Chapter 286 Demetrius Won't be Given Back to You
After Sharon dropped her bombshell, the living room went dead quiet, and the vibe got real tense, real quick.
Zachary whipped his head around to look at Sharon, eyes wide with shock, but if you looked close, you could see a tiny smirk.
He knew Sharon was just BS-ing Seb, but seeing her stand up for him in front of Seb still gave him a warm fuzzy feeling.
Seb narrowed his eyes, drumming his fingers on the table, and said, "I don't care if you wanna marry him or whatever, but Demetrius ain't coming back to you."
Sharon's face twisted with anger, and just as she was about to snap back, Demetrius burst out from the next room and made a beeline for her.
"Mom!" Demetrius clung to Sharon's leg, bawling his eyes out.
She'd only heard him cry over the phone before, but seeing his puffy, tear-streaked face in person made Sharon so mad her hands shook.
She demanded, "Seb, what the hell did you do to Demetrius? Why's he crying like this?"
Seb shrugged, all cool and detached, "Demetrius just left you and came to a new place. It's normal for him to cry. He'll be fine once he lets it all out."
Sharon's face went red with rage, "Demetrius is just a kid. You had Paul drag him here and wouldn't let him see me, and you call that normal?"
Seb's eyes flashed with impatience, his voice turning icy, "If you hadn't kept him a secret from me all these years, we wouldn't be in this mess."
The thought of his own son looking at him like a stranger, or worse, an enemy, made Seb's blood boil.
And it was all Sharon's fault!
Despite her fury, Sharon sneered, "You should get your memory back before you start talking!"
She didn't believe that once he remembered everything, he'd still be so self-righteous.
Seeing her so sure of herself, Seb's eyes darkened. What if he had done something to wrong her before?
For a moment, Seb's face turned stone-cold.
He said, "No matter what happened before, today you're not taking Demetrius away."
Zachary stepped up, putting himself between Sharon and Demetrius and Seb. "Mr. Smith, Silvercrest Group just set up shop in Aidamore. You sure you wanna pick a fight with the Cook Group right now?"
Seb's face darkened at that. When Silvercrest Group was trying to break into the Aidamore market, Zachary had caused all sorts of trouble behind the scenes. He'd thought it was just local businesses trying to keep out competition.
Now it looked like Zachary's beef with Silvercrest Group was all about Sharon.
Seb sneered, "Mr. Cook, you think I'm scared?"
Zachary just smiled, not saying a word, his eyes flicking to the phone on the table like he was waiting for something.
Seb noticed and his face got even darker.
If they were in Metropolis, Zachary wouldn't even be on his radar, but here in Aidamore, things were different.
Silvercrest Group was still finding its footing in Aidamore. If Zachary went scorched earth on them, it could get messy.
Soon enough, Seb's phone rang.
Seeing Seb hesitate, Zachary raised an eyebrow, "Mr. Smith, scared to answer?"
Seb sneered, picking up the phone.
His face turned ugly real quick.
Hanging up, he glared at Zachary, "Mr. Cook, you really wanna go for a lose-lose with Silvercrest Group?"
"Mr. Smith, it's not a lose-lose for me. The Cook Family's been running Aidamore for a century, while Silvercrest Group's just been here for a hot minute, like two years."
Sure, the Cook Group might take a hit, but it wouldn't be anything they couldn't bounce back from.
Seb got up, heading for the door, "Mr. Cook, a lot of folks would love to see the Cook Group knocked off its pedestal in Aidamore. Hope you don't end up regretting this!"
With that, he brushed past Zachary and Sharon and walked out.
Zachary turned to Sharon, his eyes softening, "Sharon, it's all good now. Take Demetrius home."
Sharon didn't budge, her eyes locked on him, "Zachary, what did you do to Silvercrest Group?"
She'd heard Seb loud and clear. Zachary had stopped Seb from taking Demetrius, but it must've cost the Cook Group big time.
Zachary's face stayed calm as he reassured her, "Don't sweat it. I know what I'm doing. It won't hit the Cook Group too hard. My dad put his life into the company, and I won't mess that up."
Sharon knew he was trying to ease her worries, so she pressed her lips together and didn't push it.
She knew Zachary; if he didn't want to spill, no way she'd get an answer.
Sharon crouched down to Demetrius's level and wiped his tears, "Demetrius, let's go. We're going home."
Demetrius nodded, sniffling, "Mom, my backpack's still in the room."
Zachary said, "I'll grab it for you."
After Zachary fetched the backpack, they headed out.
Meanwhile, in the back seat of a Maybach, Seb's icy stare was glued to the documents in his hand, while Paul was giving him the lowdown.
"Mr. Smith, the Cook Group just jumped into the amusement park project. Now it's stuck at the final approval stage. I've tried reaching out, but they won't even give me the time of day."
Seb looked calm, but the way he gripped those documents showed he was fuming.
"Set up a meeting with Mr. Murphy," he ordered.
Silvercrest Group had some past dealings with the government, and Ralph Murphy was their go-to guy.
Paul was caught off guard for a sec, then remembered Ralph had a relative in the approval department, and quickly said, "Got it, I'll set it up ASAP."
After lining up the meeting with Ralph, Paul was about to relax when Seb shot him a cold look, "Why did Demetrius suddenly run out today?"
Paul's palms got sweaty real quick, "I don't know. I got a call about an issue with the amusement park project and wasn't paying attention."
Seb said, "Paul, you've been with me for years, but don't screw up again. Three strikes and you're out."
Paul knew arguing was pointless under Seb's intense gaze, so he just lowered his eyes and kept quiet.
Seb looked back at the documents, but his mind was elsewhere.
With the amusement park project and the Cook Group to deal with, he wouldn't have time for Demetrius. He decided to let Sharon keep Demetrius for now.
Once the amusement park project was rolling and Zachary was too busy to meddle, he'd take Demetrius back from Sharon.
By then, without Zachary's help, she'd be helpless!
On the flip side, after dropping Sharon and Demetrius off, Zachary took off in a hurry.
Back in their familiar home, Demetrius finally calmed down, but he still clung to Sharon, his eyes showing a hint of fear.
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