30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 163: The Dark Plan

Lily finally understood why her father had been pressuring Alex to announce their relationship in front of the media publicly. It was all for today—to deliver a devastating blow to the Carter family.

With her hand on the door handle, Lily turned to look at her father. "Dad, I know what you’re trying to do. Today, with all the media coverage and Carter Group’s centennial celebration, you want Alex to announce our engagement and then break it off in front of everyone. You want to humiliate the Carter family completely, don’t you?"

After something like this, her father could never let her marry Alex.

Henry’s eyes darkened, but he showed no emotion. After a moment, he nodded slightly. "Since you already know, just cooperate with me and play along. We need to take revenge on the Carter family. Our nine-year separation is all their fault."

"I don’t know what I should do right now," Lily said. "I just want to be alone for a while, Dad. Please, don’t push me."

Henry sighed and nodded. "Alright."

Lily looked at him gratefully. "Thank you, Dad."

She turned the door handle, intending to leave, but suddenly, a hand clamped over her face, and a damp cloth covered her nose and mouth.

Lily’s eyes widened in shock, and she instinctively tried to struggle.

A solid chemical odor filled her nose. Soon, Lily felt her mind going blank, and the door before her blurred into a haze. She closed her eyes and lost consciousness...

Henry cradled the unconscious Lily in his arms, waiting as time slowly ticked by.

After a long while, Henry pulled out his phone and made a call. "Alex, Lily, and I are at the mall. Send someone to pick us up."

After hanging up, Henry glanced down at Lily in his arms. The calculating look in his eyes softened with a pang of guilt.

"Don’t blame me, my daughter."

He lifted Lily’s slender body and left the employee break room. Surrounded by Alex’s men, they headed to the executive elevator and went straight to the top floor.

The elevator numbers climbed higher and higher...

Henry’s gaze grew darker and darker...

Meanwhile, downstairs, Ethan was growing increasingly anxious. The Carter Group’s centennial celebration had drawn massive crowds of shoppers, making it nearly impossible to find Lily in such a sea of people.

Henry’s phone was no longer reachable.

Ethan stood on one of the upper floors, scanning every mall corner, but Lily was gone.

"Mr. Blackwood, we’ve searched everywhere, even the top floor. There’s no sign of Miss Anderson." Cipher Stone ran to Ethan, shouting over the bustling mall’s noise.

Ethan irritably yanked on his tie and glanced at his watch. They were running out of time.

"Sound the fire alarm, now!" Ethan ordered without hesitation.

"But, Mr. Blackwood, there could be casualties. There are just too many people here today," Cipher said, glancing at the dense crowd below.

"I don’t care. We can’t let the banquet proceed!" Ethan bellowed.

"Understood..." Cipher nodded, but just as he did, his phone rang. After listening for a moment, he frowned and turned to Ethan. "Mr. Blackwood, it’s too late. Security just escorted them to the top-floor banquet hall. A middle-aged man carried Miss Anderson in, and our people couldn’t stop them."

"Son of a—!"

Furious, Ethan kicked over a nearby mannequin and immediately sprinted toward the stairs. "Let’s go to the top floor!"

The banquet hall on the top floor was luxuriously decorated and large enough to accommodate thousands of guests. High-society elites and celebrities had gathered to celebrate Carter Group’s centennial.

To showcase the importance of this event, over a hundred media outlets were stationed in various corners, with camera flashes constantly going off.

Unlike the chaotic atmosphere in the mall below, the banquet was filled with polite conversations about business, stocks, and current affairs. Glasses clinked, and everything seemed harmonious.

Henry, carrying Lily in his arms, coldly surveyed the scene, his eyes filled with unmistakable hatred...

Before Bill Carter reported Anderson Corporation to the authorities years ago, he had secretly siphoned some of Anderson’s funds.

Henry had spent nine years in prison, while Bill Carter had grown the Carter Group into an even larger empire.

Henry’s family had been destroyed, yet Bill Carter was now mingling with guests, smiling alongside his wife and son...

How could he not seek revenge?

Alex, now dressed in formal attire, walked over to them. Henry quickly concealed the hatred in his eyes, maintaining a calm expression.

"Uncle Henry, what’s wrong with Lily?" Alex asked in shock, seeing her unconscious in Henry’s arms. He gently took her from Henry and placed her on a chair at one of the dining tables.

"She was a bit tired on the way here and fell asleep," Henry replied, masking his emotions perfectly.

Tired during the day?

Alex stared at the deeply asleep Lily. He brushed aside a lock of her hair, his gaze settling on her flat stomach.

Could it be because she was pregnant? Is that why she was so sleepy?

"Welcome, everyone, to this grand celebration," Bill Carter’s voice boomed from the stage. Sharply dressed in a suit, he delivered a speech filled with formalities recounting Carter Group’s 100-year history.

From its humble beginnings as a small grocery store to its current status as an internationally renowned mall brand...

"Isn’t it your turn to speak soon?" Henry asked Alex, feeling increasingly impatient.

The longer things dragged on, the worse it would be for him.

The people who tried to stop them earlier were likely Ethan’s bodyguard; Ethan wanted him to avoid carrying out today’s plan.

