Chace looked at his son and thought the bank manager was right. Instead of begging others, he should manage this ungrateful child. A real man can endure hardships. Once they got through this crisis, who knew what the future held?
With this in mind, Chace stared coldly at Alonso. "Pack your things and come with me. Tomorrow, we're going abroad to find Lance. You will apologize to him and beg him to spare you and the Valencia family."
"You want me to apologize to Lance?!" Alonso looked shocked and then shouted angrily, "No way!"
Even after shouting, he still felt unsatisfied and continued to glare at Chace with rage. "I'd rather die than apologize to Lance!"
Chace's face darkened as he looked at his son. "You caused this mess. If you don't apologize, do you want the Valencia family's three generations of hard work to go down the drain?"
These words choked Alonso's anger. No matter how arrogant he was, he knew that all his achievements and capital were built on the existence of the Valencia family. This was why, despite being rejected by business partners every day, he had swallowed his pride and followed his father to beg for help.
The father and son stood on the street in a tense standoff, drawing the attention of passersby. After a long while, Alonso finally lowered his head.
"I won't apologize, but I have a way to get funds."
"What way?" Chace looked at him skeptically.
Alonso's face was grim. "I have my methods. If that doesn't work, I have business marriage as an option. You can start picking eligible brides from wealthy families domestically or abroad. As long as her family can offer us help, I'll marry her."
After saying this, he turned and left without waiting for his father's reaction.
By the time Chace snapped out of it, Alonso was nowhere in sight.
Alonso didn't go anywhere else; he took a taxi straight to Cody Group.
"Miss Cody, the president of Explority Group is downstairs. He says he has an appointment with you."
In Bella's office, the assistant stood respectfully in the center of the room reporting.
Bella frowned immediately upon hearing this.
Without thinking, she refused, "I don't have an appointment with him. Send him away."
"Yes."
The assistant left with her orders.
Soon, she arrived at the lobby downstairs and politely said to Alonso, "Mr. Valencia, Miss Cody says she has no appointment with you."
Alonso wasn't surprised by this response. He had anticipated that Bella wouldn't see him so easily. He intended to start politely before resorting to force.
Ignoring the assistant, he took out his phone and called Bella directly. Unsurprisingly, Bella didn't answer.
Looking at his phone after it was hung up on, Alonso smirked coldly and sent a message: "You have one minute to reconsider. If you don't see me now, I'll release news of our engagement online later!"
As expected, Bella was furious when she saw this message but found herself unable to refuse.
In the end, she had Alonso brought up.
As soon as he entered her office, Alonso walked straight towards Bella.
Bella glared at him.
"Alonso, what do you want?"
"I'm here to ask for your help," Alonso said without any trace of humility.
Bella gritted her teeth in anger and guessed his intentions.
She sneered coldly, "I advise you not to waste your effort. The Cody family will not cooperate with you!"
The fate of the Valencia family was sealed; no amount of struggle would change that. Moreover, in recent days, her family had been working on plans to encroach upon Valencia family's business territory.
Alonso wasn't aware of this.
He looked at Bella indifferently and pulled a chair over with his foot before sitting down opposite her with a relaxed demeanor.
"No problem if you don't want to cooperate; just give me three billion dollars."
"Ha! Are you daydreaming?" Bella laughed angrily at his audacity.
Unfazed, Alonso leaned forward slightly with a cold smile. "Bella, I'm not joking. If your Cody family doesn't want to get involved in this mess, fine by me-but you'll have to pay me. What do you think Lance or the Mercer family would do if they found out about your involvement in my actions?"
At these words, Bella's gaze turned icy cold.
She glared at him fiercely and gritted her teeth. "Are you threatening me?"
"If that's how you want to see it," Alonso replied smugly as he leaned back in his chair with undisguised satisfaction on his face. "Just three billion dollars for your Cody family's safety."
Bella remained silent but continued staring daggers at him.
The atmosphere in the office grew increasingly oppressive.
After an indeterminate amount of time passed by silently, Bella finally laughed.