“Good day, Miss Jones. Sorry, my husband is currently unavailable. What can I do to help you?” Peace asked. Her tone was slightly mocking, but Beatrice wasn’t in the mood to care about it.
“Mrs. Xavier, I need to speak with Karl right away. Could you please contact him?” Beatrice asked cautiously. Beatrice knew that this hot-tempered woman hated her, but she had no choice but to beg her.
“What is it? You can talk to me because I might be able to help you,” Peace said mockingly.
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you about it, Mrs. Xavier. It’s confidential because it’s about the company we invested in together.”
“Oh. But my husband is so busy teaching our son his homework now.”
Irritated by Peace’s nonchalant demeanor, Beatrice wanted to curse Peace right away. After taking a deep breath, however, she suppressed the urge to do so and asked anxiously instead, “I really need to talk to him right away. Please!”
“Oh? Well, I’ll ask him if he wants to talk to you then.” Then Peace shouted, “Karl, Miss Jones says she needs to speak with you. Do you want to answer the phone?”
“No! Just answer it for me, honey! I’m teaching Martin math. He’s really giving me a headache now!” While checking the test Martin had just finished, Karl shouted back in annoyance.
With a triumphant smile, Peace picked up the phone and snorted, “Miss Jones, did you hear that? I didn’t lie to you, did I? You are welcome to talk about the situation with me.”
Beatrice had no choice but to tell Peace of the company’s recent problems, and she then said that she hoped Karl could talk to Wayne. When Peace heard this, she said, “Are you sure Wayne and Anna did these things? I don’t think they’re that type of people. Maybe you misunderstood them.”
Upon hearing that, Beatrice became even more enraged. Still, she managed to hold back her anger as Karl might be her last straw. Clenching her phone tightly, she asked, “Well, you’re right. It’s just a guess. It would be perfect if they did not do it. But what if it was really them? So I hoped Karl could talk with Wayne about it.”
“Oh,” said Peace. She made no promise to help Beatrice.
Feeling her blood boiling with rage, Beatrice snapped, “Remember that your husband is a shareholder in my company! If things get worse, he’ll lose a large sum of money as well!”
“You don’t have to be worried about that. He didn’t put much money into your business, so I don’t mind if he loses all of them. Besides, if Wayne and Anna really did this, they’ll compensate me. It’s fine.”
Hearing that, Beatrice had no idea what to say in response. Her ears were ringing, and her heart was beating fast. She desperately wanted to argue with Peace but tried her best not to. Then she said, “But things don’t have to end like this. If Karl lends me a hand, then…”
Before Beatrice could finish, Peace said, “Oh! I have a brilliant idea. Miss Jones, why don’t you sell your shares to Karl? When he becomes the CEO of the company, the company will be mine. That way, the Wrights will stop attacking this company. What do you think?”
“What?!” Beatrice couldn’t believe her ears.
“Don’t be upset, Miss Jones. You can’t beat the Wrights no matter what, in my opinion. If they continue to target you, the value of your shares will dwindle no matter what. You should sell these shares to us as soon as they are worth something. You can still keep some of your money that way, right? Why don’t you think about my advice?”
Beatrice was so enraged that she hung up the phone immediately. She then raised her phone and slammed it on the ground.
In the following days, the stock price of Daydream fell while the media continued to write articles about the company’s shady activities. Furthermore, netizens learned everything they could about Beatriz. They all called her an ungrateful bitch and advocated boycotting Daydream’s products.
In the articles, others learned that Beatriz married for the first time when she was only 18 years old. Back then, she was a high school student in the United States, living with a middle-class couple. The wife was a kind woman who not only helped her adjust to life in the United States but also helped her study. However, Beatrice was too eager to stay in America. She seduced the woman’s husband and persuaded him to divorce his wife. Later, after the man divorced his wife, Beatrice got married to him right away. Beatrice didn’t love that man as she only cared about his money. So, she began looking for her next target after receiving her green card.
After graduating from high school, Beatrice worked as a real estate agent for a well-known real estate company. After meeting a very wealthy client, Beatrice divorced her first husband and married the wealthy client. Their marriage was still short, but she benefited greatly from the divorce. And she used the money to start a small clothing business.
Many of the men who had met Beatrice were attracted to her. She was beautiful, outgoing, and ambitious. She was like a weed, desperately seeking nourishment. A few years later, Beatrice met one of Fleosil’s most famous film directors. She quit her job to work as his assistant and married him six months later. The relationship lasted three years, and she had become a wealthy woman with numerous assets by the time she divorced him.
Once everyone knew her story, they all began to despise her. Some were envious of her wealth and good fortune, while others thought she was a horrible person. Everyone mocked her as a gold-digger, saying she was only good at one thing: getting married. When she went out, she was frequently followed by paparazzi. Many people called her names to lecture her, and some even crept around her house.
After all of this, Beatrice’s company stock continued to fall. It eventually reduced to one-third of its original value. Beatrice couldn’t keep her cool any longer and was desperate to find a way to save herself. She thought of Karl at this point. Again, she called Karl.
