What Separates Me and You

Chapter 96

Chapter 96 You Won’t Achieve Anything

“Why?” asked the person on the other end. “Lewis has no reason to do it. He’s the only son and heir to the Alvarez family. Alvarez Corp will eventually become his, so why would he sabotage the investment project?” Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

“Only son?” Seth snorted, “You’ve got some nerve saying that to me, the son-in-law of the Alvarez family. I bet Lewis knows I’m up to something.”

A sigh came from the

person.

“Whatever. I’m hanging up as I’ve got other things to deal with now,” Seth said before ending the call and strolling ahead. As he walked, he noticed Lewis’ car was parked by the road with its lights on. It seemed like Lewis had intentionally waited for him. Thus, Seth approached and saw Lewis was indeed inside. The latter rested one arm against the car window while holding a cigarette between two fingers. Even Lewis’ tie had gotten loosened up compared to before. Seth forced a smile while he asked, “Were you waiting for me, Lewis?”

While turning to stare intensely at the former, Lewis exhaled a puff of smoke. Tension filled the air as he hid his malice while speaking. “How can my intelligent brother-in-law make such a foolish mistake?”

Chuckling tensely, Seth opened the door to get into the car. Once he settled down, the two drove off into a remote fork in the road, where Lewis lowered the car window and smoked again.

The lighter cast a warm glow against Lewis’ face for a split second.

Seth turned to face the former. “I had suspicions and wanted to test the waters with you earlier, but it seems no longer necessary. What’s the use of asking when you and I know the truth? Pray tell, Lewis-

why were you waiting for me?”

Lewis shook off the excess ash from his cigarette, then drilled his dark gaze into Seth. “Where is he?”

That immediately stunned Seth, but he decided there was no use hiding anymore. “So, you knew.”

Silence came from Lewis, which sparked a thought from Seth as he chuckled self- deprecatingly. “Does that mean you were faking it in front of me all this while? Hmm. That makes sense. I figured you were onto me when the first proposal got disapproved, yet you easily approved the second one. What a shame I didn’t realize your next move earlier. Poor Josephine.”

He spoke with a sighing tone and mused, “At first, I thought Lewis said he didn’t care about Josephine to make her jealous, but now, it seems like Lewis genuinely feels nothing for her. He knew I had Josephine but acted like he didn’t, so I’d lower my defenses! Lewis waited to

approve my re-submitted proposal before actually looking for Josephine. I thought he was so worried about her safety that he didn’t have the heart to work, which led to him accepting the proposal. Granted, I did suspect he did all that on purpose at the time-but Lewis signed the papers, so I figured I could transfer the investment funds without getting caught since Lewis is responsible for the project on paper. I assumed I could pull a few schemes here and there to interfere with the company’s income and make it difficult for them to keep operating. That way, Alvarez Corp will have two options; sell their shares or go through dilution of shares, issuing additional shares to the market. Both would buy me time to transfer the investment funds into my private account while I pocket some of Alvarez Corp’s shares. I never imagined Lewis would guess my plan and beat me to it.”

Lewis’

eyes darkened as he flung his cigarette’s ashes outside the window. He ignored the former’s statements and asked, “Why did you do it?”

“Shouldn’t I ask you that?” Seth rebuked.

Like before, Lewis ignored the former and responded with another question. “I’d like to know why you did it. What is your purpose for leeching off my family?”

By then, Seth had lit a cigarette and leaned against the window on his side of the car, admiring the night view. “What happens if I refuse to answer that?”

“It doesn’t matter. You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to. After all, I’m sure you can

repay

all those investment funds you took from the company,” Lewis casually stated.

That immediately made Seth scoff. “Are you sure you have the right to say that to me?”

“I’m not the one in control over it, Seth. You should know there’s no need to play mind games with me. I’m not the kind to secretly record conversations and use them against others.” Lewis tensed slightly, his fingers squeezing hard against the cigarette. He knew Seth had been treading cautiously since the latter entered his car.

Seth hadn’t given any excuses, nor did he admit to anything. Anyone who alertly listened to his responses could tell he was merely playing along with whatever Lewis said. That was because he feared Lewis was secretly recording the conversation, as he could get kicked out of the Alvarez family should he let any of his secrets slip. Nonetheless, Seth never thought Lewis would see through his fears so easily.

Before joining the company, Seth knew it was tough to trick Lewis, so he had always followed the rules at work. He dared not mess up for the past two years. Years passed, and he now had the chance to

steal the company’s wealth, yet Lewis got in his way. Seth had to admit it— Lewis was a formidable opponent.

He turned his head to stare at Lewis, the smile on his face long gone. Only a grim but reticent expression remained on his face. “Lewis, can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Are you aware of Josephine’s background?” Seth’s voice sounded different than usual; it

wasn’t as friendly anymore. Instead, there was a looming seriousness.

That made Lewis frown, but he didn’t respond.

Seth waited a few minutes before chuckling like normal. The former’s silence was a clear enough answer for him. Hence, he opened the car door and hopped out while speaking casually again. “A word of advice, Lewis-if you want to be a good person, commit to behaving that way. Similarly, you’ll need to be 100% cruel if you wish to go down the path of a bad guy. There is no in-between, or you won’t achieve anything.”

With that, he left without sparing Lewis another glance.

Rain poured from the sky just then. Despite the street lamps’ bright glow, the skies had turned so grey and misty that the entire city became shrouded in darkness. Even so, Seth walked under the rain, his figure gradually disappearing into the foggy evening.

Lewis watched with a grim frown as the former left.

The two had officially waged war against each other, and their battle had barely begun.

Upon returning to Styx Mansion, Lewis stood before the couch and gazed down at the woman. lying on it. She had curled into a ball, burying her head into her knees and hugging herself tightly. To Lewis, she resembled a cat that curled up in freezing weather.

As for Josephine, she had struggled to sleep this whole time. She was in a light sleep, so she immediately jolted awake when she felt a corner of the couch dipping. Frantically looking up, she saw Lewis and sighed in relief, but disappointment soon filled her eyes again.

“Why are you sleeping here?” Lewis reached out to touch her cheek.

Josephine’s eyes locked onto him as she remained in the fetal position. She pulled away slightly when she felt his cold hands against her cheek.

That was when Lewis leaned closer, the faint smell of his cigarette wafting toward her as he held her chin. Then, he gently spoke as if coaxing a child. “Let’s get you to bed, hmm?”