Chapter 4

Faced with Aaron's question, I shrugged and replied helplessly, "There's nothing I can do about it. I've already sold off all my shares, so North Hill Corporation has nothing to do with me anymore."

Aaron gave me a sly smile and said in a lowered voice, "Others might not know, but I know you too well. You've definitely found yourself a new job."

I smiled mysteriously and didn't directly answer Aaron's question. After all, matters of strategy must be kept secret.

Dragon Cover residential district, with a total of seven phases, was the largest residential project that had come up for bidding in recent years.

North Hill Corporation couldn't take on the whole project on its own, so it had to split the profits with Millennium Corporation, each taking responsibility for a portion.

The rivalry between North Hill and Millennium went back to when Lawrence first founded North Hill.

And I used the Dragon Cove project as my stepping stone to get into Millennium Corporation. I promised them that I'd make North Hill Corporation give up its rights to the Dragon Cove project within three months.

It was summer now. By the time I entered the construction site dormitory, my clothes were already soaked through with sweat.

Over these three months, I made a point of periodically checking on the section North Hill Corporation was responsible for. After all, I genuinely couldn't remember exactly when the worker, Patrick Monroe, had met his accident.

Back then, Patrick had fallen into cement and died. To avoid paying compensation, Lance had forcibly suppressed the incident.

When the truth finally came to light, he shifted all the blame onto me, and I was forced to hold a press conference to apologize.

I recalled Patrick had a daughter called Jessica Monroe. She wore herself out chasing the truth behind Patrick's death, gradually rising to become an online influencer, and finally uncovered the truth through the strength of public support.

I came by regularly to inspect not only to prevent Patrick's death but also to leverage Jessica's power to completely crush Janelle and Lance.

However, I still wasn't sure exactly when Patrick had died.

"Wes, what are you doing here?"

Just as I was about to leave after another fruitless inspection, a voice called out from above.

I looked up and saw Theo. He was standing on tiptoe on the steel rebar.

It'd only been a week since I last saw him, but his clothes were tattered, and his face was covered in grime. He looked for all the world like an orphan.

I guessed that Janelle had taken Lance abroad and hadn't bothered to take care of Theo.

"What are you doing here? Why aren't you in school?" I asked.

Theo curled his lip and looked at me with disdain.

"I'm the future heir of North Hill Corporation, so why would I go to school and hang around with poor people? I knew I wasn't your kid. Have you even smelled yourself? You reek of poverty from head to toe."

He pretended to gag.

I was speechless. I didn't dare imagine how Janelle had been raising Theo to end up with such a personality.

I shook my head, not intending to say anything more to him.

"Wes, you're not allowed to leave. Stay here and play with me," he ordered, his tone as commanding as ever.

I turned to leave.

"You're my family's servant! How dare you disobey me?" Theo shouted at me furiously.

He was so angry that he started jumping and stomping on the rebar, completely oblivious to the danger around him.

"Mom was right! You have no sense of gratitude at all, you wretched orphan!"

The words "wretched orphan" had barely left his lips when I turned back and saw Theo lose his footing.

He fell straight down, and a gush of blood sprayed from his mouth. A rebar had impaled his chest, blood gushing from the wound.

Theo reached out his hand toward me, his eyes filled with nothing but terror.

"D-Dad, save me," he pleaded.

It was the first time he'd ever called me "Dad", only it was far too late.