Chapter 781: Clear message to make people react fast.
Catrin tried to stop Arwen from holding her back. But just as she took a step, the stationed men stepped forward to block her way, closing the door in her face.
"Arwen —" she called, but it was already too late. The door was already closed, and Arwen had already distanced herself so much that she could never get close to her back.
And for the first time, Catrin realized it.
"No," she muttered to herself, shaking her head. "No, Arwen, you are still my daughter. You can’t simply decide not to be. You don’t have the right. You can’t fail me as a mother. You can’t."
Meanwhile, inside the house, Arwen walked back towards Brenda’s casket. Idris watched with a serious expression, his brows tight. "Princess, what were you telling Catrin? What did she do to you?"
Idris had tried to hear, but they were standing far distance to hear anything properly. He heard Arwen saying something, but he couldn’t catch the details of it.
Arwen stared at him. Her gaze darted to look at Aiden, who was staring back at her with the same question, carrying the worry and concern that she very well recognized.
To be honest, she didn’t want to carry the secret alone. She wanted to tell them everything, but ... she paused.
Her eyes shifted to look back at the casket, inside which her grandmother was resting. This didn’t seem to be the right time.
"I am fine, Dad," she said, shaking her head at him. "Now is not the time to discuss this. Granna is here. Let her rest in peace."
Idris’s brows didn’t ease. He watched his daughter and felt there was something that wasn’t right ... something that he wasn’t aware of. He wanted to know, but when Arwen mentioned Brenda, he realized she was right.
Now wasn’t the time.
He nodded to her in understanding. But he had no plans of letting it go. So, he told her, "We will discuss this later."
Arwen nodded again. She had no plans of hiding ... or keeping any secrets anymore. She knew she didn’t have many people around her who cared. But whoever was there, she wanted to keep them aware of the things, so that they wouldn’t ever feel betrayed.
————
In New York City —
Caden hurled his secretary’s working tablet onto the marble floor, the loud crack echoing through the specious office. "What do you mean there is nothing we could do anymore?"
His secretary flinched a little at his sharp tone, but then, composing himself, he quickly replied. "Sir, all our partners and investors have exited. They are not up for any kind of negotiation. Even our suppliers are refusing to engage. In a situation like this, no matter how solid our plan is, we can’t turn things around. The Martin Group is on the brink of collapse."
Caden slammed his palm against the desk. "We are Martins! We carry the generations of legacy. How could they turn their backs on us overnight?" He gritted. It’s been merely a few weeks since he was able to stablize everything, but just as everything got better, things turned like this again.
He couldn’t understand the reason behind it. Until there is someone behind it.
His brows furrowed and his fingers curled into fists as he barked, "Go and check if things have turned against our favour, or has someone been behind it all?"
Usually, they would have checked it earlier. But since last night, they hadn’t had any time to go into details. They were just too busy, salvaging the projects that were getting cancelled one after another.
The secretary nodded and quickly retreated to find out. He barely took five minutes before returning.
Caden frowned when he saw him at the door. "Didn’t I ask you to go and find out? Why are you back again?"
"Sir ..." The secretary’s hesitant voice only made Caden’s eyes go sharper. "I already found the person behind it."
Caden’s frown deepened. Already found. That could only mean one thing —the person targeting them wasn’t hiding in the dark. They are attacking openly and with full confidence.
"Who is behind it?" he asked, even though in his heart he could guess it already.
"Aiden Winslow," the secretary answered before adding, "Yesterday, he announced blacklisting each and every one who associates with us. And he didn’t just limit it to words. He started proving it right the second after."
It was a clear message, meant to make people react fast —and they had.
Caden wanted to roar, but he realised roaring and venting out like that wouldn’t help. He needed to stop it as fast as he could; otherwise, given the state they were in, by morning, Martin would be nothing more than a name with no legacy left behind.
He grabbed his phone and quickly dialled Aiden’s number. However, the very next second, the call was forwarded to voicemail. He pulled the phone away and tried again. But the response never changed.
"Forward me his secretary’s number," Caden barked, frustrated to his core.
The secretary fumbled with his phone. "Y-yes, sir," he stammered before forwarding Emyr’s number.
Caden dialled again and giving him a flicker of hope, and the rings went through this time —but no one answered. The call rang out before disconnecting.
"Sir, shall I try?" the secretary asked cautiously. But instead of replying to him, Caden redialled the number himself, pressing his phone back to his ears.
Just like before, the rings went through again. But this time, when it was about to drop, the call finally connected.
"Hello!" came Emyr’s calm voice through the line.
"Hello, Ethan!" Caden greeted quickly, trying his best to mask his desperation. "I need to talk to your boss now. Put Aiden on the call." His words carried a deliberate layer of arrogance that didn’t quite match the tone of his voice.
Emyr paused for a second, saying nothing.
Impatient, Caden snapped, "Did you hear me? I —"
However, before he could finish, Emyr’s indifferent tone cut him off. "May I know who this is?"