V

bChapter /bb43 /b

bAt /bbThe /bVanderbilt Family estate, Beatrice sat in the living roomb, /basionally ncing toward the door. “Caitlin still hasn’t returned. Does banyone /bbknow /bwhat’s going on? Anyone heard from herb?/bb” /b

bGrace /bshook her head. “Mom, I saw Caitlin earlier today and told her to go to The Gray Family, but I don’t know if she took bit /bseriouslyb./b”

Hazel chimed bin/b, b“/bCaitlin’s acting all arrogant. It’s about time Audrey gave her a good lesson. Otherwise, she won’t know her ce and bwill /bbend /bbup /bcausing more trouble.b” /b

Beatrice’s expression darkened at Hazel’s words. Before she could speak, Molly interjected.

“Hazel, what are you talking about? Caitlin was just standing up for Howard! Even if she caused a big fuss, I’d support her. She’s the best stepmother Howard could ever have! She treats him like her own son, unlike some people who only care about their own children.”

Molly said this on purpose, directing it toward Grace. Grace, irritated, couldn’t say much and turned her gaze toward her husband, Raymond.

Raymond spoke up, “Enough. Let’s not argue.”

Beatrice sighed, still not feeling reassured. “Raymond, go bto /bThe Gray Family. Help Caitlin. If it reallyes bto /bba /bbfight/b, The Vanderbilt Family isn’t bafraid /bof The Gray Family! Worst case, we can reach out to our contactsb…/b”

“Understood,” Raymond said, rising to leave. At that moment, William stormed in, looking enraged. “That woman Caitlin bstill /bhasn’t gone to apologizeb! /bHow am I supposed to run thepany like this? Our stocks are tanking!”

He walked into the room, continuing to vent, “Does anyone have contact with her? We need to push her to bgo /band apologize already! Shees in like a whirlwind and causes so much trouble for The Vanderbilt Family!”

Molly rolled her eyes at William’s tirade but said nothing. Raymond was about to leave when a servant rushed in to report, “Beatriceb, /bbThe /bGray Family is

here!”

“The Gray Family?” Beatrice looked at everyone, clearly surprised.

William fumed, “See? This is exactly what happens when that woman refuses to apologize. Nowi, /iThe Gray Family is here to make trouble for us. No one’s going to get out of this unscathed!”

Beatrice told Marcus to check and bring the guests in. Soon, several members of The Gray Family walked in, including Quade, Audrey, and their son,

followed by several bodyguards.

The sight was overwhelming! Quade himself hade.

“Mr. Gray! We weren’t expecting you, please forgive theck of proper greeting!” Raymond quickly greeted themb, /bstanding up..

Everyone at The Vanderbilt Family rose, their hearts racing. It seemed like things were about to escte, but what happened next shocked everyone. Quade’s attitude was surprisingly cordial.

“We should havee earlier,” Quade said with a warm smile. “This situation arose because of a misunderstanding between my wife and Caitlin. To resolve this, I’vee with my wife and son to personally apologize.”

Everyone at The Vanderbilt Family was stunned. William and Grace exchanged looks of disbelief. Did they hear that right? Quade hade bto /bbapologize/bb? /b

“Mr. Gray, it’s really not that big of a deal, there’s no need to be so formal,” Raymond saidb, /bsomewhat baffled.

“No, no, it is our fault,” Quade insisted. “My wife indulged our son’s behavior. He bullied Howard, and bwe /bshould havee to bapologize/bb.” /b

Quade then turned to Audrey, who reluctantly stepped forward. She had been prepared to–face Caitlin, but now that Caitlin bwas /bnowhere in bsight/b, she had no choice but to apologize to Beatrice instead.

b1/3 /b

Sat 24 bMay /b

bChapter /bb43 /b

b“/bbI’m /bbsorry/bb, /bbBeatrice/bb, /bbMr. /bbVanderbilt/bb,/bb” /bbAudrey /bbsaid /bbwith /bba /bpained bexpression/bb. /bb“/bbI /bbdidn’t /bbproperly /bdiscipline bmy /bsonb, /band I bshouldn’t /bbhave /bsaid bthose /bthings to bHoward/b. bI /bbtruly /bregret it band /bbfeel /bguiltyb. /bI sincerely apologize to both you and Howardb. /bPlease forgive me, and bmay /bbThe /bbVanderbilt /bbFamily /bbshow /bbmercy/b…

bAudrey /bbowed deeply, pulling her bson /balong to apologize as well. Her sonb, /bbwho /bhad been briefed beforehand, also spoke bup/bb. /bb“/bI will never bbully /bbHoward /bbagain/b! Tomorrow at school, I will publicly apologize to him.”

