Chapter 134
“Garth, easy. My wife just got out of the hospital p>
“Uncle Latham, I know! I just want to show Aunt Dorothea my secret base p>
Latham let out a low hum and glanced at Scott. “Why is Garth always hanging around my wife anyway p>
Scott smiled a little. “Dorothea’s nice to him. He likes people who treat him well.” “Garth’s just like you, you know. Smart and a little too clever for his own good.” Scott spun the cigarette between his fingers. “Want to go have a smoke p>
“No,” Latham shook his head. “I quit p>
Scott pulled a cigarette from the pack, held it between his lips, and lit up. “At least keep me company while I have one. I can’t believe marriage changed you this much p>
Latham didn’t argue. He just stayed quiet.
Scott blew out a lazy ring of smoke. “I’m looking to move up soon. All eyes are on our family right now, so try not to stir the pot too much p>
Latham knew what he meant. Scott wanted him to stay away from making trouble for The Brown Family.
“I know what I’m doing p>
“Garth was running around calling every woman ‘mom’ the other day. Did you hear about that?” Latham couldn’t help but ask again. “So who was his mother, anyway p>
Scott was impossible to read. If he didn’t want to talk, you’d never get a word out of him. He’d kept the truth about Garth’s mom locked up tighter than anyone. Even their father probably didn’t know the whole story.
Scott stubbed out his cigarette. “Don’t ask. It wasn’t that woman, Mamie p>
He’d already seen Mamie’s file two days ago. Twenty-seven, grew up in Emberfall, never even left the country. She just happened to look similar. In this world, there are plenty of people who look alike.
Latham didn’t push. “Alright p>
“But Garth really wants a mom. Scott, maybe it’s time you found yourself a girlfriend p>
Scott paused for a second, almost lost in thought, then just gave a careless smile.
“Albert, remember that time I saw Latham at the club? He called me over for a drink,
I turned him down p>
“His attitude wasn’t great, but I didn’t think much of it. Who knew he’d hold a grudge over something so small? Now a bunch of clients are dropping our company, all because he told them to. Albert, are you just going to let this happen p>
Albert frowned. “You mean Latham p>
Carola stiffened her neck, trying to sound convincing. “Yeah, him p>
But as far as Albert remembered, Latham wasn’t a good guy, but he’d never shown any interest in women When did he ever care about Carola? Or maybe this was just because he was engaged to her?
That thought made Albert’s eyes darken for a moment. “Tell Layton not to worry. I’m
not going to let The Brown Group fall apart p>
With that promise, Carola smirked. Told you I could handle it, she thought.
For a while, whenever Latham stole a project from The Brown Group, Albert would just hand them a new one. Back and forth, the whole city started to sense something weird was going on.
Even gossip sites jumped in, running clickbait headlines like, “The Clark Family and The Stephens Family at War, All for Love p>
Latham glanced at his phone and let out a cold laugh. “Which outlet is running this?” “Mr. Stephens, it’s owned by The Brown Group p>
He didn’t hesitate. “Set up a press conference for me at noon p>
The assistant paused. Okay p>
Dorothea was sitting in her office when Carmen’s messages started blowing up her phone.
[Dorothea, hurry, click this link. Your husband’s live press conference p>
Dorothea hesitated, then tapped the link. On the screen, Latham appeared in a sharp blue suit, a little smile playing on his lips. His voice was calm, almost casual. “I heard some people are spreading rumors that Albert and I are fighting over a woman, I’d advise anyone, in the media with common sense to be careful about what they report p>
“I’m holding this press conference today just to clear things up. I don’t care about
that kind of fake woman p>
“Alright, give me a close-up p>
Latham’s smile turned a little wicked. “Ms. Brown, let’s not make up stories. I’m a married man p>
“If my wife sees these headlines, she’s going to get jealous p>