The Unstoppable Comeback Of the Unrivaled Ex-Wife-Chapter 367 - 363

"Hmph, you crafty, conniving man!"

Joanna could not even guess what Vernom was scheming right now, and she was no longer in the mood to skirt around the subject, so she told him point-blank, "Just tell me what you want. If it’s something that’s within my power, then I’ll try my best to do anything you like."

"Marry me!" Vernom half-joked with a faint smile.

"Don’t even dream about it!" Joanna refused without even thinking.

It was not the first time the guy made such a shamelessly preposterous proposal to her, and it was certainly not the first time she refused him. As time passed, such a gesture no longer affected her. The only thought that crossed her mind now was that Vernom was deliberately looking for a chance to get beaten up.

"I just knew that you’d say no," Vernom clutched his chest as if Joanna’s answer had deeply wounded him.

"If you keep on acting crazy like that," Joanna warned him coldly, her fists tightly clenched, "then I’m not going to hold back any longer. Tell me exactly what you want to do and get straight to the point this time!"

"Okay, okay! Jeez, I get it, you scary tigress..."

The playful look on Vernom’s face then disappeared, only to be replaced by a serious one as he told her, "I want twenty percent of the shares of Stellar Group."

"What?!" Joanna roared so angrily that she almost lost her voice. Her delicate face turned vicious, and she ferociously added, "Twenty percent?! Do you know what owning twenty percent of the shares means? It means you’ll be the biggest shareholder, besides me! If you have the audacity to ask for that, then why don’t you just snatch the company away from me?!"

"Hey, don’t get too agitated. You’re so angry that you’re messing up your pretty face now. Come on, take a sip of the wine and calm down..."

Vernom then calmly picked up a tall wine glass and poured Joanna a glass of wine before handing it to her. He smiled and continued, "I’m not planning to take it for free. You know that my family is so rich that we don’t know what to do with our money, and Stellar Group just happens to be short of money... So if you agree, I’ll gladly pay a price five times higher than the current market value to acquire the twenty percent. I’ll never force you into something that will make you lose money."

"Oh," Joanna’s expression softened slightly once she heard what Vernom had just said. "So you’re not just taking it for free! Why didn’t you tell me that earlier? I thought you wanted the twenty percent shares in exchange for the rights to the land!"

"Do I look like such a greedy pig to you?"

"Absolutely!" Joanna replied without hesitation.

At the very least, she knew that Vernom’s family, the Baldwins, had amassed their immense wealth by force and extortion from the beginning, so as the sole heir to the family, it would not be a surprise that Vernom would inherit their penchant for that kind of brutality.

Vernom was speechless. He coughed gently and said, "Really, madam. You wound me. Don’t you have any trust in me at all?"

"So," he continued, pressing Joanna for an answer. "Do you accept these terms? Are you willing to let me be the second largest shareholder of Stellar Group?"

"It sounds like the Baldwin family is indeed very generous," Joanna replied lucidly as she took a sip of the wine, "and I can’t think of a reason to refuse the offer, except... I know there’s no free lunch in this

world. I feel like I’m biting off much more than I can chew here, so I’ll have to pass!"

Vernom’s captivating eyes darkened a little as they flashed with a complex mix of emotions. He quickly returned to his look of cynicism as he joked, "What are you afraid of? I’m offering you a prime cut of meat on a platter! It’s right in front of you now, so why not just be bold and take a huge bite? If you can’t chew it all today, then leave it for tomorrow! If you still can’t chew it all tomorrow, then leave it for the day after that! I’m sure you’ll manage to chew everything eventually! Besides, isn’t that better than refusing it and starving to death?"

"I don’t like the way you put it. Stellar Group has been developing steadily. Who told you it is starving to death?"

"You know better than anyone else whether or not it’s starving to death. Your best buddy Liam Osborne almost dragged his family into the mess just so he could get enough money to help Stellar Group stay afloat. Stellar Group is nothing but an old broken car that wouldn’t even start. Without any outside help, there’s no hope that it would ever take you anywhere..."

"But that’s only temporary!" Joanna interrupted. She wished she could retort Vernom and teach him a lesson but found that she had completely no confidence. She could only add, "You... You don’t know anything!"

