Chapter 440: I know your greatest weakness!!!
Nick slowly turned toward Miles.
The look on his face said everything.
Miles only raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Nick stared at the microphone in Miles’ hand.
Then at the dozens of Sterling Foundation employees now waiting expectantly.
"You did that on purpose."
Miles grinned.
"You’re a public figure."
Nick narrowed his eyes.
Miles continued,
"And apparently..."
He gestured toward Nick’s face.
"...you have a very valuable face."
A few employees nearby laughed.
Nick’s eyes widened.
"You..."
Miles held the microphone toward him.
"Come on."
"Motivate them."
"Your mother sent you here to learn things, right?"
Nick didn’t move.
Miles lowered his voice slightly.
"This could be a fun little addition if the Ivory House ever asks me to submit a report about your educational trip."
Nick’s expression immediately changed.
"You wouldn’t."
Miles smiled.
"Want to find out?"
Nick snatched the microphone from his hand.
Miles stepped aside, visibly satisfied.
Nick looked across the operations floor.
Dozens of people waited.
Some were smiling.
Some looked surprised.
A few still seemed unsure whether Nicholas Abbott was actually standing in front of them.
Nick cleared his throat.
"Hello, everyone."
The reaction came instantly.
Several employees cheered.
Someone clapped loudly.
Nick’s confidence returned immediately.
Miles folded his arms.
Of course.
Give Nick an audience and he would survive anywhere.
Nick smiled.
"I can see some confused faces too."
That earned laughter.
"So..."
"For those of you still wondering whether I’m actually him..."
He placed one hand against his chest.
"Yes."
"I’m the same Nicholas Abbott."
A pause.
"Son of President Maxwell Abbott."
A louder cheer followed.
Nick laughed.
"Alright, alright."
He looked toward Miles.
"I know what most of you are probably thinking."
His expression became exaggeratedly serious.
"What is this fellow doing here with your Chairman?"
More laughter.
Miles shook his head.
Nick continued,
"To tell you the truth..."
"Miles and I are buddies."
He gestured toward him.
"We’ve known each other for a long time."
Nick paused.
Then smiled.
"You know that one kid your parents always compare you with?"
Several employees immediately laughed.
Nick continued,
"The one who’s somehow good at everything."
"Studies well."
"Behaves well."
"Has a bright future."
"And then your parents say..."
He deepened his voice.
"’Why can’t you learn something from him?’"
The laughter grew.
Nick pointed toward Miles.
"That’s him."
Miles stared at Nick.
The employees laughed even harder.
Nick nodded seriously.
"Trust me."
"I’ve suffered."
Miles quietly muttered,
"Drama queen."
Nick heard him.
"I’m holding the microphone."
Miles raised both hands.
Nick turned back toward the employees.
"This morning, Miles told me everyone here was working overtime."
He looked around.
"And my immediate response was..."
He pointed toward Miles again.
"’You’re a cruel boss.’"
A few employees gasped jokingly.
Miles smiled.
Nick continued,
"So naturally..."
"He brought me here."
"And honestly..."
His tone became more sincere.
"I think I was wrong."
The room quieted slightly.
Nick looked around at the workstations.
The planning boards.
The employees who had clearly been working since morning.
"I’ve been here only a few minutes."
"But I can see something."
"You’re tired."
A few people nodded.
"You’re busy."
More nods.
"But the moment your Chairman walked in..."
Nick smiled.
"...half of you somehow looked more energetic."
Miles glanced toward June.
June smiled.
Nick continued,
"That’s actually impressive."
"It means you’re not just working because someone ordered you to."
"It means you care about what you’re building."
A voice came from one of the desks.
"Mr. Nicholas."
Nick looked toward him.
The employee smiled.
"You couldn’t ask for a better boss than our Chairman."
Another employee immediately agreed.
"Absolutely."
Someone else added,
"Even if Chairman asked us to work without food and breaks, we’d still do it."
Miles’ eyebrows immediately rose.
"No."
The room burst into laughter.
Miles pointed toward the employee.
"Please don’t say that anywhere."
June covered her mouth.
The employee laughed.
"Just saying we’re loyal, Chairman."
"I understood the intention."
Miles looked toward June.
"But give them breaks."
"We do."
"Good."
Nick laughed.
"See?"
Then he looked back toward everyone.
"Miles keeps telling me his employees are the best."
Miles glanced at him.
Nick continued,
"Maybe he wasn’t exaggerating."
Several employees smiled proudly.
"And one day..."
Nick sighed dramatically.
"...when my family finally drags me into the family business..."
He looked toward them.
"I might actually use all of you as an example."
Miles smiled.
Nick finished,
"Thank you for working hard."
"And please continue."
Then his expression changed.
"Because I am also waiting for the free takeout."
The entire floor laughed and applauded.
Nick handed the microphone back.
Miles leaned toward him.
