From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 194: An Impossible Deadline

Sophia's face flushed bright red in an instant. She instinctively stepped forward, lowering her voice to explain, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Quinn. We were late because my son fell ill suddenly and was hospitalized over the weekend. Lucas and I were at the hospital taking care of him for two whole days and nights—we barely slept. It's just that..."

She'd thought mentioning her child would at least earn some sympathy or understanding.

But Aiden only let out a cold chuckle and shot back with words sharper than the winter wind outside. "Is that so? Your kid's sick? Then maybe you should've just stayed home playing mom instead of showing up to work today."

That single sentence shut down everything Sophia was about to say next. Her throat tightened.

Her face paled, and she bit down on her lower lip, humiliated.

Riley held her coffee cup, lowered her gaze, and took a slow sip to hide the faint curve that almost touched her lips.

"Mr. Quinn!" Lucas' expression darkened. He immediately moved in front of Sophia, his voice low and tense, before forcing his anger down and addressing the man on the screen. "My apologies, Mr. Quinn. This was a failure of time management on my part. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't." Aiden's expression eased slightly. He didn't waste any more time and got straight to the point. "Now—down to business. All the preliminary paperwork for the project is finalized. In theory, we could break ground anytime. But the team I sent to the town to discuss relocation with the residents has hit a wall."

He frowned, his tone turning grave. "A handful of families—no idea who got to them—have decided to dig in their heels no matter what. My people tried to negotiate several times, and they're asking for the moon. They say they're willing to talk, but the relocation compensation has to be one billion per family."

One billion.

That wasn't negotiation. That was outright extortion.

The atmosphere in the conference room grew heavy.

Aiden's eyes fixed on Lucas as he continued, "The longer this drags on, the worse it is for both of us. I need Ashford Group, as the construction partner on this project, to send someone competent out there ASAP. They can work alongside my team, visit the town, get a real read on the situation, and try to talk some sense into those residents."

The moment Aiden finished speaking, almost everyone in the room instinctively glanced toward Riley.

Especially Lucas.

His gaze was pointed and expectant, carrying that air of automatic authority he always assumed.

You agreed to take this project on—now that there's a problem, it's on you to handle it.

Take on a mess like this? Clean up a mess they'd made? Why should I?

Riley calmly turned a page in her folder and said evenly, "We're not deeply familiar with the local dynamics. Sending someone in blindly could make things worse. Wouldn't it be better to have someone from the area handle communications? I've heard locals there aren't very welcoming to outsiders."

She had neatly sidestepped any direct involvement.

Aiden shook his head immediately, dismissing the idea with clear frustration. "Won't work. Two people from my team are from the next town over. The locals didn't even let them finish three sentences before they chased them off the property."

His eyes, too, settled on Riley. The message was unmistakable.

For a moment, Riley found herself at the center of all the mounting pressure.

Still, she showed no visible reaction. She simply looked pensive, neither accepting nor refusing.

In the tense silence, Lucas had no choice but to step in and smooth things over. "Mr. Quinn, let us discuss this internally and identify the right person to send. It's the end of the year, and the company is stretched thin—many roles can't afford to be without someone for too long."

Aiden knew pushing too hard wouldn't help, so he let it go for the time being.

But he clearly wasn't about to let Ashford Group off the hook that easily.

"Who you send can wait," Aiden said, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk. Then he tossed out an even trickier challenge. "But since the contract is signed and my initial funding is ready to move, I need you to deliver a complete project plan within one week—every detail, from materials to timelines. That shouldn't be a problem, should it?"

One week?!

Lucas' brow furrowed tightly.

Forget one week—without resolving the holdout situation first, any plan would be purely theoretical.

He was just about to explain how unrealistic that was...

"No problem!"

Sophia cut in abruptly, agreeing on the spot.

"Don't worry, Mr. Quinn. This falls under our marketing department's responsibilities. We'll take care of it. I guarantee it'll be ready within the week."

When Aiden heard her assurance, a faint, meaningful smile touched his lips.

He held Sophia's gaze for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Good. Then I'll await the good news from Ms. Myers and Ashford Group."

The video call ended. The moment the screen went dark, the air in the conference room seemed to freeze solid.

"Sophia!"

Lucas could no longer hold back his anger. He spoke to her in a low, seething voice. "Who authorized you to agree to that?"

He tried to keep his tone contained, but the fury simmered just beneath the surface. "We haven't even sorted out the town situation yet. Do you have any idea how many variables are still in play on this project? How could you be so careless? What happens if we can't deliver the plan on time? Do you want Ashford Group to become a laughingstock across the industry?"