A Bumpy Road to Power

Chapter 501 501

"Do I have to say it?"

Blossom asked.

Dirk Carter smiled slightly and said, "Of course, you are free not to, if you really don't want to."

Blossom's eyes became distant.

After a moment of silence, she sighed deeply and said, "There's really nothing I can't say, it's all in the past..."

Blossom's real name wasn't Blossom Haney, let alone Flora Haney. Her name was Fleur Haney, a very ordinary name.

Fleur Haney's life was nothing short of legendary.

Many people thought Fleur Haney must have come from a very poor family. Otherwise, how could a beauty like her have ended up on such a path?

But that wasn't the case.

Fleur Haney's father was named Sebastian Haney. He was once a civil servant.

After the wave of reform and opening-up swept in, Sebastian Haney quit his civil servant job and went to Keston City alone.

Since Sebastian's father had been a carpenter, Sebastian learned woodworking from him since childhood, so after arriving in Keston City, riding the wave of reform and opening-up, he took over a failed furniture factory and officially started his private enterprise career.

As the saying goes, as long as you stand at the right wind, even pigs can fly.

Sebastian Haney was one of those standing at the right wind.

With the rapid development of the real estate industry, more and more people bought new houses, and as they did, they needed furniture. Sebastian Haney's furniture factory quickly rose.

By the time Fleur was eighteen.

Premier Furniture City had opened about 30 stores in Serenity State alone. Nationwide, they had over 70 stores, and Sebastian Haney became known as a furniture tycoon.

Hearing this.

Dirk Carter shivered slightly and asked, "Premier Furniture City is your family's business?"

Blossom nodded with a wry smile and said, "It was, now it isn't."

The reason Dirk Carter asked was because Premier Furniture City is not only a listed company now but also the largest furniture dealer nationwide, and even Koryn City has a store.

As the saying goes, unexpected storms and unpredictable fates.

And that very year, Premier Furniture City caught the eye of someone named Clifton Donovan.

For reasons unknown, Clifton Donovan, seemingly omnipotent, somehow managed to have harmful substances detected in Premier Furniture City's furniture, leading the government to order many stores to shut down and rectify the issue.

This led to a liquidity crisis for Premier Furniture City.

Then, Clifton Donovan loaned money to Sebastian Haney through others. Under financial strain, Sebastian used equity as collateral, borrowing more and more money.

At the time, no one knew it was a complete conspiracy.

Though they got some money, it was a high-interest loan, and as interest accumulated like a growing snowball, Premier was unable to repay the debt. Thus, Clifton Donovan sued Sebastian Haney, and the court awarded Premier Furniture City to him.

Twenty years of Sebastian Haney's effort turned to bubbles.

After going bankrupt, Clifton Donovan became gloomy. Feeling tricked by Clifton Donovan, he continually lodged complaints, moving from the city to the province to the central government without success.

It was on the way to petition higher authorities with his wife.

He had a car accident.

The car was destroyed and the couple died on the spot.

Leaving behind only an eighteen-year-old Fleur Haney.

"Before my father went bankrupt, he secretly set up a trust for me. Later, after he died, I gradually learned that Clifton Donovan was from a prominent family in Argentum, and we couldn't afford to offend him. But I had to avenge my father. After much contemplation, I thought of creating The Flower House as a way to meet powerful people. This was the initial purpose of establishing The Flower House..."

Blossom said.

In the same year The Flower House was established.

Fleur Haney changed her name to Flora Haney and embarked on an even more legendary life.

She didn't expect The Flower House to become so popular, so she upgraded services and facilities, continuously improving The Flower House.

Seven or eight years ago on a certain day.

Benson Caldwell appeared.

He was very interested in The Flower House and proposed acquisition to Blossom, offering quite an attractive price at the time. However, Blossom refused; she had to keep control of The Flower House.

Benson Caldwell was helpless.

He changed his approach and began a frenetic pursuit of Blossom...

At this point, Fleur's gaze dimmed somewhat.

She said, "At first, I thought he was after The Flower House, but I didn't expect him to really treat me well. It was then I felt warmth, and I earnestly helped him manage The Flower House..."

"But you still left afterwards. Was it because something happened?"

Dirk Carter asked.

Fleur sighed and said, "Two reasons. First, Benson kept urging me to let go of my obsession, saying that we couldn't mess with the Donovan Family and it was better to live a stable life. Fighting a mighty oak is meaningless; and the other reason, the main reason I left him—"

"What is it?"

Dirk Carter asked.

Fleur slowly lifted her head.

She looked at Dirk Carter, paused, and said, "I am a lesbian..."

A lesbian?

Lesbian meaning, a woman who loves women?

That was something Dirk Carter completely hadn't expected.

How could anyone not be surprised that a stunning beauty turned out to be a lesbian?

"This realization came to me after I opened The Red Chamber. At that time, I often saw men and women entangled, and I wasn't interested in men's bodies at all. I was obsessed with women's bodies. Back then, this was a very serious 'problem.' After staying by Benson's side for many years, I often gathered the courage to give myself to him, but I never succeeded. I knew staying with him had no future, so I chose to leave."

"Why Rexton City?"

"Because Rexton City is where my father resigned to start his business, it's my hometown. As a child, I came back here several times, so I'm relatively familiar with it."

Fleur said.

Dirk Carter nodded slightly and asked, "You later founded Marriott International, also intending to imitate The Flower House's model, right?"

"Yes. After leaving Benson, I had no other desires, consumed only with thoughts of revenge. To get revenge, I needed money, a lot of money. So, I founded Marriott International, carefully laying so many steps to gain benefits from The Economic Development District. Looking back now, I was too naive, always thinking I could do anything, only to be defeated by my own pawn. Thinking of it now, it's truly laughable."

"Actually, I can accept this outcome now. After all, Benson had long told me that an ordinary person could never fight the powerful. Having tried, there's no regret. If there is a regret, it's that I can't marry and have children like a regular person, living out an ordinary life."

Fleur Haney laughed at herself.

What happened next, Dirk Carter knew even without asking.

After Benson Caldwell was in trouble, Fleur sent people to Serenity State, and after some investigation, she learned the truth.

She wanted to kill Dirk Carter, also intending to avenge Benson Caldwell.

But he never expected that this woman, known to the world as a "fox," wasn't always a fox from the start.

Behind her, there was an invisible stick, beating her shape over and over.

"You want to avenge Benson Caldwell; I can't do that. You want Jeff Hughes to change his mind; I can't do that either. But there's one thing I can do."

Dirk Carter suddenly said.

Fleur Haney trembled slightly, looked up at Dirk Carter, and asked, "What is it?"

Dirk Carter smiled slightly and said, "Let you live the life of an ordinary person."