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Lionel announced that he would be filing a formalint under his real name, using Hayes Group of copying the Quinn family’s supermarket model. He called on everyone to pay close attention.

When N saw the news, she couldn’t believe her eyes. “We didn’t even go after him, and now he’sing after us? How can Lionel be so shameless?”

Ste, on the other hand, wasn’t surprised at all. “You know why some people get called bastards? That’s exactly what a bastard does, got it?”

N said, “He’s gone too far. Good thing you saw thising, Ms. Hayes, so we’ve got nothing to worry about,”

“That’s right, we’re not afraid.”

When Ste firstunched this business model, she knew someone would try to copy it sooner orter. But she never expected someone to imitate it before the Hayes Group’s supermarket even opened. And that copycat was none other than Lionel.

To ruin her, Lionel even threatened to sue her when the renovations of her supermarket were almost finished. She felt sarcastic that he had once been her best friend. But Ste had already handled it all, and there was nothing Lionel could do about it.

But what no one expected was that, the very next morning, the biggest headline broke. Lionel had just opened twenty new supermarkets in

Jaloria, and every single one of them got their windows smashed in.

Everything inside was trashed, and nobody had a clue what went down. The word was, someone called the cops, but when things happened, the security cameras were busted, so there was nothing to see. Whatever little profit Lionel had made was nowpletely wiped out.

Ste saw the news while having breakfast with Jordan. “Is this karma or what? He tried to mess with me, but it didn’t work out–and now

someone else has messed him up instead.”

Jordan nced at the news and said, “The Quinn family still doesn’t even know who they’ve crossed.”

“Yeah, I believe that too.”

In business, they never knew whose toes they might step on. The Quinn family rose to the top so fast, so someone out there was gunning for payback. Even the supermarket smash–up was part of that revenge.

“Looks like I don’t even have to do anything. Someone else already did it for me,” Ste said with a smirk.

“So, what were you going to do?” Jordan asked, still munching on his breakfast.

“Of course, I was not going ito /ilet him off easy. He has ino /isense of loyalty, trying to step on me to get ahead. He must think he can just walk all

over me.”

Ste had been nning to pull some tricks with his product selection, but before she even had the chance, this whole mess went down. “But things have been pretty tense between ustely, so I bet he thinks I was behind it.”

Jordan frowned slightly, but Ste didn’t catch the change in his eyes.

After breakfast, Ste got a call from N and rushed off to the office.

Just as Jordan stepped out of the house, his assistant approached him respectfully. “Mr. Erwin, you wanted to see me?”

“Tell the Quinn family it wasn’t Ste who did this. As for who did, let them figure it out themselves,” Jordan instructed.

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“Yes,” the assistant replied and hurried off.

Jordan’s eyes darkened, his gaze turning cold and unreadable. He thought, ‘Lionel, your family will have to answer for what you did!

When Ste got to the office, N told her that all those partners they’d been negotiating with were now saying they didn’t want to work

together anymore.

“What’s the reason?” Ste asked.

“I looked into it–it’s Lionel. He’s the one pulling strings behind our backs.”

Ste couldn’t help butugh. “He thinks he can block all my paths, huh? He must believe that if my supermarket can’t open, he will have nopetition. Have you tried reaching out to those partners?”

“I did, but none of them wanted to see us.”

“If they don’t want to meet, then so be it. There are tons of brands we can cooperate with. It’s not like they’re the only game in town and I’m

out of moves.”

N looked at her, puzzled. “So, what do we do next?”

“Looks like I’m going to have to take a business trip.”

“But what about your health?” N asked, her voice full of concern.

“Don’t worry, I’ll have someone go with me. It’ll be fine.”

N hesitated for a moment before saying, “How about I go instead?”

“N, thepany needs you here. If I go, it’ll make the negotiators feel our sincerity, and things will go smoother.”

N had to agree.

Ste gave Jordan a call and told him she needed to go on a business trip.

Jordan immediately asked, “Do you have to go?”

“Yeah, I have to. All my suppliers have pulled out, but I still need to open the supermarket. I can’t run a supermarket with empty shelves, right?” Ste replied.

“Are you going alone?”

“I have an employee go with me.”

“Is it a guy or a girl?”

Ste burst outughing at his question. “Of course, it’s a girl.”

“Take a guy and a girl with you. I’m not okay with just two women going on a business trip.”

Ste blinked in surprise, and then caught on to what Jordan was getting at. “All right, I’ll pick a guy to go with me.”

“When are you heading out?”

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“Pretty much right away. The meations me aimed finished. I picked out only water, so give it about a month and we’ll he ready to open

“Airight, go for it”

Ste couldn’t say how she felt kind of happy, but also kind of not. She felt Jordan agreed to all this too easily. But she pushed those Thoughts aside and hurried to pack.

At the airport, Ste was heading in with twopanions when Anna happened to spot her.

Anna was at the airport to meet someone, but when she saw Ste leaving with her people, she made a point to check which airline they were taking and even went to ask around for more details.

When Anna heard Ste was heading out on a business trip, a sly grin crept onto her lips. She thought, ‘A business trip, huh? Ste, ilet’s /isee what kind of trouble you’ll run into once you’re out of Jaloria.

About two hourster, Ste and her two team members got off the ne. She was perfectly fine, and the moment she turned on her phone, she called Jordan just to let him know she was there.

Ste and her team checked into the hotel first. She turned to the female employee and asked, “Have you contacted the suppliers?”

“Yes, I’ve contacted them,” she replied.

Ste gave a slight nod. They’d be staying in Austow for five days. This was where all the seasonings were produced, and that category was the heart of the supermarket’s entire selection.

After checking in, Ste and her team headed straight to the supplier’s office. When they arrived, they exined why they were there, and a receptionist led them inside.

On the way, they walked past the factory floor, and the receptionist gave them a quick introduction to it.

This was Ste’s first time visiting, and she was impressed by how well–organized everything was. Once they got inside, Ste was surprised

to see Kevin.