Chapter 556 556

"Mmmp—Mmmppp—!!" Mrs. Andrew continued struggling to no avail. Mrs. Andrew was scared that this woman might actually kill her if she kept struggling, so she stopped once her face was planted on the ground until it was for her to breathe, let alone open her mouth.

"Mm, good, she finally stops struggling," Maria said, then glanced at Mr. Vincent Gray and also Vernon. "Don't worry, it will take her long enough to actually die out of asphyxiation. I don't care if she does, though."

Maria fished her phone out and started calling someone, and then, ten minutes later, two men in black showed up and helped her prop Mrs. Andrew up. They covered the old woman's mouth with one hand and pulled her out of the office.

Secretary Maria watched from the side. After ensuring that woman was taken care of, she bowed respectfully at Vincent and Vernon before leaving the CEO's office and shutting the door.

…

Vernon was speechless the whole time. He knew that Maria was Vincent's lapdog that would do anything for him and the company. He also knew that Maria was very dangerous and observant.

But he didn't expect Secretary Maria— that old woman could be ruthless and unfeeling. She didn't even hesitate to stomp the old Principal and called two men to bring the old Principal out.

'I also can't believe that it's so easy for her to talk about murdering someone in front of a guest like me. Is this a common occurence?' Vernon glanced at his Big bro, who didn't seem to be affected at all, then asked, "Big bro, what will she do to that old Principal?"

"Hm? I don't know," Vincent shrugged. "She will probably kill her, or even worse, torture that old woman until she dares not talking about anything to the public. She's quite effective for this job."

"And you also allow her to use those important men in black to do her bidding?"

"They are still my people. I just give Maria enough control to deal with tasks like this," Vincent continued. "Why are you asking? Are you surprised that Secretary Maria can be so ruthless?"

Vernon nodded.

He was genuinely curious about Secretary Maria's life story and why she did everything for Vincent, even though it barely benefited her.

"Well, let's just say that our late Father helped her enough until she decided to dedicate her life to our family. You won't find someone more dedicated than she is, that's why I keep her around," Vincent explained. "Anyway, that old Principal's life is over. I don't think Maria will kill her because it's too much of a hassle to do. But she will definitely punish and traumatize Mrs. Andrew enough until that old bitch don't even dare to do think about telling the media about me."

Vincent watched the astonishment on Vernon's face. Again, he always felt so proud when Vernon looked so surprised and stared at him with awe. It proved that Vernon was still the same Little brother who would always listen to his words.

Just like a dog.

"Speaking about old women. I don't know where Dorothea is right now," Vincent complained. "I tried calling her many times, and she never answered any of my calls. I tried to contact the Gray mansion, and the head butler said that she is on her trip to Greece to heal herself."

Vernon swallowed his saliva when Vincent brought up the topic of Dorothea. He was afraid that the old woman might've told Vincent about everything, "Are you sure that you can't get her in contact? Does she have any bodyguard that follows her around?"

"Huh? Why?" Vincent frowned. "Why do I need to hire a bodyguard to protect a depressed dying woman like that?"

"Well, I just thought that maybe you want to keep her safe…." Vernon murmured.

"Huh? You really think I care so much about her?" Vincent stared at his Little brother as if Vernon had said something so utterly ridiculous just now.

"I just thought that you might have a little good will to her, Big bro," Vernon said. "After all, you're her favorite son."

"Favorite son? HAHAHAHA!" Vincent burst out in laughter. The more he listened to his Little bro, the funnier it got. It took him the whole five minutes until he was satisfied with his laugh and asked back with a grin on his face, "Do you really think that she loves me?"

…

"Well, let me tell you something, Vernon," Vincent patted his Little brother's shoulder and leaned closer so he could whisper, "I didn't give a shit to her pampering when I was young. You and I know that she did it because of her failing marriage with our late Father."

"She doesn't want to be left out. Although her life has been ruined by her husband, she still have me. She wants me to be her doll that she can shape whichever she want based on her vision of perfect son," Vincent said. "Unfortunately, I'm not that doll. I got bored dealing with an overbearing mother like her, and I don't care if she dies or not right now."

Vernon's body trembled slightly. Vincent was simply terrifying, especially when he acted all kind and amiable like this.

It reminded Vernon of how ruthless he could be to an old woman just now.

But he clenched his fist to gather his strength so he didn't look scared in front of Vincent.

"I see," Vernon nodded. "Then, if you don't care about that old woman, why are you trying to find her now?"

"Obviously because I have to make sure that she will die in a civilized manner. There are still so many Gray family assets under that old woman's name. It'll be a headache if I have to fight all of those rotten apples to obtain all of my birthright," Vincent said, referring to the Gray family branch members as rotten apples.

"I see…"

Vernon was relieved that Dorothea hadn't told Vincent about his relationship with Chloe. Just like what Chloe said—Dorothea wouldn't betray them.

'What if… what Chloe said a few weeks ago was true? Dorothea has changed and wants to help us. What should I do if Chloe actually win the bet?'