The Devil Who Claimed Me

Chapter 23: Ethan cancelled the collaboration with Vegas.

Mila stared at the screen for some time, clearly understanding why he was calling her. ’Ethan might have said something,’ she muttered in her mind. ’He is calling me to scold me.’

"Who is it?" Dominic asked. "Why are you not picking up the phone?"

He grew suspicious when he noticed she wasn’t answering the phone.

Mila didn’t reply to him. Instead, she swiped the screen to answer the call.

"Hello?" she said slowly.

"Come home. We need to talk."

Beep

Mila’s face tightened slightly. She was very familiar with that serious, cold tone. But this time, it felt something different.

She wouldn’t meet him, but curiosity made her change her decision. Lowering the phone, she looked up at Dominic.

"I need to go Vega mansion," she said. "Something urgent has come."

"Vega mansion?" Dominic sensed danger. "Don’t go alone there. I’ll come with you."

"Don’t be concerned. I can take care of myself," she assured him with a confident smile. "You should go home and wait for me. I’ll be back before you know it."

She tiptoed and kissed his cheek before hurrying away.

Dominic stood there, watching her get into her car and drive away. Once her car had disappeared down the street, he looked around, then strode away.

Mila arrived at the Vega mansion, and she immediately felt the chill in the air. The entire house was filled with heavy silence. She had usually found them in the hall. But there was no one.

"Where has everyone gone?"

Just then, the housekeeper approached. "Hello, Miss. Mr. Vega is waiting for you in the study."

"Okay." Mila headed upstairs.

From outside the room, she could hear heavy footsteps inside. When she opened the door, she saw Leonard pacing back and forth.

The moment he saw her, he paused abruptly. "You are finally here. I thought you wouldn’t come."

Mila frowned slightly.

His temper was nothing new to her. She had endured his scoldings, even beatings, for years. But today felt different.

He looked frantic.

’What happened to him?’

Just as she was wondering, he shouted, "You ungrateful, stubborn brat. Do you have any idea what damage you have done?"

Damage?

Mila stiffened. "What are you talking about?"

"Pretending to be ignorant," Leonard barked. "Ethan has cancelled the collaboration with us. Every single one."

Mila couldn’t believe it. ’That guy actually ended the collaboration!’ Her thoughts raced. ’I thought he wouldn’t dare. Didn’t he love Bianca the most?’

She suddenly recalled Ethan’s words last night – ’I don’t love Bianca. I’m with her only for fun.’

But Mila instantly shut that thought down. ’No. This is just another trick to make me give in.’

"It’s all because of you," Leonard barked, snapping her out of her thoughts with a start. "You broke up with him. Now he is retaliating."

His voice grew colder. "Several projects have already stopped. Investors are nervous. If the collaboration doesn’t resume soon, the company will collapse."

Mila’s fingers trembled slightly before she rolled them into tight balls. "And you are blaming me."

"Of course, you are to be blamed for this," he said without hesitation. If you had listened to me and married Ethan, none of this would have happened. Look at yourself – where your stubbornness has brought us. The company is on the verge of collapsing."

The words made Mila’s anger explode. "It’s not my fault," she shot back.

"Really? He is angry because you ended the relationship with him and rejected his marriage proposal. What do you think he is doing this?"

Leonard snorted, displeased. "But you are still not accepting your mistake. You are a disgrace to this family. Apologize to Ethan immediately and fix the mess. Marry him as planned."

"I’m not marrying him." Mila’s voice rattled the entire room.

Leonard gaped at her, stunned by her strong retaliation.

"He cheated on me," she continued. "And my half-sister...She deliberately seduced my boyfriend and stole him from me. But instead of scolding her, you are blaming me. You expect me to swallow the humiliation and marry Ethan?"

She squared her shoulders. "That will never happen."

Leonard’s face twisted in fury. He raised his hand to slap her.

Mila stepped forward instead of backing away. "Go ahead. Slap me."

Her defiance baffled him. The slap didn’t land on her face. His hand froze in the air.

"That’s what you have always done, hasn’t it? You only know how to blame me, punish me. You never cared about me – not even once."

Leonard curled his fingers into a fist and lowered his hand.

Mila scoffed bitterly. "If it weren’t for the shares my mother left for me, you would have killed me long ago. But you needed those shares. That’s why you and Ethan planned to make me transfer the shares to Bianca."

Leonard’s expression changed instantly. ’She knows.’

The thought made him nervous and anxious. But he soon masked his uneasiness beneath a layer of rage. "What nonsense? Don’t make up stories. If I wanted the shares, I have plenty of ways to take them away from you."

He strode back to his chair. "Stop changing the topic. The company is in crisis now." His tone softened a bit, but it remained commanding. "You will go to Ethan and apologize to him. Talk to him."

"No."

Leonard snapped his head up and shot her a murderous glare. His patience snapped. He wanted to beat her to death. But he needed her.

Only Mila could save the company.

He forced himself to calm down. "The company is your mother’s life’s work. You know how much she sacrificed to build it. Are you willing to watch it crumble?"

Silence descended in the room.

Mila’s expression turned thoughtful. Her anger slowly cooled.

Vega Biocorp was her mother’s legacy. Mila couldn’t let her mother’s company go bankrupt because of her personal issues with Ethan.

The resistance in her gaze weakened. "Fine," she finally relented. "I’ll talk to him. But let me tell you this."

Her gaze turned cutting. "I’ll never surrender those shares, no matter what."

She stormed out.

Leonard gritted his teeth as he watched her leave. "Yvette, you smart bitch," he muttered coldly. "I worked my ass off for this company, and you only gave me ten percent shares. This is cruel. You humiliated me. Now your daughter will suffer. I will take those shares anyway."

~~~~~~~~~

Mila arrived at the headquarters of Shaw Group. Her mind had been in turmoil since the argument with her father.

Leonard wanted her to reconcile with Ethan because it was the only way to resolve the current issues. But Mila had no intention of doing that. Yet she had still come here.

For the company – her mother’s company.

’Even if it means to surrender those shares, I’m willing,’ she thought firmly.

Straightening her shoulders, she walked in, pushing the heavy glass door open.

The receptionist gave her a polite smile when she approached the desk.

"I’m here to see Mr. Shaw," Mila said.

The woman checked her computer. "Mr. Shaw is currently in a meeting. Please wait."

Mila nodded. She was led to Ethan’s private office. The room was large and luxurious, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. She had come here before, but nothing was as quiet as today.

She sat down on the sofa, hoping he would appear soon.

Minutes passed, then an hour. The office’s silence began to feel suffocating. Outside the glass wall, she could occasionally see the assistants walking past, but Ethan had not appeared.

Mila grew restless. She kept looking at the door, hoping it would open at any minute. But it remained stubbornly shut.

"What’s going on?" She exhaled in frustration. "Does he not know I’m waiting?"