And again, Peace answered the phone for Karl, “Have you made your choice yet, Ms. Jones? Your company’s market value has already dropped by two-thirds. If you keep hesitating, I believe it will be delisted shortly.”
“I will sell my stock to you. You are welcome to bring your lawyers to my office tomorrow to discuss it,” Beatrice said after a sigh.
A few days later, Karl took over the company and changed the brand name to “Peace.” Simultaneously, he declared his intention to enter the American market with Lemon. Just as Wayne had planned, Beatrice paid a high price for her evilness.
***
Anna did not return to Fleosil because she needed to deal with these issues at home. Patrick called her whenever he had a problem, as the communication there was better than she had expected. After resolving these issues, Anna took Matthew and Tammy to see the Millers.
Joe and Selina had been depressed since Maria was arrested. They were angry at Maria for betraying them, but they still cared about her. So, they took her grandmother to the best hospital in the country for a kidney transplant and then to a nice nursing home.
Selina was delighted when she saw the kids. She sat on the couch with Matthew’s hand in hers, saying, “Thank goodness nothing bad happened to you! I can’t imagine living without you, Matthew.”
Matthew was always at ease around his family, and he chatted with them like a kid. “Grandaunt, thank you for your concern. I’m perfectly fine and even have a good appetite. Maybe Granduncle can kill a cow for me for lunch at noon.” Matthew remarked jokingly.
Then Anna approached Matthew and flicked him on the head.
“Why are you hitting Matthew?” Selina rubbed Matthew’s head and asked Anna angrily.
Anna was speechless, believing Selina had never lavished such attention on the children. Meanwhile, Tammy, who was sitting next to Selina, said, “Grandaunt doesn’t want to talk to Mom! Yay!” Tammy said as she shook Selina’s arm, “Granny, I missed you so much. While saving Matthew, I broke my foot and even jumped into the sea. I was so terrified that I had nightmares for several days.”
“Really? Let me take a look at your ankle.”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” Tammy said before leaping into Selina’s arms.
“So, do you have nightmares anymore? Why don’t you sleep in my room tonight? I’ll read you bedtime stories like I used to when you were a kid.”
“Yeah! Great!” Tammy burst out laughing in Selina’s arms. And Selina smiled cheerfully and stroked Tammy’s hair gently.
“Tammy, you’re no longer a child. And don’t forget that you talk a lot in your sleep!” Shaking her head, Anna said to Tammy. And then she turned to Selina, saying, “Tammy moves around in her sleep as if she’s fighting with someone in her dreams, Selina. She’ll wake you up in the middle of the night if she sleeps with you. It’s best to let her sleep alone.”
“Yeah, Mommy’s right,” Matthew said.
“How come everyone is blaming me?” Tammy asked, her face flushed.
“Tammy is almost an adult, Selina, so maybe you can stop treating her like a child. She even convinced Natalie and Alicia to help her save Matthew!” Anna said. She was irritated every time she thought about it.
“So, what? They’re still kids to me no matter how old they are. To be frank, Anna, I actually think you’re still a child now,” With a smile, Selina said. Patting Tammy’s back gently, Selina said to Tammy, “You can’t put yourself in danger anymore, dear. Otherwise, you’ll bring more trouble for Matthew.”
“That’s right!” Nodding, Matthew echoed.
“Matthew!” Tammy yelled, attempting to get him to stop talking. Then Matthew made a funny expression at her.
“Where is Joe? He’s not home ?” Suddenly, Anna asked with a frown.
“He’s visiting Maria in prison. I’ll never visit her there, let alone forgive her. I’ve spent the last few days trying to figure out why she did that horrible thing. Joe and I reflected on ourselves, but neither of us felt we had done anything wrong. We got her into a good college and gave her a lot of money over the years. However, it seems that she just took it for granted.”
“Maria’s probably just jealous that you guys are so nice to me, Selina,” Anna said half-jokingly, trying to make Selina feel better.
“We are supposed to be nice to you. I am your aunt and we are blood relatives. In fact, we’ve always treated you as if you were our own child. Your mother passed away when you were young, and your father married another woman, so we wanted to take care of you as much as possible. Anna, you’re not going to blame us for what happened to Matthew, are you?”
“Certainly not! You did what you were supposed to do, and I appreciate it. Maria is the one to blame now. Actually, I also treat you as my parents. So never say anything like that again,” Anna said as s he pretended to be upset.
“I’m sorry. I won’t say that again. I’m so old that sometimes, I don’t even know what I’m saying,” Selina said apologetically.
“Grandaunt, you are not old at all! I sometimes believe we’re the same age!” Tammy said. Her joke made everyone laugh.
Anna took a breath and said, “Maria has already paid for her mistakes. Joe is free to visit her in prison, and you are free to do so, too. You’ve spent so much time together with Maria before, so you must have a special bond with her. We don’t have a problem with that. Right, Matthew?”
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.