"Yes, it is," Alex said, glancing at Lily with some hesitation. "But what about Lily..."

"It’s fine. I’ll wake her up. You go ahead and prepare your speech," Henry responded calmly.

"Thank you, Uncle."

Alex gave Lily one last lingering look before turning and walking toward the stage.

After Bill Carter finished his lengthy speech, the host invited Alex.

Standing before the audience, Alex began delivering his prepared lines, and the guests responded with rounds of applause.

Seeing that the moment was right, Henry began shaking Lily awake.

It felt like she was on a boat, swaying on the endless blue sea, making her dizzy...

In her hazy state, Lily heard a lot of applause mixed with her father’s voice, "Lily? Lily? Wake up; the banquet is starting."

Banquet?

What banquet? What banquet was starting?!

Lily groggily opened her eyes to see the grand banquet hall, with its elegant crystal chandeliers casting soft, bright light...

"Next, I have a personal announcement to make. I’d like to take this opportunity, on the joyous occasion of Carter Group’s centennial, to share some happy news with everyone..."

On stage, Alex spoke in his usual graceful manner into the microphone.

Bill Carter and his wife, standing beside him, turned pale upon hearing this but couldn’t publicly stop him in front of all the guests.

As Lily looked at Alex from afar, her memories came flooding back...

Her father had drugged her...

Her father’s voice echoed in her mind.

He had said—

"Do you know why I was convicted? It was because your mother stole my confidential documents and gave them to Bill Carter, who then handed them to the authorities."

"Since you already know, just cooperate with me and play along. We need to take revenge on the Carter family. Our nine-year separation is all their fault."

No!

Don’t make the announcement—

Panicking, Lily stood up and began running toward the stage, weaving through the tables full of guests. He couldn’t make the announcement...

Countless camera flashes went off as Alex spotted Lily running toward the stage. He smiled warmly at her, full of affection.

Lily frantically shook her head at him. Don’t announce it. This wedding couldn’t happen. Don’t announce it...

Misunderstanding her signals, Alex raised his hand, revealing a ring that matched hers—a pair of intricately designed diamond rings representing a perfect union.

Alex spoke with a calm and confident voice. "I’m announcing my engagement to Miss Lily Anderson. I hope everyone will give us their blessings. Thank you."

It was too late.

Lily stopped in her tracks, staring at Alex, frozen in place.

The room erupted into murmurs. There was scattered applause, but many people were whispering to each other. At the same time, Bill Carter and his wife stood off to the side, clearly displeased but unable to cause a scene with so many media present.

Their son had gone ahead with the announcement without consulting them...

Alex gracefully stepped off the stage and walked toward Lily, taking her hand and interlocking their fingers. He confidently held their joined hands to the media, showing off their matching wedding rings.

"Lily..." Alex began, but he couldn’t find the right words, seeing her stunned expression.

Suddenly, Lily caught sight of her father in the corner of the room, speaking to the host.

What was her father saying? What was he planning to do?!

A moment later, the host, beaming with excitement, walked to the front of the stage and announced, "It seems today is indeed an extraordinary day. Not only is it the Carter Group’s centennial celebration, but Mr. Alex Carter has also announced his engagement. Let’s invite Lily’s father, Mr. Henry Anderson, to say a few words."

Bill Carter’s face turned pale as he realized Henry was there.

"Alex, we need to leave," Lily said urgently, pulling on his hand. She had no idea what her father was planning, but she knew it couldn’t be good. "We have to go. I’ll explain everything once we’re out of here."

"What’s wrong?" Alex asked, puzzled by her pale face. "Why do you look so frightened?"

"Please, let’s go. I’ll tell you everything once we’re outside."

Lily didn’t wait for his response and started pulling Alex toward the exit.

But they had barely taken a few steps when Henry’s booming voice echoed from the stage. "Let me tell you all how the engagement between Lily Anderson and Alex Carter came to be."

"Lily, your father’s speaking," Alex said, stopping her. "It would be rude to leave now."

Lily wanted to explain but needed to figure out where to start.

"Perhaps the younger generation doesn’t know this, but back in the day, there was a saying in the business world: Anderson and Carter, the twin titans."

Henry spoke as if telling a story, and the audience listened intently. "Of course, the ’titan’ now refers to Bill Carter. As for me, I became the ’bear’—the loser."

"Haha..."

Some audience members chuckled at the joke, but most remained silent, sensing Henry wasn’t simply making a lighthearted remark.

Alex started to sense that something was off and glanced at Lily. "What is your father..."

"When our two families were close, we often visited each other. Our children were born the same year, so we arranged a marriage between them when they were still young."

Henry’s voice was steady and deliberate as he spoke into the microphone. "But after I was imprisoned, the relationship between the Carter and Anderson families cooled. I had planned to keep this engagement a secret for the children’s sake."

He paused dramatically, allowing the audience’s curiosity to build.

Sensing a juicy story, the media immediately rushed forward, their cameras flashing as they crowded around the stage, eager to capture every word.

"What is it? Is there another big announcement? Has Alex’s wedding date been set?!"