Chapter 85 Investigation
Chapter 85 Investigation
Chapter 85 Investigation
Alisa also took a day off today. She didn't need to be present during this meeting but wanted to witness Sherman's family in distress, so she stayed home with Brenna.
Throughout the conversation between Sherman and Brenna, Alisa remained silent. In such circumstances, the elders spoke, and she didn't feel interjecting was appropriate.
She didn't expect Sherman to suddenly shift the topic to her and ask her to choose.
She clenched her fists, her lips pressed tightly, and tears welled in her eyes, appearing as if she felt wronged. "Dad, are you also cutting ties with me?"
Sherman's expression remained unchanged, and he said, "I'm asking you to make a choice. If you choose me, you can't come to Geller's villa anymore. If you choose your grandmother, you can't come to see me in the future. Alisa, you can't have the best of both worlds. You must choose between me and your grandmother."
He intended to let Alisa make a choice.
He had observed Alisa's behavior, character, and actions over the years and was genuinely disappointed.
Especially after Gianna's return, Alisa's actions had let him down.
Now that he and Brenna had to go separate ways, his adopted daughter, Alisa, also had to make a choice.
"Dad, why did you have to go up against Grandma? You two used to get along well. Grandma is getting old, and she has her reasons. You adopted me, but I've always considered you and Mom my
biological parents. I hope we can live happily together."
With teary eyes, Alisa continued, "I know Gianna has been resentful of me since she came back. She thinks I've taken everything that belonged to her. But I didn't do it willingly. Dad, can't you please not cut ties with Grandma? I don't want to leave you!"
Sherman's brow furrowed, and he scolded in a low voice, "Enough!"
His words almost came out as a shout, and Alisa had never seen him so frightened. She trembled in fear.
"Gianna has never been resentful of you. She never even mentioned you at home. How did you get the idea that she's angry with you for taking away everything? Alisa, ask yourself, during the two years you lived in my house, didn't your mom and I sacrifice our needs to provide for you? Calvin is my biological son, and sometimes, even he went hungry, but I've never starved you."
Alisa kept her head down and didn't speak.
But a hint of sarcasm flashed in her eyes, unnoticed by anyone.
If she could choose, she wouldn't have wanted to be adopted by Sherman. They were always struggling financially, while the members of the Geller family lived a life of luxury. The young ladies of the Geller family wore designer clothes, while she could only afford a few hundred-dollar outfits.
That's why she had tried to please Brenna and be brought back to the Geller family. She didn't think she was wrong. Who wouldn't want to climb the social ladder?
She was just born with a less privileged background compared to Gianna; if she had a better background, she would be even more outstanding than she was now.
"We don't have much money, but since you came here, I've done everything I could to treat you well. I admit I had selfish motives. I treated you well also because I hoped someone would treat Gia as well as I treated you. But honestly, I've never mistreated you. Instead, you have constantly complained that we didn't give you the best!"
"Dad, that's not what I meant," Alisa said impatiently.
She didn't want to hear his lectures.
If Sherman weren't still helpful to her, she would have wished for them to cut ties with Brenna already.
"That's enough. I can tell you're getting impatient," Sherman glanced at her calmly. "Now, make your choice. Stay or go, and it's up to you."
Alisa pursed her lips, a touch of coldness flashing in her eyes, but she still appeared aggrieved. "Do we have to do this? Can't you get along?"
"Yes, we have to do this," Sherman replied seriously.
"Then... I choose Grandma," Alisa hesitated for a few seconds before deciding.
Sherman expected her choice, and he didn't feel sad about it. He nodded and told the lawyer, "Mr. Irwin, please add this condition and have Alisa sign it."
Mr. Irwin had no objections and looked to Brenna for confirmation.
Brenna nodded, and the lawyer added the condition. Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.
After everyone had reviewed the agreement and found no issues, they all signed it.
After signing, Sherman took another piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Brenna. "This is the complete formula."
Without waiting for Brenna's response, he turned around and left with Laney and Gianna.
Nobody from the Geller family felt reluctant or sad about his departure.
Brenna examined the formula, confirming it now contained the two missing ingredients. She handed it over to Enrique and said, "Go ask the R & D team to work on this. We need to develop the perfume as quickly as possible."
She paused for a moment, her expression serious. "Remember, we can't afford to fail. Our revival depends on this perfume."
Enrique nodded. "I understand, Mom!"
Chace suddenly thought of something and said, "But developing the perfume requires funds, and we also need money for promotion. We don't have much left."
"No need to worry about the money. We can sell my jewelry. I've calculated that the development and promotion costs would be around 850 thousand dollars, and my jewelry is worth at least that much."
Taking a loan was not possible.
The Geller family already had several loans from banks, and they were about to mature. The banks would not extend further loans to them.
Chace sighed, "I guess that's the only way."
Outside the Geller family's villa, on a large tree, two men were holding binoculars.
"Murray, Sherman has left and didn't hand over the potion. Should we continue to keep watch?" A man with a crew cut asked his companion, Murray.
Murray lowered his binoculars and removed the earpiece from his ear. "Let's go."
Half an hour later, Murray returned to Lloyd's mansion.
"Mr. Finley, Sherman didn't give Brenna the potion. I overheard that he gave her a formula for perfume, but we still need to verify it."
They were at a distance, only seeing Sherman handing Brenna a piece of perfume-related paper. The authenticity wasn't unmistakable.
They never relied solely on what they saw and heard in their investigations. They believed in evidence.
Lloyd was sitting on the couch, slowly tapping the sofa with his slender fingers. His voice was low and hoarse. "Find a way to get the paper from Brenna. We have to confirm whether it's related to the potion. And look into Sherman's information again."
"I already sent Maximo to Geller's villa for that."
Maximo was the man who had been with Murray earlier.
Murray originally planned to leave, but he felt something was off, so he asked Maximo to find an opportunity to go to Geller's villa.
Murray hesitated momentarily and said, "Mr. Finley, are you sure you want to investigate Sherman? He is Ms. Geller's father, after all..."
"Even if he's my dad, we have to investigate him," Lloyd had an intuition that Sherman knew where the potion was.