As the press conference began, many reporters sat on audience seat, ready to record every word Anna said.
Anna sat in the centre of the stage, alongside Tony, Selina, and a few of Lemon‘s employees.
The reporter who stood up the first appeared unfriendly. He asked Anna, “Miss Gabriel, are you the daughter of Frank, the former president of the Gabriel Group?”
Anna nodded.
“So, you‘re aware that the Gabriel Group is in serious trouble this time, right? Almost every family member is troubled by this, and some have even had accidents. I‘m curious why you are the only one not involved in it and have even started your own business? Are the rumors about you true? Did Frank give you his fortune and allow you to start a new business?”
Anna replied, “No, of course not. My father left no money to me in his will, and I have no shares in the Gabriel Group. To be honest, I‘ve never even visited the group‘s headquarters. So, the group has nothing to do with me.”
None of the journalists believed Anna‘s words. Then that reporter went on to ask, “No, that‘s completely impossible! You are Frank‘s daughter, so how could you‘ve never been to his company? I know you have a lot of assets, including a villa worth tens of millions of dollars. I‘ve heard it was given to you by your father when you turned 18!”
Then other reporters began to speak up, “Frank gave you the mansion as a present, but why didn‘t he leave you anything? That makes no sense!”
“I think Frank must have taken all the money used to develop the estate! That‘s why the workers can‘t get their wages!”
“Frank must have known he was seriously ill for a long time, so he wanted to pass that money on to you.”
Before Anna could speak, all reporters began to express their assumptions. At the time, the scene was VERY chaotic. – Then, suddenly, someone bumped and slapped the table and exclaimed, “Enough!”
The majestic voice of Selina echoed throughout the empty conference hall. She then slapped the table angrily again and exclaimed, “That‘s ridiculous!”
“Who is she?” “How come she‘s talking like that?” Everyone was afraid to say anything because Selena was so intimidating.
“That‘s enough! Do you have any knowledge of the law? Even if he dies, he is still liable for the transferred property. Otherwise, I‘m sure there will be people plotting against their leaders and loved ones.”
Everyone in the room felt their hearts race as Selina spoke coldly and majestically.
“Let me explain why Frank didn‘t leave Anna a penny in his will. But, before I do, I want everyone to know that Anna is Frank‘s daughter. She‘s his second daughter. The woman who died was his sister, but they were not born to the same mother. The disappeared woman was Anna‘s stepmother, not her biological mother.”
Journalists were more interested in gossip about famous families than in business disputes. As a result, everyone became very excited,
“Yes, you all think Anna is Frank‘s daughter. You believe she is a wealthy young lady, the rightful heir to the Gabriel Group. Despite this, Anna has not been treated fairly in her family for many years.”
Selina stated firmly and with an imposing aura that silenced the journalists, “The truth is that, the reason why Frank got to found the Gabriel Group is that he relied on his ex–wife‘s money. Then he abandoned her after achieving success, and married his mistress. Anna‘s mother died while she was in labor, and you can all imagine how Anna‘s stepmother treated her. She doesn‘t even have a share in the Gabriel Group!”
Selina spoke solemnly, telling everyone about Anna‘s hardship. Anna had spent her entire childhood in her grandfather‘s home. However, Selina made a difficult decision to let Anna live with Frank after her grandfather died.
She did this to keep Anna from being a naive young lady, as she was well aware that Anna would only become tough under challenging circumstances.
Selina‘s biggest fear was that Anna would have the same cowardly personality as Olivia. As a result, she didn‘t want Anna to be a gentle but frail young lady. Selina wanted Anna to learn to defend herself, even if it would make Anna hate her.
Anna blossomed into a brilliant young lady, just as she had hoped. She received high marks and was accepted into a prestigious local medical university.
“Anna is, indeed, a wealthy young lady. In fact, she hasn‘t gotten what she deserves. Anyway, she‘s still a young woman in her twenties. So, why does she have to clear up the mess caused by a bunch of bloodsuckers?!”
The journalists all fell silent after Selina finished speaking. Because almost no one was aware of the Gabriel family‘s relationship, everyone assumed Anna was Frank and Shirley‘s second daughter. Plus, they suspected this because she had attended Allie‘s funeral.
