Standing Before Love (Myra and Sean)

Chapter 735

Anger was still anger in the end, and Heather wasn’t someone who would cling to someone

unreasonably either. She knew that Leon wouldn’t have hung up on her so easily, and it seemed that

he was extremely tired.

After her call with Leon ended, Zayne texted her. She played the video clip that he had sent to her, but

she wasn’t sure how to react to it. Not only that, Heather didn’t know how he had managed to get his

hands on this firsthand information—the venue in the clip was where the Locke Group’s board of

directors were currently at.

Heather took notice of Matthias in an instant. When she saw him there all by himself, she suddenly felt

that he needed to be protected as well. Sometimes, she really couldn’t get a handle on him as her

heart ached for Matthias.

However, Heather couldn’t bring herself to examine her conscience even though she could sense that

Matthias was under a lot of pressure. She had only watched a few seconds of the video clip, but her

heartstrings were already being tugged. Needless to say, Matthias’ expressionless face affected her.

How could things have come to this? Heather initially assumed that Matthias had prepared himself, but

from the looks of things, he actually hadn’t. Perhaps he even felt guilty.

She really wanted to charge over and watch the proceedings, and Heather had no idea how Matthias

would face this situation alone. Would he be able to weather it?

Some time earlier, Heather had pored over some information about Matthias. She understood that he

had made huge sacrifices to be able to climb to his current position.

Now, he had to personally destroy the work created with his blood, sweat and tears. Heather could

even sense the excruciating agony that Matthias was going through now, so she had to reflect on

herself.

Was it really a good thing to reach this point?

Heather sent an emoji to Zayne, fully aware that he was deliberately irritating her. In other words, he

really had to add more chaos to the mix.

Zayne immediately texted her back.

‘Looks like I underestimated Matthias.’

Heather didn’t want to answer Zayne’s text, for she knew that he was merely baiting her. Her lips

quirked up, for Zayne couldn’t hide his tricks from her.

“This has nothing to do with me.” Heather continued to maintain her distant demeanor.

She herself knew very well whether she actually had a hand in this, but she was prideful. How could

she bow her head so easily?

Matthias probably knew that about her, so he hadn’t contacted Heather immediately and took on all the

pressure himself without causing extra hassle for her.

Perhaps Matthias had once wavered before, but Heather’s thoughts were a tangled lump as she

immediately switched off her phone. If she didn’t watch the video, then she wouldn’t be worked up

about it. She knew that Matthias would definitely talk to her after this, and she wanted to hear what he

had to say.

As she spread across the couch, she could imagine Matthias currently battling it out verbally. After all,

he had never lost to anyone when it came to debates.

Right now, however, Matthias wasn’t actually having an easy time. The higher-ups, who were under the

encouragement of the head of the Locke family, nitpicked at Matthias and tore into him. However, the

latter did not relent throughout the process. After all, he knew that this was just the beginning and that

there would be more troubles ahead.

The family head observed Matthias’ silence from the sidelines, looking for a weakness to pounce on.

However, Matthias did not say much, so it was naturally difficult to find a weak point.

Matthias had no idea how long this endless war of words was going to last, but he couldn’t avoid it

either. Hence, all he could do was to face it head-on. Some of the high-ranking board members even

attempted to convince Matthias by appealing to his morals through the thousands of workers under the

Locke Group’s employment.

“I am not the sole one responsible for the Locke Group’s current situation,” Matthias stated lightly. He

didn’t intend on taking responsibility for this. If they wanted to guilt trip him, then so be it.

When Chester saw Matthias rebuff him so casually, he smiled. Matthias was a callous person, and

someone with such a personality was practically a prodigy in the field of business.

Yet, not only did Matthias refuse to put his heart into the Locke Group, he even forced the company

into a corner. Chester only regretted that he hadn’t noticed Matthias’ rebelliousness earlier.

“This meeting ends here.” Just as he was lost in thought, Chester heard Matthias speak.

“No.” Chester, who had remained silent all this while, finally spoke up. He then looked straight at

Matthias.

The latter looked at him fearlessly, and a mocking smile seemed to appear on his lips. To him, Chester

was just a toothless tiger.

“Matthias, you are currently at the helm of the Locke Group. Since the company is a sinking ship, do

not expect to come out of this unscathed,” Chester said, his words loaded.

Matthias could hear the threat in Chester’s words, and he looked at the man in disregard. Evidently, he

was not afraid of him. Matthias had already made plans to escape from this precarious situation, and

he would not have any second thoughts about doing that.

“I certainly will not run from the responsibilities I should bear.” Matthias’ eyes were like burning torches.

Chester eyed him for a long while. He understood the younger man’s resolution, and he also knew

what Matthias was about to say. He shook his head; the battle had yet to start, but Chester already lost

horribly.

Although the board members were present throughout the meeting, no matter how they struggled, they

were still just pawns in the hands of those two. Matthias didn’t care about these board members, and

Chester had never thought of them as important. It was a pity that Matthias intended to stay his course.

Just then, the sounds of firecrackers going off rang from outside. Matthias sat in his seat disinterestedly

as everyone exchanged glances. Chester thought that this was a snub. The meeting had been

proceeding relatively peacefully, and now there were firecrackers. However, he didn’t want to

embarrass himself in front of all these people.

The firecracker sounds got closer and closer, and Chester’s expression was now an ugly sight. On the

other hand, Matthias seemingly didn’t hear anything. He gathered the papers on the table and prepared

to leave the meeting room instead.

