The Substitute Bride

"I'm doing fine, thanks for asking, Mrs. Lu. May I ask what the purpose of your call is?" While Chuck really knew why Melissa was calling him, he pretended he didn't know anything.

"Chuck, we've been friends for so many years. I'm going to get straight to the point. I'm sure you must know what's happened to Charles." Melissa didn't want to show her cards right away. She needed to get him on their side first. To do that, she had to gauge what he thought of the whole situation. She needed this plan to work.

"I heard about that. Is it true, Mrs. Lu?" Chuck asked seriously.

"Yes, it is," Melissa answered honestly.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Mrs. Lu. So, what are you going to do?" Chuck cut straight to the point, not wanting to waste any more time.

Melissa took a deep breath before speaking. "Chuck, the Shining Company is what matters most to Charles. I don't want anyone taking charge while Charles is gone. I know he's coming back. In the meantime, I want to take Charles' place, and I need your support."

She knew what kind of person Chuck was, and that was why she thought to ask him for help. All the other members of the board respected Chuck very much and always took his ideas into consideration whenever they voted. As long as Chuck agreed to help her, she believed things would go smoothly.

Charles was the major shareholder of the Shining Company. If something really happened to him, then Melissa would take over his shares.

If Sheryl wasn't divorcing Charles then she might have been the largest shareholder.

Given that, Chuck wasn't suspicious at all when Melissa told him her plan. He smiled and said, "Mrs. Lu, of course, we'll support you, but I'm sure you know I'm getting old. I do wish to retire soon..."

Chuck trailed off.

Melissa clenched her fists. She knew what this meant. Chuck wasn't going to be able to help her that much.

She managed to speak calmly. "Don't worry, Chuck. Once I take charge of the company, I promise you're going to benefit from it."

"Mrs. Lu, I'm very aware that this is just lip service. How am I supposed to trust you? What if you go back o

o get rid of Rex's men and sneak out.

Lost in thought, Holley jumped when her phone suddenly rang.

Seeing the caller ID, Holley furrowed her brows. She picked up the phone and said, frowning, "Why are you calling me now?"

"What? Are pregnant women not allowed to answer calls now?" Leila mocked Holley on the other end of the line.

Leila knew Holley was just emotional because of her pregnancy, so she didn't take her seriously. She continued without waiting for Holley to respond, "Does your boss still want to take down the Shining Company?"

"The Shining Company?" Holley was surprised to hear this. It had been so long since she last heard news about the Shining Company. She hadn't spoken to Ferry for quite a while, either. She figured this might be a good chance to finally get rid of those stupid men watching her. She asked, "All right, I'm listening. What good news do you have for me?"

"I'm sure you know Charles is missing, right?" Leila said rather condescendingly.

Holley was startled upon hearing this.

In the past few weeks, she had been forced by Rex to stay inside her little house. She had no access to the internet either, so she wasn't updated with anything else that was going on in the outside world. She could tell that Leila was laughing at her, so she just pretended that she knew this all along. "Of course, I know about that. What does that have to do with your plan?"