She possessed numerous assets. As a result, everyone assumed Anna was wealthy and spoiled by her family. Then they expected her to be responsible for the Gabriel Group.
Selina‘s entire body trembled because she was irritated.
Seeing that, Anna turned to her assistant, who was standing on stage and asked her to let Selina rest. She knew her aunt had done enough to help her, and it was time for her to defend herself.
Anna stood up and addressed the reporters, saying, “You may not be aware that it was my aunt who spoke for me. She is my mother‘s best friend, the wife of my mother‘s brother, and a member of my family. I didn‘t invite her to the press conference. But you may be aware that there has been a lot of negative news about me during this time. She cares for me, so she came here and spoke on my behalf. Actually, I‘m grateful to her for saving me from having to explain anything further.”
One journalist inquired, “Do you mean that the Gabriel Group has absolutely nothing to do with you? Well, we learned that Lemon was once a subsidiary of the group.”
“You‘ve all looked into my possessions, haven‘t you? So, you should be aware that I am not a shareholder in the Gabriel Group. Lemon is a small business that my mother ran when she was still alive. Before he died, my father asked if I wanted anything, and I told him that I wanted what belonged to my mom back. And I believe I made the correct decision.”
“Well, a worker attempted to jump from the Gabriel Group headquarters building last month. You did save that man, didn‘t you? You stated that you were the one in charge of the group. So, why did you save him if you have nothing to do with the group?”
Anna froze and turned to face the journalist. She had known for some time that she would have to answer this question.
Tony appeared irritated as the reporters questioned Anna. He stood up and attempted to explain to Anna, “Miss Gabriel…”
Anna pressed hard on his shoulder, forcing him to sit down.
She looked at the journalist and said seriously, “That‘s because I have compassion for him. He would have jumped off the roof if I hadn‘t saved him. I can‘t bear to watch a human die in front of me.”
After hearing Anna‘s words, the journalist froze. He became agitated when he learned that many people agreed with her.
He immediately calmed down and asked, “Well, I can tell that you‘re a nice person. But why are you ignoring other employees? Currently, nearly fifty workers gathered in front of the Gabriel Group building, attempting to reclaim their wages.”
Anna gave him a sidelong glance and said, “What? Did I say I was going to ignore them? For God‘s sake, I never said that!”
The journalist was immediately embarrassed. Then he heard many people discussing the hottest Twitter trend then.
Meanwhile, a Twitter post by an activist was receiving thousands of retweets.
In the post, he stated that Anna was sponsoring the leukemia–stricken daughter of a worker. Furthermore, Gabriel Group announced on its website that the stalled real estate project would be restarted soon.
The managers of the various media outlets then called their reporters to change their interview plans. Then there was a significant shift in the journalists‘ attitudes.
“Will you handle the group‘s current issues, Miss Gabriel? Aren‘t you concerned that no matter how much money you put in, things won‘t get better?”
“Miss Gabriel, is it true that you and your father didn‘t get along well? If that‘s the case, why are you still willing to take responsibility? Is this for profit, or are you doing it because he was your father?”
Al the same time, a middle aged man stormed into the deputy managing director‘s office at the White Group‘s headquarters in Birmingham‘s CBD and slammed a newspaper with a heavy thud on the desk.
“Take a look at that! Is this your perfect ‘foolproof‘ plan?!” His angry voice echoed in the office.
Then the young man in a brown suit sitting beside the desk was stunned. When he saw what was in the newspaper, he was taken aback and asked, “Huh? How did this happen?”
The middle–aged man said grimly, “Hey, I should have asked you that! I‘ve told you that we should just deal with the Joan Group! You shouldn‘t have been so ‘smart‘ in doing business. You fucking ‘genius‘!”
The young man defended himself angrily, “No way! Oscar from Lemon told me that Anna had no interest in Gabriel Group. Plus, I doubt that she would have done it! It‘s so absurd!”
The other man was trembling with rage and pointing at the papers, saying, “Look who‘s on her side! My goodness, look who sits by her! You have no idea how powerful she is, do you? You should never have messed with her!”
As the young man froze, his brother roared at him, “They are Wayne from the Carousel Group, Mr. Miller‘s wife, and Carrie Brown, the editor–in–chief of Vivi magazine. And she knows a big shot in the U.S. Ben Jones, you‘re so screwed!“
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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