Chapter 24 "Call a meeting right now and come up with countermeasures," Maxine ordered coldly. "Also, find out where their money came from..." "No need." William suddenly cut her off, "Phillip was probably just pretending to be bought by you from the start." Maxine suddenly turned her head: "What do you mean?" William nodded, his eyes complicated: "You thought he was with the Merrow Group, but most likely, he wasn't with anyone. He was in it for himself." Maxine's brain was working fast. If that was the case, then this thing was way simpler than she thought. She suddenly grabbed her coat: "Get the car ready, we're going to the Merrow Group." William frowned, "What did you go do?" Maxine didn't even look back: "Find Reid." When Maxine pushed the door open, Reid was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his thin back looking just like a shadow. Hearing the noise, he slowly turned around, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes, then it faded into dead silence. "Rare guest." His voice was hoarse, "Ms. Valemont, you came to check the work yourself?" Maxine walked right up to him and pushed the tablet over. "Explain." Reid glanced at the screen, his brows slightly furrowed: "I didn't know about this.' "Phillip was your guy!" "Used to be." Reid looked up, his dark eyes staring right at her, "Just like I used to be yours too." Maxine's breath caught. The two of them faced off for a moment, then she suddenly took a deep breath: "I want you to help me fix this." 0.0%. 06:35 Reid was stunned. The rain outside got heavier, and the water trails on the glass twisted like tears. "Why?" he asked softly. Maxine was silent for a moment, then gave an answer that even surprised herself: "Because only you understood how the old Merrow Group worked." This wasn't the whole truth, half of the Merrow Group's former mid-level and senior staff were still working for her. But she wouldn't admit it, that the moment she saw his medical record, something cracked inside her. Reid looked at her for a long time, then suddenly smiled. His smile was tired but relieved: "Okay." He turned around, took a file from the drawer, and handed it to her: "This is the network and leverage of the former members of the Merrow Group that I put together. It should be enough for you to fight back against them." Maxine opened the file, her pupils shrinking. This info was really detailed, obviously not something put together recently. "You already saw this day coming?" Reid didn't answer, just walked over to the coat rack and took down his suit jacket: "Let's go, while I still remember how to be Mr. Merrow." His back was straight, like he suddenly got back some of his old sharpness. Maybe this was the last thing he could do for her. The Merrow Group meeting room, Maxine pushed the last file to the end of the long table. "Everyone's severance pay has been deposited." She looked around at the elders, whose faces showed different emotions, and said calmly, "From today on, the Merrow Group has nothing to do with any of you." The CFO spoke shakily, "Ms. Valemont, we've worked at the Merrow Group for thirty years..." "So you guys could leave with double compensation and some dignity." Maxine tapped her fingers on the table. "Instead of ending up like Kelsey, counting stitches on her face in prison." The meeting room went dead silent. In the corner, Reid kept his head down. The dampness from the rainy night still lingered in the creases 32.8%. 06:35 of his suit. He stayed silent the whole time, like a body with its soul drained out. After the crowd left, Reid still sat there and didn't move. "Anything else?" Maxine closed the folder. He suddenly reached out and pressed down on the file, his knuckles turning white: "We... really didn't have any chance at all?" Maxine's eyes fell on his hand-there was a fresh cut there, from when he broke the mirror the night be- fore. She remembered many years ago, young Reid climbed over the wall to bring her strawberries, got his palm cut by the wire fence but still smiled and said "It doesn't hurt." "Do you know what I was thinking in the sack that day?" she said softly, "I was thinking, if you just looked back at me, even just once..." Reid's pupils shrank sharply. "But you didn't." Maxine pulled back the file, "So my answer was no, not even a little bit." William's words suddenly came to mind. He was right, the best ending for revenge was to completely forget about it. She turned and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, sunlight breaking through the clouds and giving her outline a soft golden glow. 75.6 %. 06:35 Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!