After all, they had once been people of status. But now, how were they any different from the housewives haggling at a marketplace? They wanted to argue back, but they feared that saying too much would only make things worse for Arthur. Raelynn was about to speak again when Arthur suddenly said, "If I weren’t the chairman of Cloudia Corporation, would you still feel sorry for me? Would you still sincerely repent and apologize?" The moment those words left his mouth, the entire room fell into dead silence. Raelynn, Julie, and the others stood frozen in place, momentarily forgetting how to react. If Arthur weren’t the chairman of Cloudia Corporation, would we still apologize? Would we still feel like we were in the wrong? This question left all four of them speechless. They had never considered this possibility before. But now, thinking about it… Arthur continued, "Two years ago, when you found out Zac had been bullying me for eight years, when he framed me for stealing his suit at his birthday party—what did you do? Not only did you fail to hold Zac accountable, but you didn’t even make him apologize to me! In fact, when you later found out that Zac had hired people to bully me, instead of seeking justice, you begged me not to press charges against him just so he wouldn’t go to jail! Even then, the only thing you cared about was protecting Zac and preserving your own reputation!" His gaze turned sharp as he took a deep breath. "I won’t even mention everything else you’ve done. But from the very beginning, before you knew I was the chairman of Cloudia Corporation, you never once believed you were in the wrong! You never gave me a formal apology! Even two years ago, at that banquet, all you cared about was your own interests! But the moment you found out I was the chairman of Cloudia Corporation—when I started taking action against the Gray family—you suddenly decided to apologize? Suddenly, you wanted to repent? To make amends? How funny! Even today, if I weren’t valuable to you, you wouldn’t have come at all!" As soon as he finished speaking, the entire venue was plunged into an eerie silence. Raelynn and the others stood there, pale-faced, unable to recover from the shock. They had never thought about it this way before. When the Gray family declined, and they realized Zac was trying to transfer his shares as quickly as possible—including Julie’s portion—they began to feel disappointed in him. Later, Raelynn discovered that Zac was actually Renee’s son, and that John had been having an affair with Renee the entire time Raelynn was pregnant. It was then that they started to see Arthur in a different light. It was then, when John was hospitalized, and Gray Corporation could no longer survive under Julie’s leadership, that she went to Arthur, begging for his forgiveness, pleading for his help.All along, they had their own selfish motives, yet they had convinced themselves that they were sincerely remorseful, that they truly wanted to make amends with Arthur. But now, Arthur had ruthlessly torn apart their self-deception. If Arthur weren’t the chairman of Cloudia Corporation, they would have treated him the same way they did two years ago. They would have continued doting on Zac, ignoring Arthur completely. They would never have collectively apologized to him, never begged for his forgiveness. Because they wouldn’t have needed to! They wouldn’t have even considered attending Arthur’s engagement party. If he weren’t the chairman of Cloudia Corporation, deep down, they wouldn’t have thought he was worth their time. Back then, when they knew Zac was constantly hurting Arthur, they chose not to hold Zac accountable simply because it didn’t harm their own interests. At the end of the day, Arthur had always been an insignificant presence in their lives. But once they realized Zac had deceived them as well, once their own interests were at stake, that was when they suddenly began their so-called repentance. That so-called repentance was nothing more than a form of self-consolation after realizing they had been played by Zac. People are selfish. If the stick doesn’t land on them, they don’t feel the pain. But when it strikes them directly, only then do they realize just how much it hurts. After a brief silence, the crowd erupted. "I knew it! That’s why it always felt like they were forcing Mr. Gray to forgive them! Turns out I wasn’t imagining things!" "If Mr. Gray hadn’t risen to power and become the chairman of Cloudia Corporation, they wouldn’t have cared if he got engaged or not! Let alone beg for his forgiveness." "In the end, it’s all about power and influence. Money really can make people do anything." "I always wondered how someone as talented as Mr. Gray could be labeled as unfilial and disloyal. Turns out, he’s the only one who saw through everything from the very beginning." "Before Mr. Gray had any value to them, they ignored him and let their adopted son bully him. But now that Mr. Gray holds power and they’ve fallen from grace, suddenly they want to repent and apologize? At the end of the day, it’s all about money."