Chapter 73

The man glanced past Vernon, saw no one else and calmly replied, ‘Come in.’ Vernon forcefully pushed past him and stormed into the house, the door slamming shut behind him. *** Three days later, Glittering Gems’ share price hit rock bottom. Seizing the opportunity, Elodie reached out with a buyout offer. It wasn’t surprising that they readily accepted, considering the company was facing a consumer boycott and astronomical financial losses. In a meeting to finalise the deal, Elodie was surprised when the person who showed up was not Vernon but the CFO. ‘Where’s Mr Brighton?’ she asked. ‘Since he’s the owner of Glittering Gems, I thought he’d want to be here.’ The CFO hesitated for a moment before responding, ‘Vernon’s…disappeared.’ Elodie stared at him. ‘What?’ ‘He stopped showing up at the company the day after... you know, the failed product launch. I thought he was just sulking at home, but then he didn’t show up the next day and the day after that. The company was in upheaval. I cal