Of course, they were just acting in front of Nathaniel.
“Are you sure?” John smirked. “In that case, I’ll be frank with you, then. Since you were a part of our family before this, I’ll give you a discount. One million.”
One million for the shares of a global listed company? Since when was John so kind to Anthony? I thought to myself.
“Stop fooling around,” responded Anthony impatiently with a hint of suspicion in his voice. His reaction was the same as the rest of us.
As expected, John always acted indecently on solemn occasions and acted even more improperly on casual occasions.
“I’m not fooling around. One million. If you don’t agree, I’ll leave with my wife right now. Do you think I’m here to have dinner with you?” In an instant, John’s face turned grim. He looked as though he was serious about what he said.
In the past, Anthony could have given John a taste of his own medicine and teased him back, but obviously, he could not do that in front of Nathaniel now.
Left with no choice, he could only compromise. “Fine. Since you proposed it, I’ll agree to it. I’ll buy the equity that originally belonged to Sienna with one million. After signing the equity transfer contract, we’ve nothing to do with each other anymore.”
“Wait.” John lifted his hand. Then he raised his eyebrows and smiled arrogantly. “You got the wrong idea. What I mean is that I’ll give you one million, and you have to leave both Featherstone Corporation and Letty. Also, you’re not allowed to appear in front of us in the future.”
As if that was not humiliating enough, he leaned against the chair and added, “That’s how much you’re worth.”
Hearing that, I could not help but feel impressed at how good John was at teasing people.
Of course, I could not afford to give up on such a good opportunity. Pretending to be in a tight spot, I chimed in, “John, please don’t do this. I’ll never leave Anthony. Can you stop fighting with him for the sake of your nephews?”
“No!” John stared at me disappointedly. “Why do you think I’m here today? You gave me this right in the past. No matter how willful you used to be in the past, you knew that you could always rely on me and trust me. Back then, I was the only legatee in your will. But now, you don’t even care about your brother and sister-in-law anymore. Letty, you’ve changed.”
Here, he paused for a while and hammered his chest. “I’m very disappointed in you.”
John’s acting was so convincing that I quickly immersed myself in the mood. Out of guilt, tears sprang to my eyes. Just as the tears were about to trickle down my face, I covered my mouth and lowered my face, acting as if I was apologetic and could not face him anymore.
Anyhow, I was not the main protagonist. After I briefly attracted the attention of everyone in the room, Anthony ignored everything that I had done for him and went back to the topic. “If that’s the case, then there’s nothing else to discuss. Do you have to fight against me?”
Spreading his arms, John stated, “You’re the one who wants to fight against me. If you’re willing to divorce Letty and leave everything behind, all the problems will be resolved.”
“I don’t mind leaving everything behind, but you have to know that all the important data of the company is in my brain, and I know the easiest way to destroy it. In the end, what you get is just an empty shell. Not only that, but you might also bring down Stanhope Corporation along with it. Are you sure you can afford such consequences?” questioned Anthony solemnly.
Given Anthony’s abilities, all of us knew that it was only a matter of time for him to turn those into reality. The atmosphere turned tense after he finished talking.
“Will you really do that? You were the one who built Featherstone Corporation from scratch. Destroying it is equivalent to killing your efforts. You won’t do that.” John smiled and was not threatened by what Anthony said. Out of the blue, he thought of something and continued, “Worse comes to worst, we’ll just go down together. If you’re willing to risk Featherstone Corporation, I don’t mind sacrificing Stanhope Corporation as well. You can never escape from me.”
With that said, he held Emma’s hand and kissed the back of her hand. Looking at her crystal clear eyes, he said softly, “Don’t worry. As long as Featherstone Corporation exists, nothing will happen to your family.”
It was rare that Emma did not express her dismay as she smiled shyly. Seeing that, John was lovestruck and almost forgot that he was still acting. Fortunately, she gave him a side glance in time, and he immediately pulled himself together.
The negotiation had again reached stalemate.
Anthony’s face was frighteningly grim as John was flirting with Emma in front of him. On one side was a lonely man who could not even show his love for the woman he loved. On the other side was a sweet couple who was in love with each other. After comparing their situation, I bet Anthony was seething with anger.
At that moment, Nathaniel, who had been silent for the whole time, put down the spoon in his hand, and his action attracted everyone’s attention.