Stellar Group’s current financial situation was indeed bleak. Although she believed that its future was boundless, it was now just as Vernom had said—nothing more than an old car that would not start— doubtful that it would even get them anywhere!

"Look into my eyes, Joanna..."

Vernom displayed a rare sign of seriousness as he slowly assured her, "You may distrust everyone else in the world, but you must trust me. My grandfather ordered me to help you rebuild the wealth and power of the Pierce family!"

"Grandpa Baldwin wanted you to do that?" Joanna asked, surprised.

"Why else do you think I’m here?" Vernom raised his eyebrows, then helplessly sighed. "You must know that I’m not the kind to dabble in business. If it were up to me, what I’d love to do most would be hiding in a small dark room, writing codes. If Grandpa hadn’t ordered me to do this and told me that the Pierce family was in trouble, that you were in trouble, and then commanded me to help you through this hurdle, I would’ve never bothered myself with any of this. Don’t you think that I’d make better use of my time cracking codes and hacking programs?"

"Don’t you know how many people had their greedy eyes on the land where Pierce Residence is?" he asked. "Grandpa said Pierce Residence holds great significance to the Pierce family, and he ordered me to get a hold of the land and keep it for you. If Rubio Pascal hadn’t been afraid of the Baldwin family’s power and influence, do you think he would ever let go of it?"

"So it’s Grandpa Baldwin who’s been protecting Pierce Residence for me!" Joanna uttered, still considerably shocked and moved by the old man’s kindness. She hung her head low in shame and added, "I lied to him four years ago. I thought he’d never forgive me, but it turns out that..."

"Well, you’re right that he was really angry because you promised to marry then, but you turned around and suddenly got in bed with the Morans. What you did was simply as if you trampled our name and honor, deeply humiliating us. It enraged every single member of the Baldwin family. They even tried to issue an order to have you killed so they could take revenge on you and the Moran family..."

As Vernom recalled the events that transpired four years ago, he was still struck by a lingering fear and trepidation. Judging from what he knew of his grandfather’s temperament, not only was Joanna’s life in danger, but he was sure that his grandpa even planned to kill him!

"But later," he continued, "Grandpa discovered that you’d vanished from this world, and it was uncertain whether or not you were still alive. He thought of all the tribulations you had to endure in your life and

made up his mind to forgive you. He realized that the real instigators of the whole mess were the Moran family and Ace Moran especially, not you. You were innocent!"

"And that," he concluded, "was why he ordered me to lend you a helping hand to defeat the Moran family and restore the Pierce family back to its old glory!"

Joanna felt an immense pressure bearing down on her shoulders and somberly replied, "I’m moved by Grandpa Baldwin’s well intentions, and I’m especially grateful for the squad that he sent me back then. I didn’t even manage to train them properly. I’ve failed to live up to his expectations..."

"But," she added, "I never thought of trying to defeat or exact revenge on anyone. All I want to do is to make Stellar Group stronger and more prosperous under my leadership, so I can show the world that the Pierce family is not to be looked down upon and that their descendants can be great too!"

"That’s very noble of you," Vernom chuckled, "but it’s a pity that the world of business is like the battleground for war. It’s a dog-eat-dog world. No one will play nice with you. You either kill or be killed. If the man standing here in this room today wasn’t me, do you think you’ll ever get Pierce Residence back? And what if the capital chain for Stellar Group breaks again? Where will you find the money to fix the situation then?"

Vernom’s expressions were inscrutable, but his pointed inquiry immediately threw Joanna into silence.

It was true. She had been too idealistic and naive. When the time came for Stellar Group to really be on the "battlefield," who would play nice with her then?!

"This is the equity purchase contract," said Vernom. "Think about it carefully. Are you going to rely on the powerful Baldwin family and get through this risky hurdle, or are you going to fight alone and then get eaten up until not even your bones remain? I give you three days to decide."

Then, with uncommon gravity and strength, Vernom pushed a thick stack of contract papers toward Joanna.

He was confident that a woman as smart as Joanna would make the wiser choice...