Rising from the Ashes (Andrew) novel Chapter 673

"Christie, don't listen to that loser's nonsense. He's just making stuff up to mess with you—none of it is true!" Irene said hurriedly, noticing her daughter's shaken expression.

Leroy snorted. "Christie, you're not actually buying Andrew's crap, are you? Come on, he really stood there and claimed he built Stevens Corporation from the ground up. What a joke!"

Christina did not respond. Her face had gone pale, her expression hollow and exhausted as her entire worldview began crumbling.

Aspen stood quietly, her eyes filled with contemplation. She had always considered Stevens Corporation's rise from a small, struggling workshop to the powerhouse it was today an anomaly.

For the longest time, she had assumed Christina was some kind of prodigy, a brilliant businesswoman who single-handedly made it happen. However, after working closely with her for a while, Aspen realized Christina was not as extraordinary as everyone believed.

Sure, she was smart enough to handle her CEO duties, but to single-handedly build an empire? Aspen had always been skeptical.

Then, there was Irene and Leroy—one was a greedy, self-absorbed woman obsessed with money, while the other was a spoiled, arrogant, rich boy with neither brains nor work ethic.

All they ever did was beg Christina for money while prancing around in public like they were business royalty.

Aspen shook her head. Two useless parasites like that could never have contributed anything meaningful to Stevens Corporation's success.

The only other family member of note was Douglas, but the old man had retired long ago and barely paid attention to the company anymore. Hence, all signs pointed to one thing: the company's rise had been driven by someone working in the shadows.