Chapter 220
Chapter 220
“I’m on my way.” Allie replied coldly. Even though she was exhausted, she went to the bathroom to shower.
That day, she realized just how busy a president would be. She had never thought that her father would have to deal with so many things every day. She was already tired, even though she had only been president for a few days.
When she remembered there would be a board referendum that day, she became even more distracted.
My father made me the president in his will. But why do I have the impression that / took it from him? Is it because my mother has done so many heinous things? I just couldn‘t take it anymore! Allie thought to herself.
It rained for a long time and finally stopped until the next morning. In the morning, Anna met Mr. Lee, her father’s lawyer, for coffee.
Mr. Lee had been a close friend of Frank’s and was a well-known lawyer in Birmingham’s legal community. He was an expert in commercial lawsuits for many years. However, Anna planned to seek his guidance on Matthew’s custody because she thought he was a trustworthy man.
Mr. Lee surprised her by handing her an insurance policy before she could say anything.
“This is the insurance your father purchased when he was still living, and he had done so for the previous five years. And you are the beneficiary.”
Anna froze as she saw the huge words’ Death from Major Illness Insurance’ on the insurance policy in a daze.
“How did my dad…”
She wanted to ask why did he suddenly buy this kind of insurance. And she wondered could it be that Frank had known that he would die because of serious illness.
Mr. Lee said seriously, “To be honest, he bought this insurance when you were still in America. He was healthy back then. In fact, I was confused about why he would buy this insurance. But later on, after he died, I knew why.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“When Frank was in the hospital some time ago, he asked me to help him revise his will and resolve the property ownership issue. I’m not quite certain of the Gabriel Group’s financial status, but I have a general concept of it. Have you ever wondered why your father didn’t leave anything for you, Anna?”
At that moment, she had an ominous feeling. She then asked, “What’s wrong? What happened to the group?”
“Many people in the group embezzled all the time. Because your father stopped taking charge of the company a few years ago, the subsidiaries have been fighting against each other for power and money. Although it seems that the group has a lot of real estate, almost all of them are mortgaged to the bank. So, the corporation has to rob Peter to pay Paul every year. Besides, the company is already in a difficult situation.”
Anna said in astonishment, “What? Really? How come my dad never told me about this?”
“He knew you had no intention of inheriting the group, so he didn’t want you to get into this mess. While he was still alive, he had already prepared for who would succeed him as president.”
Anna asked in disbelief, “Huh? What arrangements?”
The TV in the cafe was playing the news channel. As they were talking, a piece of breaking news broke in.
“Twenty minutes ago, at exactly 10:00 a.m., the court shut down the headquarters building of a major corporation in Birmingham. The group’s board members got into an argument once the police arrived. Miss Gabriel, the group’s freshly appointed president, jumped off the roof and died right away. Ms. Gabriel, the vice president, however, disappeared.”
Anna’s hand shook, and the coffee cup she held knocked heavily on the table. Subsequently, the coffee spilled all over her.
The waiter rushed over to her side and began cleaning it up. On the other hand, Anna kept her gaze fixed on the television. She was taken aback, perplexed, and even terrified.
After a long while, she heard the waitress apologize to her. It took her a long time to return to her senses after hearing a loud ringing in her ears.
“Thank you, I can do it myself,” Anna said.
She looked flustered as she sat back in her seat. She asked, “Mr. Lee, what’s going on with the group?” This is from NôvelDrama.Org.
Mr. Lee hadn’t looked at the TV at all. He replied coldly, “My guess is that someone told the court that the Gabriel Group was evading taxes. Now, they have to pay a huge fine, and someone must be responsible for that. That’s a lot of money, so the person in charge may have to be in jail for a long time.”
Bewildered, Anna asked, “What? Someone reported them? Who?”
Mr. Lee gave her a thoughtful look before responding slowly and firmly, “Your father.”
Frank had perfectly organized everything a long time ago.
Frank couldn’t be a fool if he could achieve so much success in business. So, of course, he knew whether the people around him were treating him sincerely or not. He pretended he didn’t know about their schemes when he was about to die because he wanted to get back at them later.
Anna thought everything was ridiculous at that time.
To her, her father had always seemed like a kind and amiable man. What she didn’t expect was that her father and Shirley would keep scheming against each other after they got married. In addition, he devised a plan when he was about to die and set up his wife and daughter in his will. As it turned out, no businessman would give his whole heart and soul to anything.
Mr. Lee walked along the street for a while after coming out of the cafe at noon. Then, he immediately got into a black Ferrari parked by the roadside.
The man’s gentle face was reflected in the rearview mirror. He was dressed in an haute couture suit, making him look elegant.
“Did you tell Anna everything?” The man sitting in the front seat asked.
Mr. Lee nodded and replied, “I only told her about the group’s problems and Frank’s scheme on the will, as you said. But I didn’t tell her that Frank had long been aware of Shirley and her daughter’s plot to poison him.”
The man breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Okay, perfect. I’ll have my assistant pay you what you deserve.”
Mr. Lee smiled and replied, “No, that won’t be necessary. Frank has already paid me. Besides, he didn’t want Miss Gabriel to know too much. To be honest, I just hope she can live her life peacefully
after she gets the compensation. So, Frank would have made up for what he owed her in this way. Well, I won’t do anything beyond my duty.”
The man nodded and then pulled the car slowly to the side of the road. After Mr. Lee got out of the car, he pulled back onto the road.
Lilian then asked, “Why couldn’t he tell Anna the truth? She has a right to know the truth about her father’s death, doesn’t she?”
“No, that’s not it. Anna no longer wants to pursue the case after it has been settled. If he had told Anna about it, Anna would have been annoyed. Since Frank intended to hide it from her, it seems that it was not the only thing he was worried about. He wasn’t only worried that she would feel bothered.” Jasper answered.
“What? What else?” Lillian asked, puzzled.
Jasper gave Lillian a look and replied, “For the sake of the group. Frank is doing this to show Anna that he is fully aware of the situation. As a result, he doesn’t want her to intervene. He even convinced Anna that what occurred to the group was a planned retaliation against Shirley and her daughter. That way, Anna wouldn’t get involved in the group because of her sister.”
But, in fact, nothing could save the Gabriel Group anymore. The tax evasion was just a trigger for its collapse.
“Anyway, it’s best to keep it from her. You know, she’s had a lot on her mind lately. So, I’ll take care of these trifles for her.”
After that, Jasper looked out of the window, and his gentle gaze turned serious.