Chapter 322 – Second Chance Love of the Missing Groom Novel

Shirley showed Peter the recording that was circulating online, and they both could hear that it was their daughter.

“How could she say something like that… And at a time like this?!”

As the Lindts were pushed to the brink, Peter was left seething and barking, “Call her here already!”

Shirley quickly did so, and Ember soon arrived-she had returned to the hospital after leaving Zachary’s office, and she returned home since her parents had already left.

“What the hell is this?!’ Peter barked as he played the recording for her, but Ember was dumbfounded too.

It was what she had just told Zachary… Why was there a recording posted online already?

However, she would never believe that it was Zachary. She said, “It must be Tim Goldman.”

“You’ve met him?” Peter asked.

“Yes,” Ember lied, and assured her father, “Calm down, Dad. Zachary is going to help US.”

“What?! You told him?!” Peter gaped.

Ember Still held faith in Zachary. “Zachary would know now that it’s come to this even if we didn’t tell him. You know that he’s not a schemer-don’t think so poorly of him.”

Peter was silent for a while and sighed. “Yeah. Right now, we can only trust him.”

Zachary had always been soft and never did anything wrong, so it was likely he was not culpable—not when he did not even have the mind for it.

The thought that Tim wanted to screw him over put Peter’s mind at ease.

Right now, he had no choice but to trust Zachary…

That was when several uniformed officers arrived at his house, demanding that he follow them back to the precinct to assist in an investigation.

The incident had already caused too much of a stir, after all.

Shirley was left sobbing-Peter had always called the shots in the family, and she had no idea what to do in his absence.

Ember tried to console her. “Don’t worry, Mom. Zachary will save Dad.”

Shirley said nothing as she wiped away her tears.

Zachary arrived in the evening, bringing a message from Tim.

Naturally, it was from him as well, but he described it as if only Tim said it, using Tim as a misdirection.

“We can smooth things over by paying him off,” Zachary said.

“How much is he asking for?”

Ember barely finished when Shirley said, “We don’t have any money left. He’s already taken all the movable assets and capital our company had…”

“He must be coming after your family’s fortune,” Zachary said. “He also said that you could give him any businesses you have on hand if you don’t have the money.”

“He just wants to devour us whole, doesn’t he?” Ember bristled.

“Calm down. I won’t let you starve even if your family is gone,” Zachary assured her.

Ember became a mush of emotions right then and threw herself in Zachary’s arms. “You’re the only one I can rely on now.”

“I’m here. You have nothing to worry about.” Zachary patted her on the shoulder, staying silent for a while before continuing,

“Money is just a possession. Right now, the most important thing is to save your father. Moreover, it’s just business-it won’t bankrupt the company, and your father has the strength to straighten things out once he’s released. That’s the easy part, but bailing him out right now is the priority.”

“That’s right, Mom,” Ember echoed.

While Shirley hesitated, Ember kept persuading her. “Mom, we don’t even know if Dad would be abused while he’s being arrested. We need to get him out soon-you’re the only one who can make the decision and sign the papers.”

Shirley was soon convinced-bailing out her husband was the priority anyway.

Turning toward Zachary, she asked, “So? What am I supposed to do?”

A dark look appeared over Zachary’s face just then, but he kept solemn as he said, “There’s some papers you need to sign.’

“Okay,” Shirley said, agreeing to it right away without thinking.

Zachary took out the papers he prepared beforehand and handed it to Ember. “There’s no helping it. Some of the company’s businesses must be sacrificed to save your father.”

Ember took his words at face value and did not even check the papers before passing it to her mother. “You have to sign it while Dad’s away, Mom.”

Shirley’s fingers clenched, but she braced herself and signed the papers, doing it so quickly that she did not read the contents.

The first reason she did it was because she was convinced that Zachary would not lie to her, and these papers would not have anything sinister behind that.

Secondly, she would rather that this would be over soon. Even if it hurt to give off the company’s businesses to someone else, she had to do it to save her husband.

With the papers signed, Zachary took them and put them in his briefcase.” I’ll go to Tim right now.”

“We will wait for you,” Ember told him.

Zachary merely held her gaze for a while, but said nothing as he turned to leave.

Neither Ember nor Shirley slept well as they waited.

However, while they were convinced that it was all over after Shirley signed those papers, it did not- instead, there was now a formal criminal case against them.

To their bewilderment, they were notified that the police seemed to have gathered sufficient evidence to investigate the factory fire.

Ember quickly went to Zachary’s office to ask what happened, but he was not there.

Forced to return home, she just reached the front gates when she heard her mother yelling.

Knowing that something bad had happened, she rushed inside to see Tim Goldman sitting nonchalantly on the couch with one leg over the other, as if he was at home.

Ember became as furious as Shirley right then, and rushed at him, intent on hurting him. “You monster! They took away my father because of you!”

Tim scowled, but simply caught her hand and firmly knocked her away.

Ember stumbled and fell, and Shirley rushed to help her up.

They then huddled together, watching Tim fearfully-he was certainly hostile and bore no mercy toward them.

However, Tim was impatient too. “Stop making me waste my breath. Get out of here right now.”

“You have no right! This is our home!” Ember shot him a furious glare.

That was when Shirley tugged at her and whispered into her ear, “No, we fell for a trap. The papers Zachary had US sign? It was not just concessions of some of our businesses-it was a transfer of controlling interest and all fixed assets.”

Ember’s pupils dilated and she shook uncontrollably. “H-How?!”

She was still convinced-even lying to herself-that Zachary would never trick her.

Tim smirked. “Did you think I did this all by myself? Would everything really have gone so smoothly for me without someone pulling strings from the inside?”

“I don’t believe you!” Ember screamed in rage.

Tim merely smirked in disdain and gestured for his henchmen to throw them out of the mansion-it no longer belonged to the Lindts now!

Ember and Shirley were both hence dragged out of the mansion and dumped carelessly by the road.

They never suffered such abuse, but more than that, Ember could not accept that Zachary was in league with Tim!

Abandoning her mother right then, she ran straight to Zachary, intent on questioning him.

He still was not at his office, so she went to his home instead.

There, she found Zachary speaking with his mother, and she stormed in furiously. “Zachary! Tim Goldman said that you were in league with him and that my father was arrested because of you! Is that true?!”

Zachary slowly turned toward her with aloofness in his eyes.

Zachary quietly said, “Perfect timing.”

His words sparkled Ember’s remaining hopes and she slowly walked up to him, mustering a smile as she said, “Tim Goldman was just slandering you, right?-

“It’s all true,” Zachary said, cutting her short icily. “Now, sign this.”

Ember finally saw the paper on the table, and the title that read ‘Divorce Agreement’!

She wobbled and turned toward Zachary in disbelief. “Y-You want to divorce me?!”

Then, she turned to Mrs. Slate, who had always supported her.

And right now, she needed Mrs. Slate’s help.

However, Mrs. Slate simply averted her gaze, rose to her feet, and left.

After all, she knew that Zachary was no longer the son she could browbeat or manipulate at her whim.

However, Ember was still counting on her. “Zachary is going to divorce me! Aren’t you doing anything about this?”

Mrs. Slate finally sighed. “I can’t even save myself.”

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