Reborn Young Miss: Phoenix Burning Red-Chapter 284: Beg on Your Knees (1)
The pair of siblings before Lewis was something he’d never thought he would see a day that his children with Rosemary Zhao would appear before him. He’d never given them so much thought or care before, and never did he imagine that they would be the ones who would bring him trouble today.
"No matter how upset you are, you shouldn’t hit anyone recklessly like this, brother." Adrienne continued, ignoring the look their father was giving them.
"I couldn’t help it, Addie," Hunter murmured, his gaze softening as he looked at her. "How could I turn a blind eye when someone is trying to harm you?"
"Then what do you want me to do, Adrienne?" Lewis asked, sensing that his only chance to keep his position in the company was to convince Adrienne to vote for him.
Adrienne gave him a blank look, and Lewis gritted his teeth, seeing the mockery in her eyes. He wanted her to drop dead at that moment, effectively solving his dire problems. But he knew he had to maintain his composure and find a way to win her over.
"You said you were willing to do everything?" She asked in return, a devious smile gracing her red lips.
Lewis suddenly felt a chill run through his spine. He had a bad feeling about where this conversation was headed. But he couldn’t back down now. It was too late for him to take back his words.
Taking a deep breath, he replied, "Yes, Adrienne. I meant every word."
"Then beg on your knees, Mr. Jiang. Show me how sincere you are." Adrienne smiled, her eyes gleaming with mischief. She’d been anticipating something like this since she stepped into this office.
"You!" Lewis couldn’t believe what he was hearing from his daughter. He’d never felt insulted in his entire life before this. Oh, how he wished he could strangle Adrienne to death.
Adrienne chuckled and crossed her arms over her chest. She was confident that her father didn’t have enough of a backup plan for today’s meeting. He failed to secure enough shares and support from the board and the other shareholders.
"What? You said you were willing to do everything, Mr. Jiang. Those are empty words as well.
"We are wasting our time here then, Addie," Hunter muttered with annoyance before looking at Lewis.
Hunter thought it must have been hard for their mother and Adrienne to live with an incompetent and cowardly snake-like Lewis Jiang. Lewis Jiang was cowardly but selfish. He wanted everything but wasn’t willing to work for it.
"I didn’t come here today to reestablish our connection as father and son because clearly, I cannot accept someone who would be my father," Hunter said in disgust. He would rather be an orphan than acknowledge Lewis Jiang as his father.
Lewis could say nothing. It wasn’t like he expected his firstborn to acknowledge him as his father. In fact, he didn’t feel any familial affection for the man before him. Though Hunter Nian possessed some features of his Jiang family, Lewis couldn’t find it in his heart to acknowledge him as his son.
For him, Louis and Adrienne were merely stepping stones for Cayden and Elise to use in the future, but it was apparent it wasn’t the case anymore. Adrienne had changed, and Lewis had lost his absolute control over her. He cannot persuade her easily, just as he did in the past.
He looked at his children, both so different yet similar in their own ways. Adrienne was the picture of sophistication and cunning, her sharp mind always one step ahead of everyone else, while Hunter was the rebellious one, with a heart full of passion and fire.
Cayden could only glare at his sister and Hunter. He’d never felt such hatred for anyone before. All he wanted was for Adrienne and Hunter to be gone forever.
Lewis looked at his daughter and considered his options. In the end, he chose to bend his knees before Adrienne and Hunter, shocking Cayden. Was the situation they were in tough for their father to bear?
"Dad!" Cayden exclaimed in disbelief. For his father to lower himself like this insulted the entire Jiang family.
"Addie! How could you do this to your own father?!" He snarled at his sister. "This is too much! "
Adrienne merely gave him a scoff and shook her head. However, she couldn’t deny that she liked seeing her father in a desperate position. However, something was missing in her father’s reaction that couldn’t make her fully enjoy the rare sight before her.
Lewis wasn’t desperate enough and hadn’t reached the bottom yet. He was doing this only because he had no choice now. But this was enough for Adrienne for now because there was more waiting for him in the future. This wasn’t the end for the Jiang family yet.
"Too bad you aren’t sincere with your words, Mr. Jiang. You wouldn’t look me in the eyes like this if you were." Adrienne said before leaving the room without giving Lewis a chance to have another word.
Hunter turned to face their father as his sister left, who was obviously furious at Adrienne for humiliating him. He could see the vein on Lewis’s forehead throbbing with anger. Hunter knew this incident would only fuel their father’s determination to seek revenge against Adrienne.
"Do you really think Addie and I will fall for such a cheap trick?" He questioned their father. "Too bad, Mr. Jiang, you have lost this round."
He said these before following, leaving Lewis and Cayden infuriated beyond words. This meeting with Adrienne was far from their expectations. Cayden regretted not dealing with Adrienne before and ending Rosemary Zhao’s life years ago. Things wouldn’t have escalated like this if the Zhao family hadn’t taken back the investment they made after the fall of the Gu family.
An hour later, the shareholders’ meeting started, and everyone was apprehensive in their seats and looked at each other. Lewis had a dark expression on his face and was visibly upset in his seat, while Adrienne smiled happily as she conversed with Myrtle about her plans for the day.
However, as the meeting started, Chairman Qi noticed that none of the shareholders dared to speak.
"Let’s start the voting," Adrienne suggested.
Everyone waited for her to cast her vote, but in the end, she surprised them with a proposition instead.
"Why don’t we hire an outsider as the next CEO instead?" Adrienne said, "It seems Mr. Jiang has a lot on his plate right now and couldn’t focus on running the company properly!"
"Adrienne!" Lewis roared, slamming his fist hard on the table.
But his outburst was met with silence from the other shareholders. They were considering Adrienne’s suggestion, and Lewis knew that his position as CEO was in jeopardy.
"The board will take time to consider this proposal," one of the elder shareholders said after a moment of silence. "We will inform you of our decision in the coming days."
Lewis Jiang left the meeting feeling defeated and powerless. He knew he had lost control over his company, and his daughter had played a major role. Adrienne had become so cunning that even he couldn’t predict what was happening in her mind.
Cayden followed him out, seething with anger. "How could you let this happen, Father? We cannot let Adrienne take over the company! Perhaps we should ask Prosecutor Ji to intervene."
Prosecutor Ji’s son was engaged to Elise anyway, and Cayden had no doubt the Ji family wouldn’t let the Jiang family be destroyed easily. It would have been nice if Alistair Han could lend them a hand, too, but the man was currently busy dealing with the recent mishap at his company and was facing several legal charges.
"We won’t let her," Lewis said through gritted teeth. "I have other plans in motion. Father won’t allow Adrienne to ruin the legacy of our family."
It was ridiculous of Adrienne to suggest hiring someone to manage a corporation run by their family.
Cayden nodded, but deep down, he knew that his father’s plans wouldn’t be enough to stop Adrienne from taking over the company. She had become too powerful, influential, and cunning to be stopped so quickly.
As for Adrienne, she watched her father and brother leave with a triumphant smile. She knew she had won this round, but the war was far from over. She hadn’t even made a move toward Camilla yet.
Her eyes flashed with murderous intent as she thought of Camilla Yan. Her father and Camilla had underestimated her, thinking she was just a pawn in their game. Little did they know, Adrienne had been planning her revenge for years, patiently waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Camilla would soon learn that crossing Adrienne was a grave mistake, and she would pay dearly for it.
But for now, she was content knowing that she had succeeded in taking down her father and claiming her rightful place as the successor of the Jiang family. It was a bitter victory, but it was a victory nonetheless.
