CHAPTER 100: LOVE LIFY RESTAURANT

Steven’s gaze turned cold.

All those project discussions with people were confidential, as business secrets could easily be leaked during communication. But how did news of him rejecting the Anderson family reach her ears?

His eyes were inscrutable, and his voice betrayed no emotion.

"Who told you about this?"

Mary was startled by his words and tone. Had she said something wrong?

She quickly deflected the blame.

"It was a younger family member who told me, so I came to inquire..."

Hearing this, Steven tapped his fingers continuously on the table.

Judging by her words, the younger family member she was referring to should be someone in the Mitchell household. Besides Mary’s daughter, who was still in elementary school, there was only one other person.

Cecilia.

Mary was indeed sharp. She knew that with Steven’s capabilities, he would quickly deduce that the information came from Cecilia based on her statement. However, she didn’t explicitly say it just to absolve herself from the responsibility of having exposed anything to Steven. This way, when faced with Elena’s questioning, she could easily evade it.

However, Steven didn’t believe Cecilia had intentionally revealed this matter. He knew that the woman wouldn’t do something so trivial.

With her intelligence, she had probably deduced it.

He smirked.

"Do you know what good this information does for you?"

Elena was at a loss for words. Indeed, she didn’t have a reasonable motive to come and ask him about these things. If what Cecilia said about the Anderson family already getting rejected by the Lawrence family was true, then confessing that she came just over that matter would surely get her blacklisted by Steven.

She couldn’t afford to take that risk.

Thinking of this, she randomly came up with an excuse, "You know your grandma’s factory is doing poorly now. I’m actively searching for other avenues, so I came to ask about the cosmetics industry."

Steven nodded without a word.

Feeling uncomfortable, she decided to leave quickly.

"It’s impossible to monopolize cosmetics. However, if you and your grandma prioritize product quality, you can come talk to me with a proposal."

She nodded and then quickly left.

On the other hand, he picked up his phone and sent a message to Cecilia, his face devoid of the cold demeanor from earlier.

Zane pursed his lips. This CEO... he was really deep in...

[Miss Morrison, leaking business secrets is a no-no. How about this: you treat me to a meal as a punishment. Invite me to dinner, how about it?]

[I’m fine with any time and place. You can bring Alex with you; I don’t mind it.]

She could tell that Steven was joking, so she played along. As long as she could see her son, adding one more person didn’t matter.

Steven thought for a moment before instructing Zane, "Alex has been wanting to visit the science museum in the neighboring city, hasn’t he? Take him there tomorrow."

Then, he replied to Cecilia’s message.

[Alright, see you tomorrow at noon, Love Lify restaurant.]

In the elevator, Mary kept mulling over Steven’s words.

From the sound of it, he had indeed rejected the Anderson family over quality issues.

If that was the case, perhaps she should not invest in the Anderson family after all.

Thinking this, she walked out of Lawrence Group’s building, only to run into Mona.

Mona had been waiting here for a long time, hoping to secure one last chance to discuss collaboration opportunities with Steven.

She caught sight of Mary, excitedly approaching her.

The moment Mary saw her, she started to complain.

"Mona, you’re really something. You would even let me take on a losing proposition. Luckily, I asked Steven and found out he had already rejected your business!"

Mona then realized that Mary had found out about her project having been rejected.

She pondered for a moment before asking, "Who told you that Mr. Lawrence rejected me?"

Mary pouted.

"Who else? It was my niece who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It’s your fault, embarrassing me in front of her."

Mona’s eyes darted around before she said mysteriously, "Mary, how many years of friendship do we have? How could I deceive you? Think about it; if you don’t invest, where would your family’s money go?"

Mary thought about it and suddenly realized. "Cecilia! If I don’t invest, the money will stay with me. Then once my aunt passes away, at least a third of the assets would be given to Cecilia for nothing!"

Mona nodded and continued, "If she has already made your aunt write up a will, then don’t even mention a third of the assets; it’s very likely she would be getting the entire estate! Just think about it!"

The more Mary thought about it, the angrier she was.

"Did Mr. Lawrence specifically say that I was rejected?"

Mary shook her head.

"Then there you go. Everyone’s vying for lucrative deals out here; Steven certainly wouldn’t hand them over easily. Let me be straight with you, I’ve already secured a collaboration with him. Naturally, he wants fewer people involved.

"That’s why he tried to confuse you into backing out. I’m doing you a favor as a friend by offering you three million in shares. You decide what to do next. Once my contract with Mr. Lawrence is signed, there won’t be any room left for you!"

With that, she got in her car and left.

Sure enough, Mary immediately drove toward Elena’s house after that.

When she arrived there, Cecilia was just about to leave with Emma.

Mary charged in angrily and stopped the two from going any further.

"What’s going on? Did you get any answers?"

Mary sneered, "Yes, I did get answers. You liar! It’s bad enough you deceived my aunt, and now you’re trying to trick me too?!"

Cecilia frowned while Elena anxiously stepped forward, asking, "What happened?"

Mary glared at Cecilia and then shouted at Elena, "I don’t have time for her now; I’ll deal with her when I get back! Get me the property deeds; I don’t have much time!"

Elena sighed. "I really can’t give you the property!"

Mary began yelling, "Why can’t you? What, are you planning to give everything to Cecilia instead of me once you’re gone?!

"I can see through your hypocrisy now. You claim to treat me like your own daughter, yet you won’t even give me a single house!"

Elena tried to explain, "These are two different matters..."

As she spoke, she reached out to hold Mary’s hand to calm her down.

Unexpectedly, Mary forcefully pulled away. Given Elena’s old age and instability, she fell hard to the ground.

"Mary, you..."

Mary showed no intention of helping her up, even resorting to verbal abuse.

"Yeah, what about me? What, are you gonna get up and hit me?!"

Before the words were fully out of her mouth, she was suddenly pulled to the side. When she saw what was approaching in front of her, her eyes widened in fear.

Cecilia swung her leg with all her might toward Mary’s face, her foot quickly reaching her face!