Chapter 632

Bryan said, "Fantasyville NexGen Innovations dropped their latest chip worldwide this morning! Everything was moving so fast. The Rodriguez Group's stock tanked by over fifty billion dollars in just half a day. The risk control team thinks it'll drop even more tomorrow. If this keeps up, we're in serious trouble. The whole group's in chaos, and Jeremy's gone missing. Mr. Rodriguez, you need to come back now!"

The news of Jeremy's disappearance hit Lawrence like a ton of bricks.

Jeremy was a powerhouse, unmatched by many.

His vanishing act meant a massive conspiracy, causing the Rodriguez Group's stock to nosedive by fifty billion dollars.

Lawrence's voice turned icy. "I'm coming back right now."

He hung up the phone with a heavy heart, his bloodshot eyes dark and intense, striding towards the bedroom.

In the pitch-black room, Winnie lay on the bed, eyes closed, her delicate brows furrowed.

"Winnie." He called her name, his voice thick with emotion.

Winnie had already woken up when he entered; his presence was unique and terrifying, almost a nightmare for her.

She wanted to pretend to sleep and ignore him.

Lawrence suddenly leaned over and lifted the blanket.

Winnie's eyes flew open as if she had been shocked, glaring at him coldly. "Have you had enough? I'm on my period."

The sorrow and resistance in her eyes made his heart ache, his hand pausing. His pupils were filled with confusion and vulnerability. "Winnie."

Previously, he thought that with EWM going public, he would reach the pinnacle of the world, and no one could take her away from him.

But now, the Rodriguez Group had suddenly suffered an unprecedented blow.

EWM vanished, Jeremy disappeared-this blindsided him completely.

The intricate web of conspiracy surrounding this might just be the most formidable challenge of his career. Lawrence had a sinking feeling that the very business empire he had painstakingly constructed was crumbling, unsure if he could still hold on to Winnie.

"I love you, Winnie. Don't you know that?."

He pressed down on her petite body, grabbing her hands, and kissed her forcefully and greedily.

Winnie was stunned, then angrily pushed him away. "Don't touch me. You were just angry a moment ago. What's wrong with you?"

Her lower abdomen hurt from his pressure, and her small hands were almost crushed by his grip. She was filled with rage because she thought he was tormenting her again after a fight. "Go away!"

Lawrence's bloodshot eyes squinted and kissed her struggling lips until she couldn't breathe, then he let her go. "I have urgent business and need to leave for a while, Winnie."

Winnie's hair was in disarray, she stunned.

'Leave?' Her heart suddenly felt a bit relieved, and she coldly smirked. "You finally have something to leave for! I don't want to see you at all."

Lawrence's heart felt like it had been stabbed.

He stared at her angry face and felt sad and bitter. He gently nibbled on her earlobe, hoarsely saying, "I'll be back as soon as possible."

Winnie said, "You better never come back."

He closed his eyes helplessly. "Wait for me. Don't go anywhere."

Lawrence got up, staring at her as if trying to memorize her current appearance with all his might.

Winnie felt creeped out by his gaze and thought he was acting strangely.

It wasn't until he left the bedroom that she was still a bit dazed. He was just leaving for a while, but he looked like it was a life-and-death parting.

She didn't know what was wrong with him, like a capricious lunatic anyway.

Winnie sat there tiredly, the night as clear as day. She pondered how long he would be gone, what he was going to do, and whether she had a chance to escape from here.

Nine hours later...

It was the early hours of the morning in Trento City.

Lawrence's private jet touched down at the airport, and he drove through the night to the Rodriguez Group.

Despite the late hour, everyone in the company was present.

This upheaval was perhaps the greatest crisis the Rodriguez Group had ever faced.

Bob, Anday, the main family members, including some younger ones, and all the company's shareholders were anxiously waiting in the conference room.

Lawrence didn't head straight to the conference room. He went to his office, with Bryan and a few confidants hurrying in behind him.

Lawrence took off his suit jacket and got straight to the point. "Bryan, bring me the surveillance footage from the day Jeremy had the incident in the lab!"

Bryan quickly handed over all the footage he could find. "Mr. Rodriguez, there's no complete footage of that incident! The technical department and I investigated overnight, but the surveillance was damaged and couldn't be repaired. So, no one knows what happened between Jeremy and Sean, and why they left the lab at the same time! All we have is Sean's word about what went down."

Lawrence's brow furrowed darkly when suddenly the office door was kicked open. "Mr. Rodriguez, you finally come back! Lawrence, EWM was stolen by your friend Jeremy, causing the Rodriguez Group's stock to plummet by over fifty billion dollars. You owe us shareholders an explanation! Do you know how many contracts Jeremy signed for the Rodriguez Group about the chip in the past half month? It's over two hundred globally! Do you know how much compensation the Rodriguez Group has to pay? It's an astronomical amount!"

The shareholders burst in, pointing at Lawrence, gnashing their teeth in anger.

One shareholder said painfully, "An astronomical amount can't even be calculated! Back then, Anday released the news that this was a unique chip globally, attracting over two hundred companies to cooperate. But Fantasyville NexGen Innovations Company released the same chip just after we signed the contracts. We wanted to sue Fantasyville NexGen Innovations Company for infringement and plagiarism, but all the lab data was lost."

"If you don't resolve this matter, even the Rodriguez Group's deep pockets will be emptied with the astronomical breach of contract compensation.

"You've put all the company's efforts into chip development for the past two months. Other industries in the company have been neglected!"

"Our Rodriguez Group was originally the top enterprise in the country. You were the one who confidently said you wanted to bring a technological revolution to the company, claiming that the old real estate and finance sectors would eventually be exhausted. We believed you and agreed to use the profits from real estate and finance to develop the chip. But what was the result? You have completely disappointed us. Now, not only will there be no profit, but if the Rodriguez Group continues to lose money, the entire company will face bankruptcy."

Upon hearing that the Rodriguez Group might go bankrupt, the shareholders couldn't stay calm and began to curse even more furiously. "Lawrence, it was you who insisted on spending so much money on chip development, and now you've ruined us all."

"Mr. Rodriguez, your son must bear the greatest responsibility for this. A month ago, the company's reputation was already in shambles because he took Rock's wife. Not only did he not come forward to resolve the damage to the company's reputation, but he also disappeared during the company's crisis. As the president, he should have personally overseen the chip launch. Now that something's gone wrong, it's all because he was obsessed with women and irresponsible!"