When Ryan Caldwell Sr. arrived at the hotel entrance, he found Liu Zhengkun and Brother Gage standing outside the gate, with several henchmen beside them.
Ryan Caldwell Sr. hurriedly walked over: "Mr. Liu, Brother Gage, why aren't you going in?"
Liu Zhengkun's eyes remained fixed on the distance: "Waiting for someone."
"Waiting for someone?"
Ryan Caldwell Sr. was curious. Liu Zhengkun was a big shot in the surrounding states. He was always the one being waited for. Who was there that made him stand here and wait?
Less than two minutes later, a Rolls-Royce with a Washington D.C. license plate pulled up.
Upon seeing the license plate number, Ryan Caldwell Sr. knew that the person who came was someone of great importance!
People in high society like them can completely determine the status of a car owner by looking at the license plate.
In ordinary major cities like Riverforge, license plate numbers don't really matter; at most, the more auspicious the number, the wealthier the person is.
However, D.C. plates are not so simple; the letters and number ranges are all very particular.
Some combinations can only be obtained by people at a certain level; they can't be obtained by anyone through connections or by spending money.
Upon seeing the letters and numbers, Ryan Caldwell Sr. immediately knew that a powerful figure was sitting inside!
Liu Zhengkun took the initiative to run to the back door to open it, and then bowed respectfully, saying, "Master Vance, you've arrived."
Brother Gage also bent down at a 90-degree angle and shouted, "Hello, Master Vance!"
Butler Vance stepped out of the car. When Ryan Caldwell Sr. saw the old man, with his white hair, youthful face, and imposing presence, he immediately pulled Liu Zhengkun aside and asked, "Who is this old man?"
Liu Zhengkun introduced, "This is Master Vance. He is my benefactor. Without Master Vance, I, Liu Zhengkun, would not be where I am today."
Upon hearing this, Ryan Caldwell Sr. quickly cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, Master Vance. My surname is also Caldwell, and my given name is Ryan Sr. I have known Mr. Liu for many years and we are very good friends. Today happens to be my son Ryan Jr.'s wedding. I didn't know you were here…"
Butler Vance smiled and said, "Hello, Mr. Caldwell. I was just planning to attend the wedding, but I came without an invitation. Please forgive me."
Liu Zhengkun was flattered: "Not at all! It's an honor for the Caldwell family that you could come. Please come in!"
Liu Zhengkun was overjoyed and smugly thought to himself, Haha, Jeff, so what if you're rich? Liu Zhengkun and Master Vance, these two big shots, are giving me so much face. I don't believe you dare to go against me!
After the three entered the hall, Liu Zhengkun walked in front and said to Jeff, "Jeff, let me introduce you to some friends from the underworld. This is…"
Before he could finish speaking, Brother Gage rushed toward Jeff, knelt down in front of him, and shouted, "Master Jeff! Happy birthday!"
Brother Gage had offended Jeff before. If Jeff hadn't been merciful and hadn't held back and attempted to kill him, Brother Gage would have been buried in the river by now.
Liu Zhengkun also stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and presented his birthday gift: "Young Master, happy birthday. Master Vance and I have come to give you our birthday gifts."
Butler Vance slowly walked forward. In the eyes of Ryan Caldwell Sr. and all the guests, it was clear that this old man had an extraordinary demeanor and was definitely a very powerful figure.
Unexpectedly, Butler Vance also bowed respectfully to Jeff and said, "Happy birthday, Young Master."
"Young… Young Master?"
Ryan Caldwell Sr., Emily, and the others were all dumbfounded.
Jeff quickly stood up, grasped Butler Vance's hand, and said, "Butler Vance, I treat you like family, you don't need to bow to me."
After saying that, Jeff looked at Ryan Caldwell Sr. and asked, "You said you were going to find some friends from the underworld to deal with me. You wouldn't mean you're looking for Liu and Brother Gage, would you?"
Even Ryan Caldwell Sr. had to address the two of them respectfully as "Mr. Liu" and "Mr. Gage," yet Jeff called them like servants!
Upon hearing this, Brother Gage immediately flew into a rage: "Damn it, you want to go after my Master Jeff? How many heads do you have?!"
Ryan Caldwell Sr. dared not utter a word after being scolded by Brother Gage to his face!
Seeing this, Jeff said, "I'm here to attend the wedding, not to cause trouble. I don't want people to think I'm deliberately trying to stop the wedding. Brother Gage, Liu, you should both leave. Butler Vance, I've accepted your gift, you can leave now too."
Jeff had spoken, and the three dared not disobey.
However, before leaving, Liu Zhengkun whispered something to Ryan Caldwell Sr.: "If the Young Master is missing a single hair at your wedding banquet, I will make your whole family pay with their lives!"
Ryan Caldwell Sr. was so nervous that he broke out in a cold sweat, but he dared not say a harsh word.
The guests at the scene were all stunned.
"This Chairman Sterling really has connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles! Even Liu Zhengkun is one of his subordinates!"
"Chairman Sterling is so young, yet he's already this powerful. Anyone who messes with him will definitely suffer the consequences!"
These people are all snobs. Seeing how well Jeff is doing in Riverforge, guests from every table came over with their champagne glasses.
"I heard it's Mr. Sterling's birthday today. Although we've never met Mr. Sterling before, it's fate that we met here. Come on, let's all toast Mr. Sterling, shall we?"
"Good!"
The guests at the scene all cheered in unison.
Ironically, many of these guests were relatives of the Caldwell family and friends of Ryan Jr.
Jeff gave a cold laugh.
He suddenly remembered that not long ago, on the day of Old Madam Harper's 80th birthday, many people from high society had also come to the event.
That day, he also had a conflict with the family.
However, the result was that the host family, namely the Harper family, instigated the guests present to block Jeff's escape route, and the guests did as they were told.
However, today, everyone knows that Jeff did something detrimental to the Caldwell family, but none of these guests dare to stand up for the Caldwell family.
On the contrary, they all took the initiative to toast him and befriend him.
What a realistic society!
Jeff picked up his champagne flute and said, "Thank you all for your birthday wishes. Since some people are afraid that I will cause trouble if I drink too much, I will return the favor with sparkling water instead of champagne."
Emily's face flushed red upon hearing this.
Previously, when Emily gave Jeff the wedding invitation, she specifically told him not to drink too much on the wedding day, so as not to embarrass her.
Now, she shouldn't have to worry about Jeff embarrassing her anymore.
After finishing his sparkling water, Jeff said to Ryan Caldwell Sr., "Mr. Caldwell, it's getting late. Shouldn't your wedding be held soon? After witnessing the 'most extravagant wedding,' I still have to go back to the company to get busy."
Ryan Caldwell Sr.'s expression was complicated, but no matter what happened, he should finish his son's wedding first.
So Ryan Caldwell Sr. immediately said to the master of ceremonies, "Let's begin the wedding ceremony right away!"
Ryan Jr. and Emily walked onto the stage, but Emily seemed to be in a daze, completely out of the mood for the wedding.
Master of Ceremonies: "Mr. Ryan Caldwell Jr., do you take Ms. Emily Harper to be your wife, to cherish and protect her for the rest of your life?"
Ryan Jr.: "I'm willing."
Master of Ceremonies: "Ms. Emily Harper, do you take Mr. Ryan Caldwell Jr. to be your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to care for him and to cherish him for the rest of your life?"
Emily: "I refuse!"