Chapter 1133

"Yes. She rattled off the pros and cons. I didn't understand a word of it, but

somehow, I managed to muddle through. The problem is, I am not the decision

maker. What if she follows up and presses me?" Garland said.

Juan muttered, "Her company is doing well. Why would she need to work with

you?"

"I don't know."

"Did something go wrong with her company?"

"I've no idea."

"Is the Buchan Group targeting them?"

"I'm not sure."

Frustrated, Juan rubbed his temples. "You had a meeting. Surely, you remember

something."

Garland recalled it. "Well, she said something about Theda trying to get their

hands on the shares of the Nichols Group. Then she said Theda couldn't get

them. In the end, she proposed to work with me to dominate overseas and

Seamar City markets. I told her I'd take it back to the company for discussion, but

she hit me with this thing about me being the sole decision-maker for overseas

operations. I panicked and said we didn't have any assets in Seamar City. Then

she dropped the bomb that we've had a branch here for over a decade. I had to

backpedal to avoid blowing my cover. It was a close call."

Juan fell silent.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Your family doesn't have any assets in Seamar City. How can you be clueless

about it?"

"What? Then why would Debra say that? Did she get it wrong?"

Juan let out a long, exasperated sigh. "She has doubted your identity. That whole

conversation was a trap, and you walked right into it. You gave yourself away with

that rookie-level mistake. You're such a brilliant protégé."

"What the hell? I treated her like a friend, and she set me up?" Garland's voice

rose in indignation.

If Debra found out he was passing himself off as Fermin, it would be disastrous.

Bert would definitely punish him.

He paced frantically. "You've got to

help me fix this. I did all this for you.

Otherwise, my dad will kill me."

Juan sulked, "You're the one causing problems for me right now."

With Garland's exposure, his peaceful things were officially over.

Fermin's death was a closely

guarded secret. If word got out, the

Eaton family could face chaos from

both within and outside.

"There's only one solution."

"What solution?"

"Confession."

"C-Confession?"

"Confess that you're Fermin. But you must not breathe a word about his death."

"How am I supposed to explain it?"

"Tell them you were just fooling

around. Spin it in a way that makes

you harmless to Debra. She'll still

see you as a friend."

Garland groaned, slumping into the chair. For the sake of the bigger picture, he

said, "I see."

The call ended.

That evening, Garland knocked on the door to Debra and Marion's room.

The three of them stared at one another. The silence lasted a full ten minutes.