guess.
The two children looked at each other.
As they hesitated whether to speak or not, Old Ashley's voice sounded again, "Also, your mommy's company has always been managed by your daddy. Now that she has to handle things herself, don't you find it strange?"
With these words, the children were left with no way to refute and finally told the truth.
"Mommy and daddy had a fight and are breaking up."
"Breaking up?" Old Ashley was shocked and found it hard to believe.
When Deanna had her accident, Lance never gave up looking for her. How could they break up over a fight now?
The children didn't know what the old lady was thinking. They moved closer to her and said eagerly, "Great-grandma, we don't want daddy and mommy to break up. Do you have any way to stop them from fighting?"
Coming back to her senses, Old Ashley met their expectant eyes and said, "I'll ask your mommy what's going on when she returns later."
"Great-grandma, please don't tell her we told you. Otherwise, mommy will scold us," Gregory reminded her.
The old lady glanced at him and nodded with a smile.
Meanwhile, Deanna took Nightingale to the company.
As soon as she got out of the car, her assistant, who had been waiting for a long time, quickly approached. "Ms. Jones, all project leaders are already waiting in the conference room."
"I know. Let's go up."
Deanna nodded and led the way into the company.
In the conference room, after a brief greeting, they began discussing business.
"Currently, we have received news from suppliers that the core materials for our three electronic chips will see a price increase. The accounting department's budget shows that if prices rise, costs will be two percent higher than before. Combined with current industry competition pressures, we may face losses."
"Additionally, the marketing team found out this morning that market prices for materials haven't increased. Only our suppliers are raising prices."
The project leader reported their findings.
Deanna listened intently but internally marveled at Lance's competence.
Lance had already informed her of this in the car and even knew things her employees didn't.
Feigning ignorance, she asked, "Have we found out why they're raising prices?"
"We're still investigating," one of the leaders replied.
Deanna said, "Never mind the reason. Breaching contracts during cooperation is unacceptable. Have the marketing department find a reliable supplier within two days. We can offer a ten percent price increase but with one condition: prices must follow market rates. If they raise prices arbitrarily during our cooperation, they must compensate us three times the project cost."
"Is that feasible?"
"Yes, it's usually the supplier seeking cooperation from us. This is the first time I've heard of compensation from our side."
The leaders discussed among themselves.
Deanna calmly said, "Whether it works or not, let the marketing department negotiate. Any sensible decision-maker will know this is a good deal. Our company's reputation speaks for itself. Partnering with us benefits them more, especially since we have an established family backing us."
These weren't her own thoughts; she was merely relaying Lance's messages selectively based on the situation.
Unaware of this, after some consideration, everyone agreed with Deanna's approach. It combined authority and kindness, making it clear that only a fool would pass up such a beneficial partnership.
That day, Vortex Technology made its arrangements.
Eula received the news immediately but wasn't concerned about it.
She cared about one thing only.
"Are you sure Lance didn't intervene?"
She looked uncertainly at Avery.
Avery nodded. "According to information from Deanna's company, Lance didn't attend today's meeting and has returned all authority to Deanna. Also, the suppliers we're monitoring haven't received any warnings from Lance. I think they might really be breaking up."
Though Avery said this, Eula still felt uneasy.