Chapter 609 Sly Old Fox
Edwin had gone to the psychiatric hospital early that morning. To others, he was there to visit Celina. In reality, though, he was there to borrow money from her. The moment Celina caught wind of his motives, however, she straight up whacked him and chased him out of the room. Fortunately, he managed to escape quickly, or she would have hit him with her chamber pot. Just the thought itself disgusted him.
Edwin rubbed the ear that Celina had scratched when he entered the Saunders Residence. He was despondent. Time was running out. Where was he supposed to find the money to pay back the creditors?
David was sitting on the couch when he saw Edwin come in. “Is Nana doing better?” he asked, his face expressionless.
Edwin put on a heartbroken look and shook his head. “Still the same as ever. Ever since she was exposed on TV, her hatred for Elise hasn’t stopped. The doctors said that it will be better to visit her less often in the future.”
The cogs in David’s sharp mind whirred. “Understood. I’ll visit her some time later,” he said in a low tone.
“I’ll return to my room then, Dad. Long car trips aren’t comfortable. I want to go to sleep.”
“Go then.” David coldly waved a hand in dismissal.
As he was deeply worried that he would show weakness in front of David, Edwin sped up his steps and half-jogged to his room upstairs.
David’s gaze remained on Edwin as he raced upstairs. Only when Edwin’s figure disappeared past the top of the stairs did David turn his head back. An obvious look of cruelty flashed across his eyes.
Right then, Mrs. Woods emerged from the kitchen. David asked her quietly, “Did you get the info?”
Mrs. Woods was currently the only trusted follower he had.
She carefully looked back to eye the stairs. Once she had confirmed that Edwin was back in his room, she lowered her voice. “Yes. The hardware store said that Mr. Edwin had gone there to pawn his belongings off. I called the psychiatric hospital earlier, and they said that Mr. Edwin had gone there to borrow money from Ms. Celina. Ms. Celina’s condition flared up again because of that.”
“To borrow money?” David’s face paled before darkening in anger. His expression was stormy as he gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Keep a close eye on him! I want to see just what trouble he can still stir up!”
Meanwhile, upstairs, Edwin’s creditors called him after he had gamed for a few rounds. He didn’t dare to pick up the call. He only let out a breath of relief once the call had automatically hung up. After much contemplation, he rushed downstairs to look for Mrs. Woods.
“Mrs. Woods, do you know where my father has stored the divorce agreement for Nana and me?”
Mrs. Woods regarded him warily. “Mr. Edwin, are you planning to agree to Master David’s request and divorce Ms. Celina?”
“No, I mean, yes. I was thinking of showing Nana the divorce agreement. Maybe it’ll help with her condition. If it will help her get better, I’ll even accept the divorce!”
Mrs. Woods regarded Edwin meaningfully. She hadn’t expected him to be serious about Celina. No wonder David had tolerated him until now.
“No wonder you’re so attentive toward her. If that’s the case, wait here. I’ll be back with the agreement.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Woods!”
Shortly after that, Mrs. Woods came back with a document folder. Edwin took the folder from her and opened it. After he had confirmed the bank card was still inside it, he took the folder with him and left the house.
Since it was night, Edwin had no choice but to use the ATM to transfer the funds. After he inserted the card, he keyed in 2.5 million and confirmed the transfer. The next moment, however, a message popped up on the ATM’s screen, informing him that the transfer had failed due to insufficient balance.
Edwin’s good cheer immediately flickered. The Saunders Family were wealthy, so how was it that the compensation that David had given him was less than 2.5 million?
He forced himself to take a breath before he attempted to transfer 2 million to his own account, but the transaction still failed. He kept lowering the amount, until a ‘transaction successful’ message popped up when he entered 200,000, but Edwin’s expression could not get even uglier.
200,000? It wouldn’t even be able to buy a washroom here in Landred City, where land was as precious as gold. It was even less than Mrs. Woods’ annual salary!
In David’s eyes, Edwin as a son-in-law was worth less than a babysitter-slash-servant!
Edwin took the card out, tossing it to the ground before stamping on it.
“That old fox! That sly, sly old fox!”
He only left the bank once he had exhausted all his strength.
Meanwhile, David received a transaction notification from the bank.
…
Tom’s expression was stormy as he gathered all the Alexis employees for a last-minute meeting.
“Alexis may be a small company, but we have always paid our employees on time, and we’ve never made you work on holidays, or deprived you of other benefits. I personally think that I’ve been treating you well, but I never expected that someone would sell me out, sell the company out, and sell everyone’s benefits out!”
His voice took a darker and serious turn as he continued. The atmosphere inside the office instantly turned tense. The employees gossiped among themselves, but they also didn’t dare to speak any louder, worried that they would end up painting themselves as the suspect.
“I am laying this out right now: stealing designs means that you are stealing company secrets. If you don’t want to turn yourself in, fine. The police will make you admit your crimes!” Tom harshly warned, his voice dripping with threat.
The moment he finished his warning, the girl in the center of the first row fell to her knees with a thump.
“Mr. Shaw, I was the one who stole the designs, I admit it. Please, give me a chance to make things right. I’m the only breadwinner for my family. I can’t get myself into trouble…”
Tom did not show any emotion. “The rest of you may go. Annette Fronda, come with me to my office,” he said flatly. He then brought Annette with him.
Elise had already been waiting for ages inside Tom’s office. When Tom and Annette entered, she was unhurriedly checking some company documents.
“Miss Sinclair, it’s as you said—Annette Fronda was the one behind it. I’ve brought her with me,” Tom said respectfully.
Shock filled Annette’s eyes when she saw a girl her age seated by the desk inside the office. This girl is the true head of Alexis?
Elise slowly looked up and quietly shifted her gaze toward Annette. The imposing aura she emanated instantly made Annette lower her head to avoid Elise’s gaze.
“M-Miss, I only caved in and betrayed the company because of Fiona’s words… I know what I did was wrong.”
“Is that so? But why did you give in?” Elise asked in a breezy manner.
Annette’s nose stung, snot dripping from her nose as she wept. “My father is paralyzed, and my mother left us. My younger brother is still in school. It’s hard to make ends meet. I have a good salary thanks to Mr. Shaw, but I-I couldn’t restrain myself when Fiona came looking for me with such a handsome sum of money. I’m so sorry!”
“If apologies are sufficient, then why do we still need the police?” Elise asked meaningfully.
Annette ended up dropping to her knees out of fear. “Miss, I promise you that this won’t happen again. I’ve been working at the company ever since it was still known as Shaw’s Jewelry Co. I’ve always given my all at work, and I’ve always worked hard. Please, give me another chance!”
Tom’s heart couldn’t take it. He would feel some sentimentality toward employees who had been working at the company for a long time.
“But your promise means nothing here,” Elise said meaningfully again. “Not unless…”