Late morning at Villa Winston was far livelier than usual.
A rare flower arrangement had become the center of attention for everyone in the house.
Gennifer ran outside the moment she saw Marvin step out of his car.
Her face was filled with joy.
“Marvin!”
She hurried straight over to her husband.
“Did you really send these flowers?”
In her hands, she held a bouquet of Gloriest flowers that still looked fresh and beautiful.
Marvin smiled.
“If I didn’t, then who did?”
Gennifer’s face immediately turned red.
In all the years they’d been married, nothing had ever made her as happy as she was that morning.
Not because of how much the flowers cost.
But because of who had given them to her.
Not far away, several pairs of eyes were watching them.
Derick.
Elena.
And Russel.
All three had deliberately delayed leaving for the office just to find out where the flowers had come from.
They still found it hard to believe what was happening right in front of them.
Especially after learning what kind of flowers they were.
Gloriest flowers.
One of the rarest flowers in Gloriston.
Many wealthy people had never even owned one.
Yet that morning, they were in Gennifer’s hands.
“I still can’t believe it,” Elena muttered.
Derick merely shook his head slowly.
Everything felt far too strange.
In the middle of it all, someone else appeared.
Axel Winston.
The second son of the Winston family.
The moment he got out of his car, he hurried toward the yard.
“Marvin!”
The bespectacled man immediately hugged his brother-in-law warmly.
“You’re finally back.”
Marvin chuckled.
“Shouldn’t you be at college?”
“I was at college.”
Axel released him from the hug.
“But there were two reasons I came home.”
“What are they?”
“You.”
“And those flowers.”
Hearing that answer, Marvin simply smiled.
Unlike Russel, Axel had always treated him well.
Even when the entire family began distancing themselves, Axel continued to believe that Marvin wasn’t a bad person.
“How have you been?” Axel asked.
“Fine.”
“Thank goodness.”
Axel studied him for a moment.
“To be honest, I’m really happy to see you standing here again.”
Marvin could hear the sincerity in the man’s voice.
That was why they had always had a good relationship.
Not long afterward, their conversation shifted to research.
Axel was known as a talented academic.
He was deeply interested in various fields of science.
Especially those related to energy.
“My dissertation is still about Glorisium,” he said.
Marvin nodded.
“I know.”
“I want to study it more deeply.”
“Your college has plenty of brilliant professors.”
“But none of them discovered it.”
Marvin laughed.
“Axel.”
“Yes?”
“Sometimes the discoverer isn’t the best person to teach it.”
“But you still understand its origins better than anyone else.”
Marvin didn’t answer.
Instead, he merely smiled.
His humility only made Axel admire him even more.
Meanwhile, Russel was beginning to lose patience.
As far as he was concerned, everyone was paying far too much attention to Marvin.
He stepped closer.
His eyes immediately focused on the flowers in Gennifer’s hands.
“I think there was a delivery mistake.”
Everyone turned to look at him.
Russel continued,
“There’s no sender’s name.”
“So?” Marvin asked.
“That means they might not be from you.”
Gennifer immediately frowned.
But Marvin looked perfectly relaxed.
“You really believe that?”
“Of course.”
Russel folded his arms.
“If you’re really the one who bought them, show us the proof.”
Marvin didn’t answer.
As far as he was concerned, the argument wasn’t important.
What mattered was that the flowers had reached the right person.
Seeing how relaxed Marvin was, Russel grew even more irritated.
“Don’t take credit for something you didn’t do.”
“You’re going too far.”
“You probably couldn’t even afford ordinary flowers.”
Axel immediately sighed.
“Russel...”
But Russel didn’t care.
He was too busy belittling Marvin.
Marvin slipped both hands into his pockets.
His gaze shifted to Russel.
“Instead of talking about the flowers...”
“What?”
“You should contact Raymond.”
Russel’s expression immediately changed.
“What for?”
“I want to make sure he’s ready.”
“Ready for what?”
Marvin smiled faintly.
“To lick the sole of my shoe.”
The atmosphere suddenly froze.
Gennifer actually held her breath.
Axel stared at Marvin in astonishment.
Russel himself nearly exploded with rage.
“You bastard!”
“Why are you angry?”
“You insulted Raymond!”
“I’m just reminding you of the terms of the bet.”
“You’ve really lost your mind.”
Marvin slowly shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“If anything, I’m starting to get it back.”
A few minutes later, Marvin and Axel went inside the villa.
Russel, meanwhile, was still standing on the veranda.
He felt increasingly uneasy.
For some reason,
something had been bothering him since that morning.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message came in from one of the company staff members.
Russel read it.
His expression immediately changed.
“What?”
His eyes widened.
A second message arrived.
Then a third.
And a fourth.
Cold sweat began to form on his forehead.
He immediately called the office.
“What’s going on?”
The voice on the other end answered quickly.
“Sir, there’s a large shipment.”
“What kind of shipment?”
“Crude oil.”
Russel’s heart began pounding.
“From whom?”
“We’re not sure yet.”
“How much is there?”
“A tremendous amount.”
Russel fell silent.
His hands began to tremble.
Because he suddenly remembered one thing.
The bet.
Without wasting any time, Russel immediately headed for Winsoil’s main refinery.
The journey felt much longer than usual.
His thoughts were a mess the entire way.
Impossible.
It was absolutely impossible.
Marvin had only just gotten out of prison.
How could he possibly help Winsoil?
When he arrived, Russel got out of the car and immediately froze.
Dozens of tanker trucks were lined up waiting to enter.
Not dozens.
Hundreds.
The line of vehicles stretched as far as the eye could see.
Workers were busy checking documents.
Security personnel kept opening the entrance without pause.
The entire refinery was bustling with activity.
“This...”
Russel was at a loss for words.
He immediately ran toward the administration building.
Several directors and managers had already gathered there.
“What’s going on?”
Everyone turned to him.
One of the directors answered,
“The crude oil shipment has arrived.”
Russel swallowed hard.
“Who sent it?”
The director opened the document in his hands.
Then he answered calmly.
“We received official notification last night.”
“From whom?”
The man raised his head.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
Because even he was still having trouble believing it.
“From The Oxy.”
The room immediately fell silent.
Russel felt as if the world had stopped turning.
The Oxy.
The second-largest energy company in Chemisland.
And the only business group capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with Harvard Corp.
“Impossible...” he muttered.
But the documents on the table couldn’t lie.
Every signature.
Every permit.
Every contract.
Everything was complete.
The Oxy had truly sent a crude oil supply to Winsoil.
And what terrified Russel even more was one thing.
Marvin had known about all of it since that morning.
While Russel himself had only found out now.
Cold sweat trickled down his temples.
For the first time since Marvin had gotten out of prison...
Russel began to ask himself.
Had he underestimated the wrong person?