The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

On the other end of the phone, Kent looked visibly distressed, "Mr. Crawley he...uh..."

He hemmed and hawed but just couldn't spit it out.

Daniel was freaking out, "Spit it out, will you? What's up with him?"

Kent bit the bullet and blurted it out, "He's totally sloshed in his office."

"He's still drinking?" He was almost driven mad with frustration, "What the heck is the PR department doing? Can't they even

release a statement?"

Kent said, "Mr. Crawley won't let them."

"He's about to run the company into the ground." Daniel couldn't help but curse up a storm, "Has he lost his mind? Not only is he

acting like a lovesick fool over a woman, but now he's dragging the whole company down with him?"

"Mr. Crawley is just,well, in a bad mood, | guess." Kent's voice grew softer, "He's such a proud man, you know? Totally successful in

every other way, but his marriage is a complete trainwreck. He just can't stomach it."

"Give him the phone." Daniel's voice turned even colder, "I need to have a word with him."

Kent hesitated, "Mr. Crawley's out cold now."

"Waste of space!" Daniel cursed and hung up the phone.

Listening to the sudden "beep" of the busy line, Kent pulled the phone away from his ear with a look of disgust and turned his gaze

to Brandon, who was calmly working at his computer, before hesitantly calling out, "Mr. Crawley?"

Brandon didn't even look up, "Not bad acting. Next the calls you, just paint as pathetic a picture ofas you can."

Kent still couldn't figure out what gBrandon was playing.

The rumors of his mysterious disappearance were released by his command. The mix of real and fake news was his doing, and the

order not to let the PR department issue any statements cfrom him as well.

He wasn't seeing anyone or taking any calls; that was true, but all the important calls and matters were redirected to him.

He was just following orders, one instruction, one move at a time.

Without explaining, Brandon said, "Send over smore booze. If he gets suspicious about my whereabouts, just say to avoid the

scandal ofgetting wasted during office hours and to protect the company's image, we had to lock down the information."

"Alright," Kent respectfully acknowledged and left.

As the door shut, Brandon finally stopped what he was doing and looked up at his computer, his eyes cool and composed as ever.

At Daniel's house, he was pacing back and forth like a cat on a hot tin roof.

He might not have seen Brandon like this before, but he was well-acquainted with Brandon's toughness and determination.

Just like the last tBrandon said if he went after Sophia once more, he'd slash his shares by 5% - and he did, just like that,

without flinching.

Daniel feared that if it continued like this, the massive company would be run into the ground by Brandon. He definitely had the

chops to do it.

Patricia tried to console him, "Theals all wounds. He might just be upset for a few days. Give it stime, and he'll be over it.

You don't need to worry."

"What's there to get over? By the the's over it, the company will be gone." Daniel retorted, not in the best mood, "What's the

use when he's better, if the family business of decades is ruined?"

"It shouldn't cto that." Patricia was still optimistic, "Brandon isn't slove-struck fool to gamble with such a big deal. He's

always responsible in his actions."

"Didn't you say the sthing when he cut the shares? That he was just talking big? And look what happened?" Daniel grew more

irritated, gesturing around, "Look at where we used to live and where we're living now. Hasn't he always followed through with his

words?"

Patricia didn't dare say more, fearing to rile him up again.

Daniel couldn't sit still any longer. "I'm going to the company to check things out." He stood up, "Kent said he's passed out drunk in

his office again; what does that look like to the outside world?"

Patricia didn't try to stop him, "Then take care of yourself, and stay calm."

Daniel ignored her, grabbed his keys, and left the house, instructing his driver to head straight for Starlight Group.

Once there, Daniel made a beeline for Brandon's office on the top floor. The door to Brandon's office was shut tight.

He didn't dare barge in, turning to Kent instead, "Mr. Crawley still in there?"

Kent glanced at him, hesitated. His expression already gave Daniel the answer.

Without asking further, Daniel darkened his face and pushed open the office door.

A strong whiff of alcohol hit him as the door opened. Daniel frowned deeply, worried that other employees might notice something

was amiss. He quickly entered and closed the door, even making sure to lock it.

There was Brandon, slumped over his desk, the picture of drunkenness.

Daniel was so mad he wanted to let rip, but when he saw the pained expression on Brandon's face, he held back.

He shook Brandon's shoulder hard, "Still sleeping? Do you have any idea what's happening outside?"

Brandon seemed to be shaken awake, his eyes bleary as he opened them, groaning in pain, completely out of it.

Daniel was so frustrated he wanted to splash the water from the cup on the desk in his face to sober him up, but when it came

down to it, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Brandon propped himself up on the desk, rubbing his temples in agony, and asked hoarsely, "Why are you here?"

"If I don't come, will there even be a company left?" Daniel snapped back, "Look at the stock prices today, how they've dropped.

There's all this buzz about you outside; why don't you just release a statement, clear the air?"

As he spoke, Daniel slammed a newspaper he bought on the way onto Brandon's desk. The front page was filled with speculations

about Brandon's whereabouts.

Brandon glanced at it lazily, and then looked at Daniel, "So it dropped, big deal. If | don't lose someworth, how can | be a

match for Sophia?"

Brandon had propped himself up on the table, staring straight at him, "You and Mrs. Crawley always wantedto find someone

who's my equal in social status, right? | gave it sthought and, considering the Sophia family's assets, catching up to our

wealth in a short tseems like a tall order. But for us to becpoor? Piece of cake. So, why not let scash slip through our

fingers? By doing the reverse, we can still achieve a sort of dynamic equilibrium of being well-matched."

Brandon continued, "Starlight Group has been on a roll for so long, and there are plenty of conglomerates out there drooling over

this juicy piece of ours. If we let out sbearish news about the company, it'll give others sshort-selling chance. It won't be

long before neither our family nor Sophia's will have anything to snub the other about."

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