Meanwhile, an evil smile hung off Zayne’s lips as he manipulated everything outside. In fact, no one

probably knew that he was the one masterminding it all. Even when Matthias left the meeting room,

everyone was still looking at each other. Meanwhile, the vein in Chester’s temple kept twitching. This

was certainly a challenge to him.

Zayne was in the skyscraper across the building where the meeting was being held. Matthias eyed that

skyscraper, thinking that Zayne was indeed a skilled hand at stirring up chaos. It was amazing that he

was able to cook up such a malicious scheme.

He also had no idea where Zayne might have interfered. The Locke Group had tight security, yet he

was able to waltz in and out as he wished. Matthias secretly let a faint smile show, for he would let

Zayne do as he wished.

Now that he had gotten those people off his back, Matthias didn’t care about them anymore. In the

past, he hadn’t dared to offend anyone, which was why the board members all had that particular Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

expression on their faces. These people who simply waited around for their dividends without lifting a

finger were insects of society.

As such, they would not have such good fortunes in the future. After Matthias had left, the meeting

room descended into utter chaos. Chester eyed the gaggle of useless board members before him, for

none of them were of any use at all.

In truth, Matthias had been their sole pillar. All of the actual power was in his hands, and the Locke

Group was completely Matthias’ to toy with.

With that, Chester stormed out of the meeting room, livid. When he thought about how no one else in

the Locke Family could be relied upon, he felt deeply helpless. Naturally, he didn’t want to walk all the

way down this dead path. He knew that even if destroyed Matthias now, he couldn’t save the Locke

Group from its bankruptcy.

However, the Lockes would not forgive Matthias. Even if he did destroy the Locke Group, Chester still

cared about him slightly. Despite it all, the elder man could not bring himself to tear Matthias down.

By the time Chester realized his own compassion, he finally understood why he had allowed Matthias

to take up a spot in his heart. The older someone got, the more sentimental they became. Chester had

allowed Matthias to matter to him, and that was how the younger man got the opportunity to do what he

did.

Perhaps it was because he knew that he didn’t have long to live, but Chester was almost indifferent.

Had this been in the past, he definitely would have maimed Matthias.

When he recalled the past, he really had done far too many underhanded things, and his hands were

utterly sullied. Chester looked at his cane in pain; this was probably his karma, and he wouldn’t be able

to rest easy in death.

Matthias stepped out of the Locke Group, sick and tired of those irritating days. From now on, he was

free to fly in the vast skies available to him. The Lockes had clipped his wings in the past, but he was

reclaiming those lost wings of his right now.

His only wish was that the Locke Group had gone bankrupt earlier. Right now, he was in a dangerous

position, for Matthias had no idea when the Lockes would come knocking on his door for revenge.

He knew what that family would do, and it was possible that he might die in an accident. Matthias even

wondered whether he should find a safe place to hide from this danger.

Despite the vastness of the world, there was seemingly nowhere for Matthias to hide no matter where

he ran. When he crossed the road, he could even imagine himself getting hit and being flung from the

impact. Needless to say, he had a natural sense of fear.

Zayne sent a message to him just then, informing Matthias to see him immediately after he had settled

everything. The former had long since figured out the Lockes, and he knew that Matthias was in

danger.

Jason was standing next to Zayne, and he said to him, “When will you get rid of that bad habit of

meddling in others’ business? With your current situation, you can’t protect Matthias at all.”

Zayne showed Jason a simpering smile. “I know that I’m having trouble watching out for myself, but I

believe in your capabilities. You will definitely be able to protect us.”

In Zayne’s eyes, Jason was someone he could entrust his life to. He was fully aware of the latter’s

skills, but he also knew that he shouldn’t have interfered with Matthias and the Locke Group’s matters.

However, Matthias was someone important to Heather. Zayne was willing to risk his life for her, so how

could he ignore someone that Heather deeply cared for?

“Don’t try to win me over with flattery. It’s already a lot of effort protecting just you.” Jason wasn’t

exaggerating, for he hadn’t met such a mighty adversary before. The more powerful the foe, the more

fear they caused. They would hide in the dark as they prepared to kill their enemy at any moment.

Jason really didn’t have the extra energy to ensure Matthias’ safety, nor did he know what Zayne was

thinking.

Meanwhile, Matthias was already in the elevator. It was just a short distance, but the trip felt like it took

a century. Throughout his journey, he had had to overcome many difficulties. He had no idea when an

accident might occur, and although he was careful, there was still no sign of when trouble might crop

up.

When Matthias pushed open the door to the hotel, Zayne turned around to face him and show him a

mysterious smile. He then closed the door. From the looks of things, Zayne had been waiting for him all

this while—he hadn’t even bothered to lock the door. It was only then did Matthias finally notice Jason

standing next to Zayne.

Jason gave Matthias a once-over. He could tell that the man had been trained in martial-arts. As such,

people like him wouldn’t be half-bad in a fight, for Matthias wouldn’t keel over so easily.

“I wonder if the great detective Zayne himself will be able to help me with a favor?” Matthias slowly

approached Zayne. Both of them had wariness in their eyes, but they weren’t on edge because of each

other. Instead, they were on the lookout for unexpected ‘accidents’. Jason was not exempted from this

feeling either, for he instinctively could feel danger slowly marching closer.

“Are you perhaps asking me to send you to prison?” Zayne immediately read Matthias’ thoughts.

“I can’t think of any place safer than that.” Matthias smiled. As long as no one shot him in the back,

Matthias would not die so easily given his training.

“I’ll try my best.” Zayne thought that he had managed to create a new problem for himself. In fact, he

was actually worried whether he would be able to back out of this to save his hide.