In the office, Silas Sutton finally turned away from the window and sat down behind the massive desk.
He turned on his computer, and the screen immediately lit up with the Cosmos Group’s internal system interface.
However, he didn’t start working right away.
Instead, he pulled out his phone once again and woke the screen.
The lock screen was a simple image—a tiny sprout against a deep blue background.
It was a drawing Zoe Quinn had made for him three years ago.
He had kept it safe all this time, but now, looking at this little sprout only brought a sharp sting of pain to his heart.
In his phone’s contacts, the newly saved number sat quietly at the very top.
He hadn’t saved a name for it; it was simply labeled “Her.” His fingertip hovered over the number for a long time.
He was on the verge of pressing it, but in the end, he pulled back.
He couldn’t call her.
At least not right now.
The scene at the school gate earlier today resurfaced in his mind—the look Zoe had given him when she turned back was calm, distant, and even tinged with a hint of resentment.
Then there was the young man driving her.
He was gentle, considerate, and immaculately dressed; at first glance, he was clearly the well-educated type from a privileged background.
They were similar in age, making for a picture-perfect couple.
Perhaps a man like that was the only one worthy of his Sprout.
As for himself—a failure with a dark past who couldn’t even keep his promises—what right did he have to disrupt her life again?
All sorts of wild thoughts swirled in his mind, refusing to dissipate.
Back at the school, he had told himself that as long as Sprout didn’t cry, he would accept anything, even bowing out of her life.
But now that he had calmed down, he finally realized just how agonizing it was to swallow this bitter pill alone.
Silas closed his eyes, exerting a tremendous amount of effort to temporarily shake off the heart-wrenching images plaguing his mind.
He hastily turned off his phone and tossed it aside.
Not daring to give himself a single moment of idle time, he focused entirely on reviewing the files on his computer.
Henry Grant was highly professional.
He had already organized all the executives’ profiles, the performance reports from every branch, and the details of all ongoing major projects, placing them neatly on the desk.
Silas opened them one by one, skimming through the documents as his brain kicked into high gear.
The logistics company’s performance was growing steadily, but its profit margins were shrinking.
The catering and entertainment branch had over-invested, resulting in a prolonged return cycle.
The domestic trade company had too narrow of a business scope, making it vulnerable to risks.
The multinational trade company’s overseas expansion was sluggish…
There were plenty of problems, but none were insurmountable.
Silas’s brow gradually furrowed—not because the issues were particularly thorny, but because he realized that over the past three years, there had been significant flaws in the company’s management.
Sean Crane and Ryan Rhodes were bold and decisive when it came to business expansion, but they clearly lacked finesse in meticulous management.
This had caused Cosmos Group to expand too rapidly, leaving its foundation unstable.
In this moment, it was as if he had reverted to the Silas Sutton of three years ago—the man who struck fear into the hearts of his rivals and commanded absolute awe from his subordinates during strategy meetings.
Only back then, his heart had been filled with warmth, hope, and visions for the future.
Now, all he had left was an icy determination to whip the Group back into shape.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
The office door was tapped lightly, followed by Henry’s voice.
“Mr.
Sutton, the executives have all arrived.
The meeting can begin.”
Silas looked up at the wall clock.
Exactly half an hour had passed.
He adjusted his suit, stood up, and picked up the notepad and a pen from the desk.
“Let’s go,” he said, his voice entirely devoid of emotion.
Inside the grand conference room, the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
The room, capable of seating fifty people, was currently packed to the brim.
Every single senior executive of Cosmos Group was present; not a single person was absent.
When Silas pushed open the doors and strode in, all eyes darted toward him in unison.
Curiosity, scrutiny, guardedness, fawning…
a complex myriad of emotions intertwined in the air.
Most of these people had been promoted or hired by Sean and Ryan over the past three years.
They had only ever heard legends of the infamous “Mr.
Sutton” without ever seeing him in person.
Now, they were finally laying eyes on the man himself.
Silas didn’t speak right away.
He walked to the head of the table, sat down slowly, and swept his gaze across the room.
His stare was incredibly oppressive; everyone who met his eyes subconsciously straightened their backs.
Sean and Ryan sat on his left and right, respectively, while Henry sat a bit further away, ready to take the meeting minutes.
“Let’s begin,” Silas said.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried clearly to everyone’s ears.
“Starting with the logistics company.
Give me a brief report on your company or department’s current status, issues, and future plans.”
The head of the logistics company was a middle-aged man in his forties named Simon Abbott.
He was clearly well-prepared.
Standing up, he opened his PowerPoint presentation and began his report.
Five minutes later, Silas raised a hand to cut him off.
“Stop.”
Simon froze.
The conference room fell into dead silence.
“In your report, you mentioned a 15% increase in costs, but profit margins have also dropped by 1%.” Silas looked at the notepad in his hand, not even bothering to look up.
“How did you calculate these figures?”
Sweat began to bead on Simon’s forehead.
“Well…
we’ve implemented some measures, such as optimizing routes and improving the load factor…”
“Optimizing routes led to an increase in transit time, causing the customer complaint rate to rise by 3%,” Silas interrupted.
“Improving the load factor resulted in a 5% increase in the freight damage rate.
Did you factor those costs into your calculations?”
Simon was completely paralyzed.
He hadn’t expected Silas to have such a thorough grasp of the operational details on his very first day back.
You could hear a pin drop in the conference room.
Everyone held their breath.
Sean and Ryan exchanged a glance, both astutely realizing that their boss was making an example out of Simon.
They knew that during his three years in prison, Simon had been the person Silas paid the most attention to.
Every time a message was smuggled out, it was to ask about Simon’s movements.
“Sit down,” Silas said, not pressing Simon any further.
He turned to the next person.
“Catering company.”
The head of the catering company was a woman in her thirties.
She had evidently learned from the previous interlude, delivering her report much more cautiously, but the glaring issues remained.
“Your investment in the three new restaurants has already exceeded the budget by 10%, yet the post-opening foot traffic is only 60% of what was expected,” Silas pointed out directly after she finished her presentation.
“Tell me, why are you continuing to pour more money into this?”
The manager bit her lip.
“We believe this is only temporary.
The market needs time to be cultivated…”
“The market needs cultivation, but that doesn’t mean treating it like a bottomless money pit.” Silas’s tone remained perfectly level.
“I’m giving you one month to come up with a practical, actionable improvement plan.
If the numbers haven’t picked up by next month, I will consider axing at least one of those locations.”
The manager’s face drained of color, but she still nodded.
“Understood, Mr.
Sutton.”
The meeting continued in this fashion.
As each department gave their report, Silas raised sharp, piercing questions that struck right at the heart of their vulnerabilities.
He didn’t fly into a rage, nor did he even raise his voice, but that calm—almost ruthless—scrutiny subjected everyone to immense pressure.
Sitting off to the side, Sean and Ryan harbored complicated feelings.
They were both proud of Silas’s capabilities, yet deeply worried about his current state of mind.
Their boss was terrifyingly formidable, but also terrifyingly cold.
He operated like a precision machine—highly efficient and dead accurate, yet lacking a touch of human warmth.
Meanwhile, as the senior executive meeting was underway at Cosmos Group, a white BMW slowly pulled up to the entrance of Building 18 in Serene Vista Gardens.
The car door opened, and a freshly polished black leather shoe stepped out onto the concrete.