The man then paused for a moment before continuing, “Here’s a piece of advice, Scarlett. Some things aren’t worth fighting for.”
“What do you mean by that?” I felt like I had fallen into a bottomless pit with no hope of getting out.
“I gotta go.” He then hung up on me, leaving me to stare blankly at the huge crowd outside the building.
My phone started ringing all of a sudden, and I saw that it was Macy calling. “Where are you?”
“Outside the office building!”
“Got it, stay where you are! I’ll come and get you!”
Macy hung up after saying that, and I saw her appear at the entrance of the building about fifteen minutes later.
I quickly gave her a call and said, “Look behind you!”
She turned around and ran up to me when she saw my car. “Let’s discuss this back at my place.”
We arrived at Glenwood Apartments shortly after.
“What on earth is going on with HiTech?” she asked with a serious look on her face.
I tried my best to explain, “Grandpa handed HiTech over to me a year ago. Though I’m not in charge of it personally, most of its official documents are signed under my name.”
She froze. “So… You’re gonna be the one to take the fall for what happened to HiTech?”
I nodded. “On top of that, there’s also some issues with the audit handled by AC Credit and Harrison Credit. A discrepancy in the data reported by both companies. The Bureau of Industry and Commerce is investigating the matter as we speak. If this isn’t handled well, Fuller Corporation’s stock market will plummet, and the company will face bankruptcy.”
Macy paced about anxiously as she said, “To hell with Fuller Corporation! You should be more worried about yourself right now! The media is pinning everything on you, and some of the stockholders can be very extreme. As for the case with HiTech, you might be looking at a very heavy fine here. Well… Ashton should be able to help you take care of all of this, but things are surely going to be tough for you after this!”
I held my head between my knees as I tried to calm myself down. “Ashton has gotten into an accident and is currently in the ER…”
Her jaw dropped in shock. “What the… Why is everything happening all at once?”
I could only shake my head helplessly in response.
Thanks to how advanced internet technology was, word got out very easily in J City.
I didn’t return to the villa after Mrs. Eriksen gave me a call to tell me that there was a huge group of reporters crowded outside.
Fortunately for me, not many people knew about Glenwood Apartments, so it was safe for me to stay there.
I got a call from Nick shortly after. He told me Ashton was still in the ICU; he didn’t have any further information regarding his condition.
As expected, Fuller Corporation’s stocks hit rock bottom in just two days, and to say the stockholders weren’t taking it very well would be an understatement. Some of them had mental breakdowns so bad that they were even close to attempting suicide.
Despite Joseph holding a press conference to ease the public’s concerns, all of Fuller Corporation’s operations had to be suspended due to the investigation by the Bureau of Industry and Commerce.
Over half of J City’s shops, malls, construction sites, and hospitals were owned by Fuller Corporation, so the sudden halt in its operations had almost the entire city paralyzed as a result.
Macy headed to shop for groceries every day and report the situation outside of the building to me when she returned.
I still had a lot of unanswered questions, but waiting was all I could do.
“Look, all you have to do right now is get enough rest. Don’t worry about everything else, okay? I mean, look at how big your tummy has gotten! The baby is due in a few months!” Macy said while serving up dinner. Her cooking has improved a lot recently, much to my relief as I didn’t have anything else to eat.
I nodded at her in response, but there was no way I could relax. “The Bureau of Industry and Commerce will announce the results of their investigation tomorrow, and I don’t even know what to expect…”
“Whatever the outcome is, at worst, Fuller Corporation will go bankrupt. Sure, you having to take the fall isn’t exactly pleasant, but Mr. Fuller is both the President and Chairman of the company! He’ll have to pay up to billions in compensation! That’s way worse!” What Macy said was true. I knew humans were selfish by nature, but it wasn’t something I agreed with.
“How could I possibly leave after all Grandpa has done for me? I’d live the rest of my life in guilt if I do!” I exclaimed with a sigh.
“Say, do you think Joe could be behind all of this? He was in charge of HiTech when that accident happened, yet he chose to ignore it and do nothing! Also, Quinn Corporation was mostly responsible for the issue with AC Credit and Harrison Credit! Maybe he’s trying to get at Ashton by using you…”
It’s not like I haven’t considered that possibility, but Ashton is no fool either! I brought that up with him once, but he told me Joe wouldn’t do that as both Fuller Corporation and Quinn Corporation would be one soon!
