Cherished By Seven Sisters by Melvin Houle

Thump! The second the words were out of Emrys’ mouth, Benedict went onto his knees. Even though he was not there when the media were attacking Cordelia, he was still afraid. The wrath of Empyrean Lord was not something the Sheldon family could withstand. He had to do everything he could to gain Empyrean Lord’s forgiveness. Thump! Thump! Thump! Seeing that the head of the Sheldon family had already gone on his knees, the rest of the reporters dared not continue to stand and went on their knees as well. It was a grand sight to behold. Emrys walked over to Gavin and asked icily, “Don’t you have anything to say?” “I-I’ll confess it all. Everything I said earlier was a lie. Kane said he was going to help me pay back my debt,” Gavin clarified everything with a shaky voice. He was quaking, both physically and mentally. Another person who was trembling with him was Benedict. Every time Gavin mentioned Kane’s name, Benedict would give himself a harsh slap as he desperately wished to skin Kane alive. Right then, Tobias crawled over to Cordelia and sobbed, “Ms. Youngblood, I’m sorry! Please give me a chance! I have a family to provide for…” “Aren’t you supposed to be as stubborn as a mule?” Cordelia scoffed. “I…” Tobias was filled with nothing but regret. Cordelia turned to Angelina and Henry and said, “Since you’re determined to leave Cordelia Group, I won’t ask you to stay. Good luck with your future endeavors.” The two people’s breaths hitched. Crossing Cordelia was akin to crossing South River King. What company in the South River District would dare to employ them after this incident? Cordelia’s blessing was indeed a sarcastic remark. After many twists and turns, the product launch was finally over. All the reporters decided to keep the interview a secret. No one dared to write any articles about what had happened that day. As for the promotion of Cordelia Group’s new product, was there really a need to promote Cordelia Group’s products when their orders made by South River King and various wealthy families totaled close to ten billion? Meanwhile, on the top floor of Cordelia Group’s office, Osmond was humbly speaking to the young man before him. “Empyrean Lord, were my arrangements to your satisfaction?” Emrys nodded. “Not bad. It was grand enough.” When Osmond heard that, a smile appeared on his face. He looked nothing like South River King at that moment. Instead, he seemed more like a child who had been praised by his teacher for receiving full marks on his test. Osmond reveled in Emrys’ praise for a while before recomposing himself. “Empyrean Lord, about Allure Group…” “There’s no need for it to exist anymore.” If Allure Group had been sticking to the rules and competing against Cordelia Group normally, Emrys would not have intervened. However, Allure Group had resorted to lowly tricks, and for that, Emrys would not let them off. Allure Group had to go. It was not that Emrys was not merciful but that Allure Group was the one who had crossed the line first. Emrys truly did not know what would have happened to Cordelia if he had not been around that day. In a somber tone, Osmond said, “I understand. I’ll inform the heads of the families to blacklist Allure Group.” After that, Osmond handed Emrys a black card. “Empyrean Lord, this is the obsidian card by the Chanaea Chamber of Commerce. This is available for use across the country, so please have this.” “Thank you.” Emrys was not short of money, but seeing it was a gift from Osmond, he accepted the black card in the end. After a beat, Emrys recalled something important and asked, “Any news about the fire at Sunshine Children’s Home fifteen years ago?” He had asked Osmond to look into the matter the day before. It had only been a day since then, so he was not expecting any positive answers from Osmond. To his surprise, Osmond nodded. “I do, Empyrean Lord.” As expected of the first person who realized who Emrys truly was—Osmond was efficient. “I looked into Prime Realty and found the contractor who was in charge of the process back then. According to him, they were indeed the ones behind that fire.” Osmond had to use the stick-and-carrot approach to get that contractor to spill the beans and give him the answer he wanted. Nevertheless, Emrys did not care about how Osmond had received the information. He only cared about the results. Once he heard that Prime Realty really had something to do with the fire, a frigid look appeared in his eyes. “Prime Realty must have a death wish. Who is the mastermind behind this?” “Gerald Chalker,” Osmond replied. “He’s a member of the Chalker family from the North River District. His main business is in real estate, and over ninety percent of the real estate resources are under his control in the North River District. But…” “But what?” “My main influence is in the South River District. I won’t be able to help out in North River District,” Osmond said with a wry chuckle. Jadeborough was located in a unique spot. It was surrounded by water, and there was a river that flowed in between the land from the west to the east, splitting Jadeborough into two parts—a northern region and a southern region. To the south of the river was South River King’s territory, and the most influential family to the north of the river was the Chalker family. After a moment of contemplation, Emrys said, “It’s fine. I have a way around this. Where is Gerald Chalker right now?” “According to my information, he should be in the state, Nuthana, now.” “Nuthana?” “Yes. The mid of next month—the fifteenth of August—will be Old Mr. Chalker’s sixtieth birthday. Gerald has taken a trip to Nuthana to prepare a gift for him.” “He’s devoted to his family, huh?” Emrys sneered. The fire had nearly killed him and the ladies back then. It even tormented Walter for so many years. This was a score Emrys was going to settle no matter what. Still, since Gerald was in Nuthana, Emrys would let him have one more month of freedom. “I’ll be giving you a luxurious gift on the fifteenth of August, Chalkers. Do you dare to take it?” Emrys uttered dangerously, his hands behind his back and his eyes narrowed. Osmond’s heart lurched. Something massive was certainly going to happen in the North River District on the fifteenth of August. Angelina was in a crestfallen daze after leaving the Cordelia Group building. When she saw a stray dog barking maniacally at her on the street, she gave in to her urges and threw a stone at it. “How dare you laugh at me too, you stupid dog?” “Awoo!” The stray dog let out an anguished cry before fleeing. The action did not bring any comfort to Angelina, nevertheless. With the current situation she was in, she was just like that stray dog. Great sorrow bubbled in her chest. “Darn this! Cordelia Youngblood, all you did was get into South River King’s good books! Your pretentious character disgusts me!” Angelina assumed that South River King had only helped Cordelia out because he was in some kind of secretive relationship with Cordelia. Furthermore, Emrys was Cordelia’s toy boy. The trio’s relationship, to Angelina, was an immoral one. Angelina resented her defeat. She gritted her teeth and made a call. “Dad, I’ll marry into the Chalker family right away!”