Chapter 73

Chapter 73

When Victor pushed the door open, Lucas was sitting in a large leather office chair, a pen between his fingers, frowning as he reviewed the mountain of documents piled on his desk.

He was dressed sharply in a suit, his expression cold and stern, signing papers with smooth, flowing movements that showed the absolute rationality and ruthlessness of a capitalist.

Victor sat down on the guest sofa, quietly sizing up the man before him.

Sylvia had nearly gone into premature labor last night and was still lying weak in the hospital recovering, yet Lucas, her husband, wasn't staying by her bedside. Instead, he was completely focused on work, totally ignoring her brush with danger.

Though Victor was a profit-driven businessman, he had his own principles.

Watching Lucas's cold-blooded attitude, completely indifferent to whether Sylvia lived or died, Victor felt an inexplicable wave of strong discomfort.

"The Spencer Group acquisition—you really planning to keep fighting this hard?" Victor lit a cigarette and broke the silence first through the haze of smoke.

Lucas didn't even look up, his pen slashing across the paper with sharp strokes. "The Spencer Group matter, the Smith Group will see it through to the end. If Bluewater Capital insists on interfering, I don't mind playing along."

His tone was unquestionable, carrying an almost obsessive stubbornness.

Victor flicked his ash, looking at him with a half-smile. "All because of something Lynn said, you're turning the business world upside down, even willing to sacrifice your own wife and child. Lucas, have you lost your mind?"

Lucas's hand froze, the pen tip bleeding a heavy blot of ink on the paper.

He looked up, his deep eyes churning with a dark, cold light, staring coldly at Victor. "This is my family business, not your place to comment. Since the Spencer Group won't play by the rules, they should pay the price."

Watching Lucas's determined look to get involved in this competition, Victor suddenly found it somewhat laughable.

Victor didn't waste more words. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, stood up, and straightened his suit jacket.

"Since you've made up your mind, I won't disturb you anymore."

With that, he turned and strode out of the CEO's office.

With the dull sound of the door closing, Victor stepped into his private elevator.

Watching the descending numbers, the last trace of hesitation in his eyes vanished completely.

Lynn wanted to use him to suppress the Spencer Group, Lucas wanted to use the Spencer Group to establish his authority, but he, Victor, had never been anyone's pawn.

The Spencer Group's quality assets were very attractive to him—there was no reason for him to push away profits delivered to his door just to cooperate with this couple's private grudges.

The elevator doors opened on the first floor. Victor walked out of the lobby, pulled out his phone and called his secretary, his voice calm and decisive. "Bypass all the eyes and ears of the Johnson Group and the Smith Group. Contact the Spencer family immediately. Go with the Spencer Group's original asking price. By the end of today, I want the acquisition contract for the Spencer Group secretly finalized."

Victor moved extremely fast.

In just half a day, all the agreements for acquiring the Spencer Group were quietly pushed through.

When the news reached the Johnson Manor, Lynn was sitting at her vanity selecting jewelry for her afternoon meeting with Lucas.

Hearing her assistant's trembling report, the smugness on her face instantly cracked. She violently threw the priceless diamond necklace in her hand onto the floor.

"Has Victor lost his mind?!" Lynn shrieked hysterically.

She didn't even touch up her makeup, storming over to Victor's company in her high heels.

The CEO office secretary couldn't stop this spoiled heiress at all and could only watch helplessly as she shoved open the heavy wooden door.

"Victor, what exactly do you mean by this?" Lynn rushed to the desk, slamming both hands heavily on the surface, glaring with red-rimmed eyes at the man sitting in the executive chair. "You clearly promised me you'd kill the Spencer Group's evaluation! Now you've gone and acquired the Spencer Group without a word—are you deliberately humiliating me?!"

Victor was reviewing a merger proposal in his hands, not even looking up.

He calmly signed his name at the end, then casually set down his pen and looked up at the hysterical woman before him.

"Ms. Johnson, this is a company, not a place for you to throw tantrums." Victor's voice was flat but carried an unquestionable coldness. "The Spencer Group's assets are excellent quality. Since Bluewater Capital has already set its sights on the Spencer Group, I have no reason to push away profits delivered to my door just because of your petty personal grudges."

"You—" Lynn was left pale-faced by his merciless words. She was used to being pampered by men and had never been treated so coldly.

"I don't care! Cancel the acquisition right now!" She bit her teeth, tears welling in her eyes, trying to use her usual act of weakness to get him to compromise. "Do you know how that bitch Sylvia bullied me? If you don't cancel it, I'll tell my mom!"

Victor watched her unreasonable behavior, a flash of undisguised annoyance in his eyes.

"Lynn, put away those childish tricks. Businessmen care about profit. I'm not Lucas—I don't have the time to play games with you. Stop throwing tantrums and get out."

The man's tone was cold and hard.

Lynn stared in disbelief, her self-esteem seemingly trampled underfoot.

She bit her lower lip hard, tears finally streaming down her face. Covering her face, she ran crying out of the office.

Watching that figure disappear through the door, Victor snorted coldly.

He pressed the intercom on his desk, his voice returning to businesslike composure. "Notify the M&A team and legal department—emergency meeting in Conference Room One in ten minutes. We're moving forward with the full acquisition and handover process for the Spencer Group."

Not long after he hung up, his personal phone on the desk began vibrating.

Mia's name flashed on the screen.

A mocking look crossed Victor's eyes as he pressed answer.

"Victor, what's gotten into you today?" Mia Johnson put on her elder's airs, her tone full of protective scolding. "Lynn just came home crying, saying you bullied her for outsiders. She's been pampered by the Johnson family since childhood and can't take any grievances. Whatever business conflicts there are, you're a grown man—give her some slack. Find time soon to buy her some gifts and make it up to her."

Victor held the phone away from his ear, listening to the bossy lecture on the other end, his tone perfunctory and cold. "Mrs. Johnson, I have an important company meeting. As for Ms. Johnson, you'll have to handle that yourself."

Before Mia could react, he hung up directly.

The office door was pushed open again.

This time, it was Lucas who entered, bringing with him an icy chill.