Both Audrey and her son bowed low, apologizing. Everyone bin /bThe Vanderbilt Family was stunned. They had expected ba /bbconfrontation/b, but now the tables had turned, with The Gray Family apologizing instead.

Béatrice walked over and said, “We ept your apology. The children are ssmates, after all, and they should be friends. Let’s consider this matter settled. As The Vanderbilt Family and The Gray Family are long–standing allies, we should continue to support each other and grow together.”

b“/bYes, Beatrice is right,” Quade agreed. “Our two families must live in harmony.”

With the situation seemingly defused, Beatrice was relieved. “It’s almost lunchtime. If Mr. Gray and Audrey aren’t in a hurry, would you care to bjoin /bbus /bbfor /ba simple meal?”

b“/bNo need bto /btrouble yourselves, Beatrice. We should be heading back now,” Quade responded, standing up.

“Right, we’ll be leaving now,” Audrey added.

Quade, Audrey, and their son left, and The Vanderbilt Family members saw them outb, /bwatching bas /bthey walked away. bOnce /bthey were gone, everyone returned to the living room, still processing what had just urred.

Molly, still confused, said, “The Gray Family came to apologize? I thought they were here to reprimand us!”

“Yeah, weren’t they supposed to wait for Caitlin to apologize by noon?” Beatrice wondered aloud.

None of them could quite figure out what had happened. Raymond finally spoke up. “No matter the reason, The Gray Family came bto /bapologize. bThat’s /bwhat matters. It’s over now, no need to worry.”

William was still baffled, though. He was very curious: how did Caitlin manage to get The Gray Family to apologize? How had she done itb? /bWas she really capable of handling them?

Meanwhile, Grace, who had been waiting to see some drama unfold, was equally baffled. She had been hoping for ba /bspectacle, but bnow /bbit /bseemed ball /bwas calm, and she had nothing to show for it.

Molly, still excited by the unexpected turn of events, said, “Grandma, I bet Caitlin went to The Gray Family to exin things, and Mr. Gray, being reasonable, realized he’d been wrong. Otherwise, why would theye here to apologize? I told youb, /bCaitlin is our lucky star! She’s the one who could solve this crisis for us.”

Beatrice nodded in agreement. “Yes, Sebastian is lucky to have Caitlin. She’s a blessing for both him and our family. From now on, you all should be polite to her!”

The others didn’tment, but Marcus entered, asking, “Shall we prepare lunchb, /bmadam?”

“Wait for Caitlin,” Beatrice said.

Grace, howeverb, /bwas seething with frustration. It had only been ba /bfew days, and Beatrice was already taking Caitlin’s side. She had done ball /bthis workb, /bband /bnow it seemed like Caitlin was getting all the credit. Even lunch was being dyed for her!

Back in The Gray Family estate, after their apology, the pressure on Vanderbilt Enterprises Group began to lift. Quade personally handled bthe /bpress, assuring the public that the rumors about the 7g chip technology were false and that the project was bvery /bmuch alive and promising.

With the official statement, the stock prices of Vanderbilt Enterprises Group quickly rebounded. The crisis was averted.

Later, Xavi reported to Sebastian, who let out ba /bsigh of relief. But there was something else bnagging /bat him: Caitlin had still not breturned/b.

“Has shee back yet?” he asked, his tone ba /bbit tense.

b21:02 /bbSat/bb, /bb24 /bMay

b2 /bbS /b

“No,

Mr. Vanderbilt. I can’t get through to her

on the

phone.”

Sebastian fell into

ufortable silence. an

He

found himself

with

some imagining her out

young

man, possibly

even

now?

1

bcond /bgift

on a dateb. /b

What

751

was