"That worked like a charm."
June nodded.
"It really did."
Nick adjusted his jacket.
"Charming, aren’t I?"
Miles looked him over.
"Of course."
Nick smiled proudly.
Then Miles added,
"I still highly doubt you’d be good at business."
June immediately looked away to hide her laugh.
Nick froze.
"Hey."
Miles smiled innocently.
"That hurts."
Nick pointed toward him.
"Don’t forget..."
"I’m your partner in the Formula One project."
Miles slowly turned toward June.
"June."
She immediately straightened.
"Yes, Boss?"
Nick became suspicious.
Miles said,
"From now on..."
"Any F1 documents requiring signatures..."
He pointed toward Nick.
"Send them to Mr. Nicholas."
June almost answered.
"Alr..."
Nick jumped between them.
"Wait."
June stopped.
Nick looked at Miles.
"Wait, wait, wait."
Miles smiled.
Nick placed both hands together.
"Miles."
No response.
"My dear buddy."
Miles continued smiling.
"My brother."
Still nothing.
"My big brother."
June finally laughed.
Nick pointed toward her.
"Don’t encourage him."
Miles folded his arms.
"One condition."
Nick immediately became cautious.
"What condition?"
Miles thought for a second.
Then smiled.
"I’ll keep it."
Nick stared.
"For later."
"That’s worse."
Miles nodded.
"It’ll be useful."
Nick sighed.
Miles continued,
"You’re the President’s son after all."
Nick looked toward him.
"If your condition involves Dad helping you..."
He shook his head.
"He listens to you more than me."
Miles considered it.
"Maybe."
Nick became even more worried.
"Now I’m genuinely concerned about whatever you’re planning."
Miles laughed.
"Good."
Footsteps approached.
Chloe had finally finished speaking with the employees around her.
She joined them.
"That charged everyone up."
Nick immediately turned toward her.
"Thank you, Sister-in-law."
Then he pointed toward himself.
"Tell me honestly."
"Would I make a good boss?"
Chloe answered without hesitation.
"Of course."
Nick immediately looked at Miles with a triumphant smirk.
"See?"
Miles sighed.
"Yes, yes."
"If my wife says it..."
"Then obviously you’ll be amazing."
Chloe laughed.
Nick nodded proudly.
"Finally, someone reasonable."
Miles ignored him and looked toward Chloe.
"Everything alright?"
"Everything is great."
Chloe smiled.
"Actually..."
"Most of the preparations are done."
Miles nodded approvingly.
"Good."
Chloe hesitated.
"There is one thing, though."
Miles immediately noticed the change.
"What?"
"A technician asked me about something earlier."
June looked toward her.
Chloe continued,
"I forgot to mention it because June was outside checking the supply trucks."
June stepped closer.
"What happened?"
Chloe pointed vaguely toward the lower floors.
"It’s about the new cameras."
Miles became attentive.
"What about them?"
"One technician came to me."
"He said some of the new cameras weren’t appearing on the monitoring system."
Miles listened.
"He said they needed to configure them through the Convention Center’s internal servers."
June’s expression changed.
Chloe continued,
"And then he asked for the server room access key."
Miles looked directly at her.
"Did you give it to him?"
"No."
Her answer came immediately.
Miles’ expression relaxed slightly.
"I don’t have the key anyway."
Chloe continued,
"I told him we’d wait for June to return."
"He agreed."
"But later..."
She frowned.
"I didn’t see him again."
June looked toward her.
Chloe continued,
"So I asked some of the other technicians whether the cameras had been fixed."
"And?"
"They said nothing was wrong."
Miles’ eyes narrowed.
Chloe continued,
"They told me the cameras were mostly plug-and-play."
"They were already showing up."
"The technicians didn’t need server-room access."
Nick’s playful expression disappeared.
Miles looked toward June.
June understood immediately.
"I’ll contact the camera contractor."
"Get the employee list."
"Find out who spoke to Chloe."
Miles nodded.
"And send everything to the Security Base."
June looked toward him.
"Cyber team"
"Understood."
He glanced around the operations floor.
"Have them quietly check the Convention Center systems."
"Nothing dramatic."
"No disruption."
"Just make sure nobody touched anything they shouldn’t have."
June nodded.
"On it."
Nick looked toward Miles.
"Think it’s serious?"
Miles shook his head slightly.
"I think it’s suspicious."
"That’s enough."
Nick nodded.
Miles looked toward Chloe again.
"You did the right thing."
Chloe smiled.
Miles continued,
"People don’t question someone wearing a technician uniform sent by a contractor to install their products."
"That’s what makes it useful."
Chloe thought about it.
Miles smiled faintly.
"But somehow..."
"You looked like the easiest person to ask."
Chloe narrowed her eyes.
"What does that mean?"
Miles laughed.
"You should be more bossy."
Chloe stared.
