Wendell glanced at Charlie with contempt and said coldly, “You're nothing but a loser. You can't even stop your own wife from wandering around with other men. It's such a waste for Claire to be with you. Why don't you let her go and let her be with me?”
A layer of coldness appeared on Charlie's face.
“First, apologize to Claire and take back everything you said in front of everyone. Or, second, I'll make your family's business go bankrupt.”
“Hahaha! Are you kidding me? Who the hell do you think you are to make my family go bankrupt?”
Wendell laughed loudly, looking at Charlie with complete contempt.
“Are you out of your mind, you insane piece of trash? Do you have any idea how much our company is worth? What could you possibly do to make us bankrupt? Haha!”
Charlie remained expressionless as he stared at Wendell for a moment, as though he were looking at an idiot.
Then he took out his phone and called Stephen.
“In three minutes, I want to see the Jones family's company declared bankrupt and liquidated. Make sure their debts are called in immediately.”
Three minutes to make a company worth billions go bankrupt?
That was absolutely impossible!
Wendell stared at Charlie in disbelief.
“Damn, you're full of lies! Do you really think you're the ultra-rich man everyone has been talking about online?”
He continued coldly, “Loser, stop pretending. I'll give you two choices.
“First, kneel down and apologize to me, then divorce Claire immediately.
“Second, I'll have my men beat you until you're crippled, and then I'll make you watch helplessly as Claire becomes mine.
“Choose now! I'll give you one minute to think about it.”
Charlie glanced at his watch.
“You have one minute left. Are you sure you don't want to save your company?”
“Fuck off!” Wendell shouted.
“Twenty seconds!”
Wendell grabbed his collar and gestured toward the bodyguards around him, preparing to have them teach Charlie a lesson.
Just then, his phone suddenly rang.
Wendell was caught off guard.
He looked at the screen and saw that it was his father.
He quickly answered.
“Dad, I'm at the hotel right now. Where are you?”
His father's furious voice came through the phone.
“Damn it! What the hell did you do this time? Who did you offend? All our shareholders are selling their shares like crazy! Our stock price has already fallen by more than eighty percent!”
His father continued angrily, “The bank just came to our door demanding repayment of our debts! All our business partners have suddenly suspended their cooperation with us and stopped making payments!”
The color drained from Wendell's face as he listened to his father's furious voice.
Fear began to spread across his forehead.
“We're finished! We're completely finished!”
Wendell opened his mouth to ask what had happened when he suddenly heard an alarm through the phone, followed by the sound of someone breaking down a door.
Then he heard police officers ordering his father to come to the station for questioning.
Wendell's legs went weak.
He collapsed to his knees in front of Charlie.
His phone slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.
Trembling violently, Wendell looked up at Charlie and asked in a desperate voice, “Who the hell are you? You did this, didn't you?”
The spectators were equally stunned.
Just moments ago, Wendell Jones had been arrogant and threatening. Now he was kneeling in front of the Wilson family's son-in-law.
What was going on?
Charlie looked down at him.
Then he leaned forward slightly and whispered, “I gave you a chance to choose, but you made the wrong choice.”
“I'm sorry! I'm terribly sorry! Please forgive me! Please spare me! There's nothing between Claire and me. I never touched her!
“The Emgrand Group contract had nothing to do with me! Everything I said was a lie! I made it all up!
“Please! I'm begging you! Please save me and my family!”
Wendell repeatedly knocked his head against the floor as he apologized.
He had never imagined that the supposedly lowly son-in-law of the Wilson family could possess such enormous power and influence.
When he raised his head and looked at Charlie, the man's calm and indifferent face seemed more terrifying than the devil himself.
Charlie shook his head.
“You should be grateful. At least I spared your life. Otherwise, your entire family would be dead by now.”
Wendell's face turned as pale as paper, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
Charlie continued coldly, “To tell you the truth, yes, I am the mysterious wealthy man from that video.
“If you don't want to die, don't tell anyone about my identity. Otherwise, I can't guarantee that you or your father will still be alive tomorrow morning.
“Keep your mouth shut.”
Wendell didn't dare resist Charlie in the slightest.
He watched as Charlie walked into the banquet hall, then immediately crawled after him.
He anxiously looked around until he spotted Claire.
He hurried toward her, dropped to his knees, and cried, “Claire, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have spread those ridiculous rumors about you. I have nothing to do with the Emgrand Group's project. Please, please forgive me!”
Claire was stunned by his sudden behavior.
She instinctively stepped backward and nearly lost her balance.
Someone immediately caught her in a warm embrace.
Claire looked back and saw that it was Charlie.
Seeing Wendell rushing toward Claire, Charlie had quickly wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling.
He then glared at Wendell disdainfully.
Claire frowned in confusion.
“What's wrong with him?”
Charlie whispered while still supporting her, “There must be something wrong with him. Just ignore him.”
The two of them were husband and wife, but they had never shared such intimate physical contact before.
Claire's face flushed, and her ears turned bright red as she felt Charlie's warmth around her.
Feeling embarrassed, she gently pulled herself out of his arms.
“Erm... Mr. Cameron from Emgrand Group should be here soon. I'll go and take a look...”