Subsequently, he wiped his mouth calmly. His movements were elegant, and just when everyone felt that he was not in the situation, he started slowly, “It’s futile to argue any further. We should ask the owner’s opinion.”
Once again, it was silent in the private room. Everyone was deep in thoughts, and no one seemed to understand what he meant.
Placing the napkin on the table, Nathaniel looked in my direction and curled the corners of his lips. “If you don’t want to see the people close to you speak ill of each other, why don’t you make another will and decide the final owner of the shares? As a professional lawyer, it should be a piece of cake for you, right?”
Hearing that, I did not dare to utter a word. I was worried that it would expose my anxiety. After all, that was how the will that authorized the shares to John had come about.
As expected of the opponent that even Anthony is afraid of. Fortunately, I’m a step ahead of him. Otherwise, I won’t have the chance to confront him today.
Seeing that, John reacted immediately and started acting.
He looked at Nathaniel vigilantly, then looked at me. Furrowing his brows, he questioned, “Are you going to use that kind of nasty method to deal with me?”
His good looks coupled with the expression of pain after being let down made me feel extremely guilty.
If all of those were not an act, I would have knelt on the ground and begged for forgiveness.
No one could be ruthless toward such a good-looking person.
However, I was playing the role of a woman who would sacrifice everything for love. Moreover, Nathaniel’s gaze was fixed on me. I pretended not to see it and stared at John with reddened eyes. “According to the law, the right of inheritance is subjected to the testamentary will. As long as Anthony has the testamentary will, your beneficiary status will be invalidated, and he’ll be the legal—”
“I dare you to say that again.” John lowered his voice with tears in his eyes. Laughing self- deprecatingly, he continued, “Without my support, could you have taken the bar exam? I was the one who established the law firm for you, and now you’re using the law to threaten me?”
Looking at the tears falling from the corners of his eyes, I also became emotional. With tears in my eyes, I stood up timidly and tried to persuade John, “I didn’t. John, as long as you hand over the shares, they won’t make things difficult for you. You can leave Chanaea with Emma and your children. I promise that nothing will happen.”
Shaking his head disappointedly, John uttered ironically, “You’re taking back the things you have given away. Why should I trust you?”
“I…” I knew that I was at fault, so I lowered my head and did not say anything else. At that moment, I caught a glimpse of Nathaniel and immediately vented my anger on him. “Didn’t you want to bring everyone down with you? Promise him!”
I did not know where I gained the courage to say that. Since I had said it, I gave up on trying to figure out if it was reasonable. Women are always unreasonable when they are angry anyway.
Obviously, Nathaniel was taken aback by my words, as he did not expect me to take it out on him. Nevertheless, he quickly concealed the hint of surprise in his eyes and flashed John a meaningful smile. “I promise that if the Stanhope family is willing to cooperate, I’ll never put you in a tight spot again. It’s always better to make more friends than enemies. Now, it’s up to you.”
Hearing that, John wore a tight frown and a solemn look on his face. “Are you trying to use the Stanhope family to whitewash the things that you’ve done? In your dreams!”
“John,” I called out to him to prevent further conflict between them.
Instantaneously, John turned around and shot me an icy stare. I was so scared that I bit back the words that I was going to say.
Taking a look around the room, he stopped arguing. He lowered his head and said to Emma, “Let’s go home.”
Emma did not ask anything and headed toward the door with him.
At the door, John stopped and turned around to look at me. “Take back your shares, and don’t do anything illegal. From now on, you’re no longer my sister.”
Having said that, he left the private room without looking back.
For a moment, I thought that he was really going to cut ties with me. All of a sudden, I felt a tug in my heart.
Staring at the door, I was lost in thoughts. Anthony, on the other hand, picked up the spoon as if nothing had happened.
Suddenly, I could feel blood rush through my veins. Reaching out, I slapped away the spoon. “Are you satisfied now?”
In response, Anthony lifted his head expressionlessly. “What’s wrong with you?”
Nathaniel did not bother to conceal the contemptuous look on his face when he said, “You were fighting against your family because of this man a moment ago, but now you’re being so harsh to him. Don’t you think that it’s contradictory?”
“Well, it’s all thanks to you! If Anthony isn’t in this state because of you, I won’t need to choose between my family and my lover!” I gritted my teeth and glared at him.
My hatred seemed to pain Nathaniel, and his face fell instantly. Pointing his finger at me, he warned, “This is Anthony’s choice. The person you should hate is him, not me.”
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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