The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

"Our company is going through a bit of a crisis right now, and my wife and I can't handle it ourselves. We were hoping Casper could come back and help us out. However, he's refusing to return," Gary explained.

He was careful not to sound too demanding, afraid that Zane might take offense. "I was wondering if you could convince Casper to come back?"

Zane listened and quickly figured out the situation. After Casper made his stance clear to his family, they were still trying to persuade him to return. Since they couldn't, they were now turning to Zane for help.

Having worked with Casper, Zane knew exactly how talented and capable he was. Keeping Casper at their company was nothing but beneficial. There was no way Zane was going to hand over a talent to Gary foolishly.

Zane replied coolly, "I'm sorry. I don't involve myself in my employees' personal matters."

Gary's expression darkened. "Zane, I'd advise you not to do this the hard way." Zane raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh?"

Was Gary threatening him? Zane was almost curious to see what Gary thought he could do.

Gary pressed on, "He's my son—"

"That doesn't matter to me," Zane interrupted, his tone turning icy. "And let me remind you, the only reason I'm even entertaining this call is out of respect for Casper. But I'm a busy man. I don't have time to waste on this."

When Zane didn't immediately comply, Gary grew impatient. "If you don't cooperate, I'll go public and expose your behavior."

A threat like that was laughably weak to Zane. Expose him?

From the moment he had been with Annalise until now, Zane had been bombarded with countless exposés and Scandals. Yet, he had never seemed to care.

Zane said calmly, "Go ahead and expose me After you do, I'll make sure to share every detail of how you've treated your son over the years 'm sure the public won't blame me. They'll probably think I saved Casper. So, who do you think they'll end up criticizing?"

His voice carried a natural air of confidence and composure. Gary's expression turned grim at that.

Before he could respond, Zane continued, "They'll definitely blame you. They ask, 'How could a father be so cruel? His son worked

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tirelessly for him, and what did he get in return? Not a single penny. When the father got angry, he kicked

his son out of the house

"Who knows? People might even start urging Casper to cut ties with you altogether."

That was the outcome Zane wanted. "So, by all means, go ahead and expose me. I'm waiting."noveldrama

Gary was furious, but he had no retort. All he could do was hang up the phone.

Zane, unfazed, walked calmly into Casper's office.

Casper was surprised to see him. "What brings you here?"

Zane had recorded the entire conversation. He handed his phone to Casper. "Here, listen to this," he said.