Supreme Mars novel Chapter 43

Chris felt unsettled throughout the journey. He didn't even look at the stairs and almost tripped over several times.

"Smack!"

Suddenly, he received a light slap on the face. Although it didn't hurt, it still made him very angry.

"Who hit me..."

Chris's words came to a screeching halt when he saw Leo's face. An awkward expression crossed his face.

Leo smiled and asked, "Are you awake now?"

Chris paused, then snapped back to reality. He gave Leo an ugly smile. "Thank you, I'm fine."

Leo did not point out his farce and just said, "We are quite close to Emerdale River. Shall we take a walk by the river?"

Chris hesitated but still nodded. "Okay."

Nadine knew that her boss had something to say to him, so she tactfully chose to leave them to it.

No one noticed that she had disappeared. This was what was made her special.

She was like Leo's shadow. She would appear silently when he needed her. When he didn’t, she would slip away just as easily.

The wind by the river was strong, and it was also bone-chilling. Chris couldn't help pull his clothes closer around him for warmth. However, he realized that Leo was just standing tall in a thin black suit.

A strange feeling surfaced in Chris's heart as he looked at Leo's side profile.

He and Leo were enemies, but now they were strolling along Emerdale River like friends.

Friends?

Chris paused, then looked at Leo in surprise.

"He's a friend... isn't he?"

In the past, he had found Leo quite distasteful. After that, he was afraid of him. But now, he had to rely on Leo.

This change in mental state was something that not even he could fully describe.

"Are you afraid? Afraid of her?" Leo suddenly asked.

Chris hesitated, then nodded. He knew who she was.

"To be honest, I was afraid of her five years ago."

With a self-mocking smile, Leo said frankly, "At that time, I thought she was like a cyborg. Everyone had to obey her, otherwise, they would end up miserable. She almost had me beaten to death because I didn't tell her the Ford family's company secrets."

"What about now?" Chris looked at the Leo in surprise.

That time was the darkest period of Leo's life. If he was someone with a weaker will, he might have been tortured to death long ago. However, Leo had smiled as he recounted it. He had become indifferent to it all by now.

How many people in the world could calmly face what they were afraid of?

Chris knew he wouldn't be able to do it.

"Now?" Leo smiled and said lightly, "I'm not afraid anymore."

"No matter how powerful or dictatorial she is, she’s still human. As long as she is, then she has a weakness. Once that's discovered, there's a possibility of toppling her."

"..."

Chris looked at Leo again in surprise. It was difficult for him to understand the profound meaning of the line with his experience.

"You have to learn to overcome this irrational fear. When you become calm facing Kate, you will be prepared to stand up against her."

Suddenly, Leo stopped walking and leaned against the railing. He looked at the vast and white Emerdale River.

Chris was silent for a bit before he said, "That sounds easier said than done."

"I know that it's difficult. However, it’s precisely because it's so difficult that you have to overcome it. Otherwise, how will you be able to replace her?"

Leo said lightly, "If you return to the Lawson office now, you will definitely be intimidated by her. You probably won't even dare to look her in the eyes. The first thing I want you to do is to go back and take the initiative to confess to Kate what you've done today."

"What?!"

Chris was completely stunned when he heard that. His whole body trembled as the wind blew. "You aren't going to ask me to hide it, but want me to tell my sister what I did today?"

"Yes." Leo nodded with a smile.

Wasn't this the same as signing his own death warrant?

Chris cursed under his breath.

"Do you think Kate will punish you?" Leo asked with a smile.

Chris nodded without a second thought. Wasn't that a guarantee?

Leo shook her head and said seriously, "I can tell you with certainty that Kate will not punish you. On the contrary, she will praise you."

"Why?"

Chris's eyes widened in disbelief.

"It's very simple. You just need to think a little."

Leo smiled and said, "Time flies, and people change too. No one stays the same, not even Kate Lawson."

"Five years ago, she acted arbitrarily and didn’t allow anyone to betray her. She even said things like 'Those who obey me will live, those who disobey me will die'. She was a sharp one, no doubt. But can she still behave like this five years later?"

Chris nodded subconsciously, then shook his head.

The company under Kate's name belonged to the Lawson Group. Even Vesper Corporation, which had originally belonged to the Ford family, was now under the Lawson Group's name. She was still as much of an authoritarian as ever, but there seemed to be something different about her.

Chris could not put his finger on what had happened.

"She still thinks highly of herself, but her methods aren’t as extreme anymore, right?" Leo smiled at Chris.

"Yes, yes, how did you know?" Chris's eyes lit up. He found it incredible that Leo seemed to know Kate better than him.

"Enemies understand each other best."

Leo said, "Because of the increasing power in her hands, Kate has also realized that things are still the same as before. The business empire that she has painstakingly managed for many years will collapse overnight, because no one will follow a ruthless boss."

"For some things, she will choose to turn a blind eye to them and even let others attend in her stead."

Leo narrowed his eyes. It was just like the wedding between him and Lydia Henderson. On the surface, they had invited Kate as a representative of the Lawson family. However, the person who had come instead was Peter. It was not hard to guess that this was done with Kate's tacit consent.

Kate was one of the few people in Emerdale who knew who the groom and the bride were. Hence, she chose not to turn up herself. Instead, she let Peter, who was deeply in love with Lydia, take her place, in order to borrow his hand to disrupt the wedding ceremony. And Peter would definitely end up being taught a lesson by her. It was a classic example of someone being taken advantage of.

"She still focuses on herself, but her methods are a lot more tactful now. That's also why you're afraid of her. It's because you can’t see through her."

Leo squinted and said, "However, ignoring a lot of things does not mean that she’ll allow anyone to play tricks under her nose. Other than Kate, does the O'Brien family have close contacts with other families?"

Chris's eyes widened as if he had understood something. "You mean..."

"We can't be too greedy. We'll burn the candle at both ends otherwise."

"Kate won't deal with such trivial matters in person, but if you suppress Neil for her, she'll reward you."

Chris grew excited. He understood what Leo meant.

There were so many families in Emerdale, big and small. How could the O'Brien make money from everyone?

As long as Chris explained the matter to Kate, he would not be punished. Instead, it would be merit he had done.

As for the appearance of Leo Cohen?

He had been drinking in the bar and had not said a single word from beginning to end. What did it have to do with him?

Of course, Kate had already seen through the essence of the whole matter, but she would not point it out. Instead, she would secretly be on her guard against Chris.

Chris was a mole planted in the Lawson family by Leo, but Kate couldn’t just remove him from the equation.

"I get it. I'll go home now!" Chris said as he waved enthusiastically to Leo.

For the first time, he admired Leo. It turned out that Leo had already planned everything when he had called him here.

After Chris left, Leo also planned to go home.

Suddenly, his phone rang. It was a call from Caroline.

"What's the matter?" Leo picked up the phone and asked calmly.

"Get your ass back here now and tell us what you've done!"

Caroline sounded as if she was barely managing to suppress her rage.