A Replacement Bride

Chapter 342
Melise quickly got up to support her husband and she frowned in confusion. "Darling, you have barely recovered. Don't get so
overwhelmed. What happened?"
Mason held himself up against the table, his gaze distant as he muttered, "Oh, we are in so much trouble now..."
He no longer had the mood for breakfast and rushed straight to the office, summoning his assistant after he arrived. "Which
projects were affected?"
His assistant hesitated before telling him. Mason got so angry that he slammed his hand against the table. "B*stard! Is he not
going to stop until he makes us lose everything?"
As it turned out, William had been responsible for nearly all those projects. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that he had
once again siphoned money from them, which led to this mess.
"Where's the general manager? Why isn't he here when we are in such a great mess?"
His assistant licked his lips and answered haltingly, "I already called him, but I couldn't get ahold of—"
"Couldn't get ahold of him?" Mason's fury flared up once more. "Keep calling until he picks up!"
"Yes, Mr. Mason!" His assistant did not dare argue and turned away to do just that.
In the end, Mason was left alone in his office. He was so enraged he nearly hit his computer, but he remembered that he had
many other things to do besides dealing with the investigators. As such, he forced himself to stay calm as he tried to come up
with solutions.
However, after making a round of calls, he didn't expect that no one was willing to help him. All his close partners in the past
were now distancing themselves from him. Even the other three noble families were ignoring him. He was so panicked that he
could only try to contact the higher-ups, but all the friends he had clinked glasses with at banquets refused to lend him a hand.
"You already made a gross and humiliating mistake during the project with Matix. Now that there's something like this, the
government won't tolerate it anymore! You'd best think of something else!"
Mason was dismayed upon hearing that. "But—"

He was about to plead his case once more but the person on the other end of the line refused to listen and hung up.
Beep!
Mason collapsed in his chair with a pale and lost expression at the sound. He knew that they were facing a catastrophe and they
could never escape unscathed even if they survived it.
...
When Katherine received Kelvin's call, she had just finished her lunch with Noah. She glanced at the notification before walking
to the corridor to answer the call.
Kelvin reported, "Miss Cornell, everything has been done as per your orders."
She grunted indifferently in reply. Leaning against the wall, she stated, "What's the situation with the Moran Corporation?"
"All their projects have been put on hold after just one day and are under investigation. Mason has asked around for help, but I
have already taken care of it, so none of the people he contacts will help him. The Moran Corporation is now stranded and also
facing a great number of penalties for violating their contracts. They have no one to turn to now."
The Moran Corporation had recently sustained huge losses due to the Matix project. Hence, they did not have a lot of working
capital. With so many projects simultaneously on hold, they wouldn't be able to cough up that much money even if they emptied
their coffers.
Katherine raised an elegant eyebrow and she looked satisfied. "Good job."
Kelvin chuckled before asking, "Miss Cornell, don't we need to deal with the government? The Morans have close connections
with them and I'm concerned that—"
Before he could finish, she interrupted, "You are concerned that they will tolerate the Moran Corporation flouting the laws
because of their connections, right?"
He answered in the affirmative.
She stretched out her legs lazily and a mocking smile appeared on her face. "Don't worry. From now on, they will not cover up for
the Morans no matter what happens. The Moran Corporation is doomed."
Kelvin didn't understand why she was so confident about that. "But..."

Katherine's lips curved up as she commented, "They have offended the government with the recent Matix fiasco. Now that they
are clearly weakening, everyone is eager to assist in their downfall. The Moran Corporation is now abandoned by the
government since helping them won't be advantageous. Don't forget that the Moran Corporation cannot even afford to pay off
their penalties now."
No matter how close the Morans had been with the government, there were virtually none who would care about connections
compared to financial benefits. Matix canceling the project caused the government humiliation and with that in mind, they would
no longer assist the Moran Corporation.
Now finally understanding the connection between both sides, Kelvin asked once more, "Miss Cornell, what shall we do next?"
She did not beat around the bush. "Dominate the market which the Moran Corporation once ruled over."
He understood at once and immediately began carrying out her orders.
When Katherine turned around, she saw Joaquin leaning against the doorframe while staring at her with interest.
"Why are you out here?" she asked.
He nodded towards the room. "Keith is playing a game with Noah and he's determined to turn the tables even though he has
been soundly beaten three times."
She smiled slightly. "It's just a game and yet, he's so bad at it."
Joaquin smiled at that. "Keith isn't bad at it. It's just that Noah is far too smart."
Katherine naturally agreed with that. "Of course. She's my daughter, after all, and takes after me in terms of intelligence."
Her prideful comment made him laugh and he lowered his head for a moment before glancing into the room. He then turned
back to her and led her to a bench nearby to sit.
"I notice that you are much closer to Noah and she's also more dependent on you. All her symptoms from before seem to have
disappeared as well."
Katherine smiled as she considered this. "Hmm, that's true. Her autism came from something which troubled her for a long time
and since that has been resolved, she will recover."

She looked at Joaquin with glittering eyes as she murmured, "It's all thanks to you, though."
"Me?" He raised his eyebrows. "Why is that?"
"I can see that she is most dependent on you. Did you know how dejected she was during the days you didn't return although
she didn't say anything? Her issues were resolved recently because of you too since your appearance changed her life."
Katherine had distanced herself from her daughter because of the past. Although she knew it wasn't fair to Noah, she couldn't
help it, and this had caused the girl to be closed off. It was great that Noah had finally recovered.