Hiding Behind Her Superficiality by Kyla Olson

Chapter 551

Chapter 551

Chapter 551 Turning Your Back on Him Arthur had a strong idea in his mind that he wanted to prove. The moment he pushed the door open, he was greeted by colors that shouldn’t have belonged to Blake’s room. Margot explained next to him with some embarrassment, “This room belonged to Blake at first, but Elspeth moved in here afterward, no? That’s why she stayed in this room for a while.” As expected, it’s the same as I thought, thought Arthur. He entered the room directly, walking around before his gaze fell upon a framed illustration lying on the desk. The illustration looked adorable, and it seemed to be a casual sketch by Elspeth. He gently stroked it as a hint of tenderness flitted across his face. An uneasy thought crossed Margot’s mind when she saw him like this. Don’t tell me Arthur has feelings for Elspeth. At the thought of this, she immediately shook her head in an attempt to dispel the idea, but she couldn’t seem to get it out of her mind. In the end, she couldn’t help but ask, “Arthur, you just said you have something to discuss with Callum. What’s the matter, actually?” “It’s about the acquisition of the Winthrop Group.” Margot jumped at the word ‘acquisition.’ “Acquisition? What happened to the Winthrop Group? Why does it have to be acquired?” Arthur purposely pretended to look very sorry. “There’s no way around it. The Winthrop Group appears to be going strong under Callum’s management, but in fact, it’s already rotten to the core. I can’t just sit back and watch it go bankrupt, right? It’s Dad’s life work, after all.” He tried to make himself seem benevolent and great-hearted with these highsounding words, but how could Margot not figure out the intrigues and plots behind them? She wasn’t a fool, after all. “Arthur, you can’t do such a heartless

thing. Callum is your brother.” She tried to sound as gentle as she could. “Callum has done everything he could to look after you over so many years, you know. Do you think it’s right for you to turn your back on him at such a time?” “Me turning my back on him? Are you kidding me?” Arthur burst out laughing unashamedly. “Mrs. Winthrop, I call you ‘Mom’ out of respect, but could you have forgotten the favoritism you’ve shown over the years?” He would never forget how Margot and Theodore had Callum join the Winthrop Group as an intern and named the man the future heir to the company while forbidding him to join the company just because he wasn’t related to them by blood. They even told me falsely that they had done all of this for my own good, that I couldn’t survive at the company with my temperament, that Callum was more qualified to be the heir to the company with his steady character and would help us as much as possible. How ironic, he thought. “Since you can’t treat us equally, I’ll do whatever I can to steal it.” “Arthur!” Margot placed her hands on his arm. She wanted to talk him out of this, only for him to shake her off mercilessly. He said, “Don’t touch me! I’m telling you, I’m gonna acquire the Winthrop Group today no matter what!” Margot looked like a sorry sight upon being thrown to the floor.

“Arthur, what are you doing?” questioned an angry voice from behind. Arthur looked back indifferently and saw Callum and Elspeth at a glance. They were both coming this way, and neither of them looked very pleased. He shrugged and sat down on the couch nonchalantly, saying, “What am I doing? I’m not doing anything.” Elspeth stepped aside and helped Margot up; only after whispering to Margot and making sure that she was all right did she feel relieved. “Arthur, she’s your mother and has raised you for over 20 years! Not even a pet dog deserves such

treatment, no?” she questioned in a confrontational tone, losing control of her emotions. “Stay out of this, Elspeth. You know nothing about the story behind this,” Arthur replied nonchalantly before turning to fix his gaze upon Callum. “Callum, surely you know my purpose in being here today?” Callum uttered, “Yes, I do, of course.” “I’ve thought about it. I accept your terms, but there’s a condition.” Arthur raised his eyebrows. “You have to promise me that you’ll stay out of the business circle from today onward.” Callum had studied finance and business management at university, not to mention he had always been trained to be heir to the Winthrop Group since he was little. Therefore, forbidding him to do business and be part of the business circle right now would simply be equivalent to chopping his hands off. Arthur deliberately proposed such a tough condition just to bring Callum to heel—or rather to embarrass him. Just as he had expected, Callum’s face darkened visibly at once. “Arthur, don’t you go too far!” “Callum, I’ve accepted your many conditions, no? You asked for 15 billion, so I’ve brought the money here to you. That’s not a small amount, you know.” Elspeth let out a chuckle. We’ve been waiting for you to say this, she thought. Callum’s expression softened a little, though he continued to resist. “Still, that’s an exacting condition to me.” Arthur retorted, “Exacting, huh? Callum, don’t forget that I was totally banned from joining the Winthrop Group back then. Dad has put his heart and soul into preparing you for the job, but it’s such a shame that you’re so useless that you can’t even keep the company.” He looked up proudly, feeling incredibly pleased with the sight of Callum looking like a wretched prisoner. Still, he had a bit of

