Chapter 10 Kneel And Beg

• As luck would have it, the people Vanessa least wanted to see had shown up at her most vulnerable moment.
• She could feel herself on the verge of a breakdown when she spotted Claudia and Lilian's family.
• Without further ado, Cassius pulled her up and strode toward the first row of VIP seats.
• After helping Vanessa to sit down, the man said gently, “Take a rest. I'll deal with them.”
• “Don't embarrass yourself anymore,” Vanessa replied sadly. “You know what Aunt Lilian is like. Besides, you've already offended her before...”
• Cassius merely smiled before caressing his wife's hair and marching out the side door.
• Meanwhile, Stephen clutched the gold emerald invitation card, looking disgustingly smug and self-conceited.
• However, before he or the Seltzers could step through the door, several security guards suddenly appeared and stopped them.
• “Did you not see my invitation?” Stephen thundered. “Do you know who I am? You'd better wise up and get out of my way!”
• Alas, the security supervisor looked indifferent as he waved his hand. “Sorry, but I need you guys to come with us.”
• With that, the Seltzers were ushered to the security room, where they saw a group of black-clad security guards standing around a couch and a somber-looking man with his back facing them.
• Stunned by the man's imposing presence, the Seltzers didn't know what to do next.
• After a while, the man finally turned around, and to everyone's surprise, it was none other than Cassius.
• Stephen instantly heaved a sigh of relief and began laughing his head off.
• The rest of the Seltzer family, too, burst into raucous laughter.
• Gosh. To think we were all so worried that it was some big shot causing a scene... Turns out it's just the most useless person in the family!
• As the Seltzers continued to laugh, Hugh finally stepped into the room.
• Having guessed what was happening, Stephen quickly approached Hugh with a smile. “I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding, Mr. Gunderson. If I'm not wrong, that punk must've claimed the invitation card belonged to him. Please don't fall for his lies. That piece of trash is intentionally framing me.”
• “You're utterly despicable, Cassius!” Lilian chimed in. “I can't believe you even have the guts to lie to Mr. Gunderson's face!”
• Claudia was purple with rage as she slammed her cane onto the ground. “Have you had enough, Cassius? How dare you do something so shameless? As the head of the Seltzer family, I'm now ordering you to kneel and apologize to everyone here!”
• After witnessing the Seltzers' poor excuse for a performance, Cassius suddenly found everything pointless and boring.
• Given his status, why should he waste his time and effort arguing with a bunch of fools?
• He merely shook his head, not bothering to reply.
• Just then, Hugh waved the gold emerald invitation card and looked at the Seltzer family with disdain. “Shut up, all of you. I was the one who selected this card and had Fourwaters Union's Mr. Zimmerman seal it into the envelope. The invitation is undoubtedly meant for Mr. Cassius Crawford and Ms. Vanessa Seltzer. Hmph! Do you think I'd make a mistake?”
• Stephen trembled as beads of sweat began forming on his forehead.
• Oh, no. I think I've been too hasty... I only heard what Mr. Lambert said previously and snatched the invitation away. B-But... Cassius? How can the invitation be for that scoundrel? I refuse to believe it!
• Stephen mustered up his courage and retorted, “Mr. Lambert told me before that the invitation is only for the internal members of Fourwaters Union. Cassius isn't even an employee of ours...”
• “Mr. Crawford is already an employee of Fourwaters Union. He can come to work at any time,” Hugh scoffed. “What's the matter? Do you doubt me? Are the words of the executive administrator not enough for you?”
• For a moment, Stephen felt his legs go weak. No, no, no... Argh! I've messed things up!
• The Seltzers, however, remained unconvinced.
• Oh, come on. It's Cassius Crawford we're talking about! He's the deadbeat who depends on his wife and a certified piece of trash in Horbah! He's the biggest shame of the Seltzer family, for goodness' sake...
• Lilian ran up to Stephen and grabbed his hand. “They must've made a mistake, right? How can a piece of trash like Cassius—”
• “Shut up!” Stephen interrupted angrily. “Please stay quiet, Mom. Can't you see that Cassius has had a stroke of dumb luck? He just joined the company, yet he's already hit the jackpot.”
• Upon hearing that, Lilian almost collapsed. “Oh, dear... What should we do now, Stephen?”
• By then, Stephen was sweating bullets. “We can only suck it up and go with the flow for now. Let's get through this ordeal first.”
• Claudia, who had finally regained her composure, tapped her cane on the ground and coughed.
• “Looks like the matter has been resolved, Cassius. Lilian's family may have made a mistake, but we're all family, aren't we? I hope you don't push things too far.”
• A red-faced Valerie, too, hurriedly chimed in, “That's right, Cassius. Stephen is your brother-in-law, after all. Cut your family members some slack, will you?”
• Cassius slowly sat on the couch and pointed a finger at the ground. Haha. Now they think of me as family, huh?
• “You... What the hell do you mean by that?” Stephen bellowed.
• “If you kneel and beg for forgiveness, I'll pretend that none of this ever happened.”
• Stephen glared at the man before him. “Cassius, are you out of your d*mn mind? How can you expect me to kneel before you?”
• Unperturbed, Cassius held up the gold emerald invitation and waved it. “You guys are the ones who stole my invitation card. It is considered a crime in the eyes of the law!”
• Needless to say, the Seltzers were dumbfounded.
• Stephen, on the other hand, tried to egg himself on. D*mn it! I know a real man should be able to deal with temporary setbacks, but must I really kneel and beg this piece of trash?
• Just then, Claudia let out a loud cough and subtly tapped her cane on Stephen's leg.
• The next second, the latter knelt on the cold, hard floor before Cassius.
• Despite that, Cassius showed no signs of smugness or satisfaction. Instead, he found the entire situation to be such a waste of time that he turned and left the security room.
• Hugh, who had already confiscated the Seltzers' silver invitation, stared coldly at them. “I want you guys out of here within one minute!”
• The Seltzers ran away with their tails between their legs, their faces as white as a sheet.
• “Call Hansel and Alanna this instant,” Claudia snapped. “Get those ingrates to head to the mansion and kneel before me till I'm satisfied!”
• “What about Vanessa, Mom?” Lilian asked hastily. “She—”
• Considering the arranged marriage with the Quinton family, Claudia replied, “We'll talk about that later.”
• “What about that sc*mbag, Cassius, then?” Lilian was still boiling with rage.
• Alas, Claudia had already entered the elevator.
• Meanwhile, Stephen could feel the wheels turning in his head. “Darling, isn't the copy of Cassius' ID card still in our company files?”
• Valerie nodded. “That's right. Vanessa has been begging me to give that sc*mbag a job. I threw those files aside as soon as I received them.”
• Upon hearing that, Stephen curled his lips into a smirk. “The highlight of tonight's banquet is the charity auction. As long as we have a photo of the ID card, we can easily submit bids online... Just wait and see. I shall deal with that d*mn Cassius!”
• Even though the Seltzer family left in a fluster, the banquet hall remained calm and peaceful.
• Cassius happily returned to the hall with the invitation, only to realize that Vanessa was nowhere to be seen.
• On top of that, the red evening gown had been neatly laid on the first row of seats.
• That, of course, left Cassius crestfallen. Did Vanessa run away? Oh, my dear wife... Couldn't you have waited a little longer? Everything from this gold emerald invitation to the first row of VIP seats and grand banquet was specially prepared for you!
• Just as Cassius was still lost in thought, a deep voice suddenly sounded behind him. “Hey, jerk. Are you the one who hit my daughter?”