Her Rebirth.-Chapter 101

"What are you doing here, Father?" Mason said with a clearly forced smile.

Grandfather Cosgrove scoffed in disdain. "I leave the reins of the Cosgrove family in your hands and this is what happens?"

Mason gritted his teeth, his fists clenched by his sides. frёeωebɳovel.com

"I will take care of it. You didn’t need to come."

"So that you would completely destroy the Cosgrove family, huh?" Grandfather Cosgrove roared in anger. "Just like you ruined your home!"

"Father, please don’t bring my family into this. And besides, there would have been no home to be ruined in the first place if you had just let me marry Eve instead of forcing me to marry Rose!"

Mason, realizing what he had just said, sighed deeply. Then he turned to the secretary. "Leave us."

As she stepped out silently, Mason faced his father, trying to steady his voice. "Father, what is going on is clearly an attack against the Cosgrove family and the Blackwood family. It’s not something I could have anticipated easily. And the enemy is not to be underestimated either."

"Have you found the attacker?"

"No... Father."

Grandfather Cosgrove’s expression darkened. He took a slow step forward, the tip of his cane tapping against the floor with every movement.

"No?" he echoed coldly. "You haven’t found the attacker. You haven’t controlled the fallout. And you expect me to sit back and watch while everything I built is dragged through the mud? Or are you going to blame me for this too?"

"I said I will handle it."

"You’ve been handling it for a week," Grandfather Cosgrove snapped. "And what has that gotten us? Ruined reputation? Investors pulling out? Partners doubting our every word? Do you know what they’re saying about us now? That the Cosgroves are no longer a threat. That we’ve grown old and irrelevant."

Mason stayed silent, bitterness simmering inside him.

"If you do not get this under control, Mason, I will take back the reins. You’ve had your time to prove yourself. I handed you power, and I watched you waste it."

"I didn’t waste it," Mason bit out. "You think this is easy? That I haven’t bled for this family? That I haven’t sacrificed?"

"I think you got comfortable," Grandfather Cosgrove interrupted. "And you let your guard down. You want to be feared and respected just like me, but you forget that power isn’t just inherited, it’s maintained. And right now, you’re losing it."

A heavy silence settled between them, the air filled with the obvious conflict between them.

Then, Grandfather Cosgrove turned toward the large window overlooking the city skyline.

"I built this empire from ash. I laid it brick by brick. I buried men to see it rise. If I must crawl out of my grave to protect it again, I will."

He looked over his shoulder.

"You have one week, Mason. One. Clean this mess up. Or I take everything back—and once I do, you will never get it back again."

...

After Amelia and Mason came back from Country C, the first thing they did was pick Poppy up from Annie’s place. The moment the cat saw Amelia, he let out a disapproving meow, as if personally offended by the abandonment, before hopping gracefully into her arms and curling up like he’d been waiting for this reunion his whole life. Then they went home.

Currently, they were on the sofa, cuddling, with Amelia’s head resting on Kai’s chest and his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close while watching TV.

Then the broadcast changed.

"Breaking News: Is this the fall of Country A’s two corporate giants, The Cosgrove and the Blackwood Empires?"

Amelia’s eyes widened a bit in surprise. The screen showed crashing stock charts, protestors outside corporate buildings, and interviews with financial analysts predicting a massive economic shake-up.

She sat up a little with a small frown. "What...?"

She turned to Kai, but froze when she saw the expression on his face. He wasn’t surprised—far from it. Instead, there was an evil smirk resting on his lips and a gloating glint in his eyes.

So she asked, "Do you know anything about this?"

Kai didn’t look at her at first. His gaze remained on the screen, and his smile deepened. "Just imagine," he said smoothly, "a certain someone decided to take revenge against the people who hurt him... and the one he loves."

Amelia narrowed her eyes. "That certain someone... is you, right?"

He finally turned to her, his grin spreading wider, with his chin raised in pride. "Mm, guilty."

"But the Song family’s power is concentrated in Country C," she said slowly, trying to piece it together. "How could you—"

"I own ED," Kai cut in casually.

Her lips parted in disbelief. "ED? The tech company that’s been dominating headlines these past three years?"

He nodded, clearly enjoying her stunned expression.

Amelia let out a low laugh and then said, "Funny enough, I’m not even surprised. You’ve revealed so many things to me that I’m just immune to them now."

Kai chuckled, then brushed a hand through her hair. "Butterfly," he murmured, "are you happy too? Just like me?"

Amelia leaned her head back on his chest, her fingers tracing invisible circles on his shirt. "I don’t really feel anything," she said truthfully. "It’s not like I ever loved that family, but I’ve never really felt anything for them either," because she wasn’t the real Amelia. She paused. "But..."

"But?" he echoed.

She bit her lip. "I’m a bit worried about Ray."

Kai’s smile faded just slightly. He brought his fingers under her chin and tilted her face toward him. "You don’t have to worry about Ray," he said sweetly. "I would never let the Cosgrove family fall completely. Just for your sake. And as for Ray—" his eyes fell, "—I’ll take care of him. He won’t be dragged down with the rest."

Amelia searched his gaze for a moment, then simply nodded and relaxed back into him. Poppy gave a small purr. And just like that, their quiet life continued.