regret. If only Dad were here. That way, he’d witness with his own eyes how Callum has sunk so low as to be forced to give the Winthrop Group up to someone else. On the contrary, his third son, whom he had never thought highly of at first, founded the Bluestone Corp and ends up inheriting his legacy. Every dog has its day, eh? “Arthur, have you prepared the money?” Arthur frowned at the sight of the man’s worthless appearance. “I seriously wonder how you managed the Winthrop Group. I’ve never seen you being so hungry for money before. Tsk, tsk. Perhaps I was wrong about you. I thought you were such an unfathomable rival…” Well, he’s just a profit-seeking businessman, after all. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you every cent of the money. But you have to sign the paper first.” He pushed the contract before him toward Callum with a triumphant smile. Callum picked up the contract and leafed through it with a smirk curving his lips. “What a good brother you are. These unfair clauses are written so well.” Arthur replied, “Would I dare to hide them from you? That’s why they’re written explicitly, no?” He had wanted to show some restraint; at least he wouldn’t have let Callum see through these clauses so easily. On second thoughts, however, the Winthrop Group was already on its last legs. Even if he had these clauses written explicitly, they wouldn’t have any impact on the situation, and Callum wouldn’t dare to argue with him either. That was why he had these clauses laid out openly. “Arthur, aren’t you afraid of getting what you deserve for all the bad things you’ve done?” Arthur raised his eyebrows with a noncommittal smile. “Why would I be afraid of that? And besides, aren’t you the one who’s supposed to worry about your situation right now?Chapter 552 I’m Not Gonna Sign This

Seeing that the man was still unrepentant, Callum slammed the document on the desk with a frosty gleam in his eyes, saying, “I’m not gonna sign this.” All at once, Arthur flew into a rage and stopped playing nice with Callum altogether. “Callum, don’t you dare be so cheeky with me! I’m only willing to negotiate a collaboration with you now because I still think of you as my brother! You’ve made so many enemies before who can’t wait to kill you! Do you actually think they’ll let you off if the Winthrop Group falls into the hands of another plutocrat?” He sounded like he sincerely had Callum’s interests in mind. Callum sneered while looking at the man in complete disappointment. “Arthur, you don’t have to hide your motives with such a high-sounding excuse. You’re just coveting the Winthrop Family’s fortune and wanting to have the Winthrop Group to yourself while you’re at it.” Arthur retorted, “Don’t push it, Callum! It’s fine as long as I’m well-intentioned. Everything else is none of your business. What qualifies you to blame others after leading the Winthrop Group into such a state?” He looked down condescendingly at Callum with the air of a victor. Callum’s smart, but it’s a pity that something addled his brain and made him bring such a miserable end upon himself. “I’m gonna ask you one last question.” Arthur frowned. “Shoot! Stop wasting our time.” He just wanted to get the contract signed with no intention of touching on everything else. “Do you know about Max’s accident at the car race?” Arthur’s eyes flickered, but his face gave nothing away. “I know that, of course. I hosted that car race, after all.” “Did you have a hand in his death?” Arthur laughed instead of getting angry. “Callum, do you actually suspect I’d kill my own brother?”

Callum replied, “There’s nothing you’re afraid of doing, no? You even dared to frame me despite me being your brother. You really think you’ve left no trace of what you did?” With that, he clapped his hands, upon which Harper carried a man over and threw him inside. “Ouch!” cried the man in pain while lying on the floor. After rolling over a few times, he finally realized that he was surrounded by people. Startled, he got up immediately. Arthur’s face darkened the instant he saw the man. Callum said, “So, Mr. Head of the Organizing Committee, tell me how Max died.” Having been threatened and oppressed in every way possible, the man dared not lie at this very moment, of course. Making a clean breast of everything, he answered, “I really didn’t want to do this! It was Arthur who used my family to threaten me into tampering with Max’s car. I… I really didn’t mean to kill him!” “You *sshole,” was all Arthur could mutter menacingly after a long time. The man held his breath in fear. Obviously, he was too scared to speak after turning Arthur in. “Do you know what kind of price you’ll have to pay for framing me?” Arthur said, threatening the man both explicitly and implicitly with a deliberate emphasis on the word ‘price.’ However, such a threat didn’t work anymore. Elspeth said impassively, “Stop intimidating him. I’ve had his family moved to somewhere safe, so your threats aren’t gonna work on him.” With his plans going out of control, Arthur’s countenance finally changed for the first time. “So what? You guys actually have the mind to worry about other things when the Winthrop Group’s in great peril right now?” He let out a snort of laughter. “Callum, I’d suggest that you pretend to know nothing. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what I’ll do to the Winthrop Group.” In other words, he was threatening

to make them feel sorry for it if they refused to let the matter drop. Callum said, “I’m probably not the one who cares the most about this. Arthur, I never thought you’d actually lay a hand on Max, who was usually the most innocent, just to satisfy your pathetic self-interests. You’re so disgusting; someone like you should just go to hell.” Then, he threw a glance at the door with an inscrutable expression. “Do you understand everything now?” Not knowing to whom Callum was saying this, Arthur followed his gaze and looked back, only to realize two figures were standing at the door. He couldn’t be more familiar with them—they were none other than Edmund and Blake. Blake had disbelief written all over his face, whereas Edmund felt a chill running down his spine. Having a bad feeling at once, Arthur curled his fingers behind his back and sent out a few text messages.