Miles continued,
"A little fear makes people think twice before trying things."
Chloe crossed her arms.
"So I’m too friendly?"
"No."
Miles immediately softened it.
"Being careful is enough."
"And you were careful."
He smiled.
"Good work."
Chloe’s expression brightened.
"Thanks."
Then she thought.
"Bossy..."
"Hmm."
She nodded to herself.
"I should learn from Lissy."
Miles immediately shook his head.
"No pressure."
Chloe laughed.
"I know."
"Being cautious is good enough."
Miles nodded.
"Exactly."
Chloe looked toward the busy employees.
"Anyway..."
"About that takeout you just promised everyone..."
Miles looked around.
"Right."
Nick immediately raised one finger.
"Today is going beautifully."
Miles looked toward him.
Nick started counting.
"Aunt Elena’s breakfast."
"Takeout for lunch."
Then dramatically,
"And dinner prepared by none other than Chairman Miles Sterling."
Chloe turned sharply.
"What?"
Miles smiled.
"Yeah."
"I’m cooking tonight."
Chloe’s eyes brightened.
"Really?"
"Really."
Chloe immediately looked toward the planning boards.
"Then I’m finishing everything early."
Miles laughed.
"Don’t rush."
"I will rush."
Nick nodded.
Miles sighed.
"Fine."
Then he looked around the floor.
"Let’s decide what everyone wants for lunch before they start a rebellion."
...
Somewhere far from Haven.
The room was dark except for a single screen.
Bjorn Vik sat in silence with a phone against his ear.
The voice on the other end spoke quietly.
"I’m sure."
Bjorn’s fingers stopped moving.
"You’re certain it’s him?"
"Definitely."
The man on the other end lowered his voice.
"I saw him personally."
Bjorn leaned back.
"He was with the current CEO of ACE Group."
"Silvey Sterling"
Bjorn became silent.
The caller continued,
"He’s older now."
"Obviously."
"But I’m almost certain."
"That was Timothy Sterling."
Bjorn stared toward the darkness.
"No."
His answer came instantly.
"Timothy Sterling died almost two decades ago."
Bjorn’s expression hardened.
"Maybe you saw Gordon."
"No."
"Another Sterling relative?"
"The resemblance is too strong."
The caller continued,
"I checked."
"There isn’t another known sibling who looks exactly like Timothy."
"So either the Sterlings have been hiding a twin for decades..."
He paused.
"...or Timothy Sterling never died."
Bjorn slowly stood.
The thought seemed absurd.
And yet...
Too many strange pieces suddenly began fitting together.
"Miles Sterling."
The caller remained silent.
Bjorn walked toward the window.
"Vivienne said Miles Sterling was heavily involved in exposing WEB."
"Yes."
Bjorn’s voice became colder.
"And he’s a Sterling."
"A very young Sterling with control over businesses Timothy’s family once built."
He narrowed his eyes.
Then something else occurred to him.
"That bitch."
The caller waited.
"Vivienne."
Bjorn’s jaw tightened.
"If Timothy is alive..."
"She has to know."
"And she didn’t tell me."
The distrust in his voice was immediate.
The man on the other end asked,
"What do you want me to do?"
Bjorn remained silent for several seconds.
Then said,
"Keep watching Timothy."
"Shall I send people to Star Harbor?"
"No."
The answer was sharp.
"Absolutely not."
The caller went quiet.
Bjorn continued,
"Star Harbor is not safe for WEB."
"Not anymore."
He remembered reports from previous failures.
"The last time Princess was there..."
"Graveyard operatives surrounded the area."
His expression darkened.
"And Graveyard has been operating alongside Haven’s military."
Bjorn slowly paced.
"Vivienne was very specific too."
"Star Harbor isn’t just another city."
"Sterling Enterprises controls too much of the private infrastructure there."
He stopped.
"Sending people directly into Miles Sterling’s territory would be stupid."
The caller asked,
"Then we do nothing?"
Bjorn smiled faintly.
"No."
His gaze became colder.
"You don’t always kill a king inside his own castle."
The caller stayed quiet.
Bjorn continued,
"Sometimes..."
"You wait until he leaves it."
He paused.
"Or you never approach him at all."
"A distant attack?"
Bjorn smiled.
"Exactly."
The caller understood.
"I’ll keep eyes on Timothy."
"No contact."
"No unnecessary movement."
Bjorn nodded.
"Good."
"And don’t alert him."
"Understood."
The call ended.
Bjorn slowly lowered the phone.
For a long moment...
He stood completely still.
Timothy Sterling.
A man the world had buried.
A name Bjorn had not expected to hear again.
Then a faint smile appeared.
"Timothy..."
Bjorn looked into the darkness.
"If you’re really alive..."
His smile slowly disappeared.
"...then you’ve forgotten something."
His eyes hardened.
"I know your greatest weakness."