Chapter 500: Short-term Decisive Battle, A Crushing Defeat (8)

Chapter 500: Chapter 500: Short-term Decisive Battle, A Crushing Defeat (8)

They had been preparing for over a month! I heard that invitations were sent to almost every prominent family in their circle. The scale of this event was definitely on par with Mr. Hale’s birthday banquet! From what her grandfather had said, it seemed he was preparing to formally introduce her to everyone, letting the entire circle know that the Sterling Family didn’t just have Faye Sterling, but also Seraphina Sterling!

Seraphina Sterling didn’t have to do a thing. All she had to do was be a good girl, listen to the makeup artist, let them do her makeup, and then make her grand entrance!

The Fenton Family received the invitation two days prior. When Shelby Fenton saw Seraphina Sterling’s ostentatious and grand invitation, she was instantly displeased. The Fenton Family was currently in a state of chaos; their stock price was in freefall and the company was in a slump. Zane Fenton and Jacinta Hale had absolutely no time to spare for their daughter, much less know that they had received an invitation from the Sterling Family!

"Dad, Mom, let’s host a banquet, shall we? Maybe we can find a new business partner there?" Shelby Fenton pitched her idea the moment Zane Fenton and Jacinta Hale got home that evening.

"A banquet? On what pretext?" Zane Fenton rubbed the bridge of his nose. These past few days, just to stabilize the stock price, the bank had already poured in a huge amount of money. Although there had been some effect, it was minimal. If they kept throwing money at it like this, even Fenton Bank wouldn’t be able to bear the cost. The best solution now was to find a new partner to help Fenton Bank weather this crisis. It was just that after Hale Corporation publicly announced they would no longer cooperate with Fenton Bank, practically no other company was interested in partnering with The Fenton Group.

"Leo Fenton is almost twenty-five, but he doesn’t even have a steady girlfriend. Wouldn’t hosting a banquet to choose a daughter-in-law be the perfect excuse? There are plenty of eligible girls in our circle who aren’t engaged yet," Jacinta Hale chimed in from the side.

Zane Fenton was silent for a long while. "That won’t work. You know full well what that boy’s reputation is like. Why would any family with a higher standing than ours let their daughter marry into our family? And those with lower standing would likely need our support; they’d be of no help at all!"

"I say we throw a banquet in Shelby’s name. Shelby is already eighteen, so it’s the perfect time for her to find a boyfriend! Our Shelby is beautiful and talented; someone is bound to like her! I’ll invite all the great families of Aethelgard. Anyone who meets Shelby is sure to fall for her! If Shelby can marry into a powerful, influential family, then the Fenton Family will be saved!"

Zane Fenton was already treating his daughter as a bargaining chip. To him, nothing was more important than the company, more important than the family. Everything else had to give way for their sake.

"Are you crazy? Shelby is only eighteen! Isn’t it a little too early for her to be finding a boyfriend? You’re her father! How can you make her do something like this? Treat her like an object for trade?" Jacinta Hale was not pleased. She knew from deep personal experience what it was like to have to marry into a powerful family. This was her daughter, and she couldn’t bear to see her go through it.

"I’m her father. I’ve raised her for all these years, the Fenton Family has raised her for all these years. Now that the family is in trouble, what’s wrong with her, as a child of the Fenton Family, doing her part? This is the fate of a wealthy heiress! You, of all people, should understand that better than I do. Besides, if Shelby can marry into a powerful family, it’s a good thing for her as well! At the very least, her future will be secure. And to be brutally honest, even if Fenton Bank can’t escape its fate in the end, we won’t have to worry about her future! The matter is settled! I’ll have someone prepare the invitations."

Zane Fenton’s final words convinced her; Jacinta Hale no longer objected. "Shelby, get yourself ready over the next couple of days. Make sure you put on your best performance at the banquet and be a beautiful princess!"

"Don’t worry, Mom. I will. The company is in such a bad state right now, and time is of the essence. I think we should hold the banquet as soon as possible, let’s say in two days. The sooner we find a partner, the sooner the bank’s crisis will be resolved!" Although Shelby Fenton felt some resistance toward Zane Fenton’s plan, she would endure it just to get her revenge. ’I don’t care what it takes, as long as we hold our banquet on the same day as Seraphina Sterling’s birthday! I’d like to see what happens then. A matchmaking banquet and a birthday party, held at the same time—which one will everyone choose? It would be best if not a single person shows up to Seraphina Sterling’s birthday party. Then we’ll see what she has to be so smug about!’

"Shelby has grown up; she’s so sensible now! Don’t you worry, I’ll make sure this banquet is a grand and glorious affair!" Zane Fenton was overjoyed. ’This is our only solution right now!’

Meanwhile, Seraphina Sterling was still completely unaware that someone had already made a move against her—a move intended to humiliate her at her own birthday party. At that very moment, she was going through her own ordeal!

"Spill. What is going on? How did Noelle Patterson’s nephew find me? He’s driving me crazy!" Nadia Chapman complained over the phone to Seraphina Sterling, having just left her office.

Seraphina Sterling sounded a little guilty. "Oh, you mean Preston Patterson! He’s obsessed with stock trading, and I... accidentally beat him one time. Of course, for a freshman to beat a graduating senior, that’s pretty unbelievable! So... hehe!"

"So, you gave me all the credit!" Nadia Chapman was already gritting her teeth. ’Does Seraphina think I don’t have enough to deal with already?’

"Um, as for Preston Patterson, do whatever you want with him! It’s fine if you even let him into the company, as long as you don’t go into too much detail with him! Of course, you could also just reject him! Do whatever makes you happy. Just treat him like your wicked stepmother and make his life miserable! Don’t overthink the rest!" Seraphina Sterling started dishing out terrible advice, trying to alleviate her own guilt.

"Noelle Patterson is Noelle Patterson, and Preston Patterson is Preston Patterson. It was Noelle who married into our family, not Preston! Do you think I’m the kind of person who can’t tell right from wrong?" Nadia Chapman rolled her eyes, then sighed helplessly as she saw a tall, upright figure walking toward her in the distance. "Seraphina, I have to say, you’ve really brought me a world of trouble! The human flypaper is back! Someone save me!"

Hearing the tearful edge in Nadia Chapman’s voice, Seraphina Sterling couldn’t hold back a laugh. Worried her friend would fly into a rage, she immediately suppressed it. "He’s just one clingy guy. I have faith in your abilities; you can handle this perfectly! You got this!" With that, Seraphina Sterling quickly hung up the phone. ’You really shouldn’t do bad things,’ she thought. ’The guilt is just too much!’

"Nadia, would you do me the honor of joining me for dinner?" Preston Patterson was dressed in casual attire. Already a pretty boy to begin with, the outfit made him look even more handsome.