Chapter 425
“No,” Emily said. Just that single word made Gale’s eyes light up, as if he’d suddenly seen hope.
But before Gale could even feel relieved, Emily said, “You’re all just strangers to me. Why would I waste my energy hating strangers?”
Gale swayed on his feet, as if the blow had hit him physically. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, he had to admit the truth that Emily’s heart had completely turned away from them.
Though it hurt, Gale took a deep breath and pushed down his emotions, his tone turning cold and hard. “If you’re going to be this heartless, then don’t blame me for being ruthless in return.
“The Bennett Group is the result of generations of hard work from the Bennett family. There’s no way I’ll ever let you change its name.”
With that, Gale dropped the gentle, loving act he’d worn when he first arrived, threw down those words, and stormed out.
Emily already knew Gale would never agree, and she was sure he’d be up to all kinds of shady tricks behind her back. But she’d been prepared, so she wasn’t worried.
Just as Emily had predicted, the press conference went smoothly. There were a few hiccups along the way, but in the end, both legally and in every other sense, Bennett Group was officially renamed Harper Group.
As soon as the press conference wrapped up, Gale was so overwhelmed with rage that his eyes rolled back and he collapsed in front of the entire crowd.
In the midst of the chaos, Emily strode past without sparing him a single glance.
She didn’t spare Gale a second thought, so she had no clue what happened to him afterward. She was way too busy, buried in work at the company.
Taking over Harper Group was pure chaos, and Emily was a total rookie. If Austin hadn’t been watching her back, the company probably would’ve fallen apart already.
Honestly, Emily didn’t even like dealing with all this business stuff. Her plan was to bring in a professional manager to run things once everything calmed down. But until then, she had to take care of most things herself.
While handling all these affairs, she kept her guard up against whatever Gale might try. After all, she’d spent eighteen years living as a Bennett. She knew just how obsessed Gale was with the company.
Even with all the power in her hands and the company’s name already changed, she knew Gale would never stop scheming to snatch it back.
Emily was prepared for anything he could throw at her, not worried about his tricks. But she was starting to get impatient. Gale was taking his sweet time and still hadn’t made a move.
Just as Emily was getting suspicious, Lucas brought word. Gale had a stroke, and he was paralyzed.
When Gale was younger, he worked himself to the bone for the Bennett family, pushing his body past its limits. That’s why he ended up passing the torch to Andrew when Andrew was still so young.
Over the years, with Andrew holding things together, Gale recovered quite a bit. But age had caught up with him, and the damage was already done.
Lately, with everything going on with Lydia and the company, he was drained, both mentally and physically. He just
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Chapter 425
couldn’t take it anymore and ended up having a stroke.
As soon as Gale collapsed, Emma, who was still recovering from her own illness, had no choice but to step up and take care of him. That left Lucas as the only one holding the family together.
Even though the Bennett family lost the company, everyone still had some shares in their hands. Thanks to the dividends, they couldn’t live as before, but at least they’d still have a roof over their heads and food on the table.
Obviously, the Bennett family wasn’t content to just settle for this kind of life. So, Lucas sought out Emily.
