A Graduation Gift

Chapter 118 The Palace

Cassandar's sorrow turned to flaming rage after hearing what Lionel said to her.

She sacrificed a lot for Lionel and Ivy's benefit, even to the point of annoying Horace by telling him that she wanted a divorce. Then Lionel went ahead and said this? Was this what she got in return?

On one hand he showed consistently how much he fell for Ivy to win her sympathy; but on the other darker hand, he was poaching key business from Vernon's company.

"I have always seen you as family. What about you, though? Is this what I get for being so nice to you? Did you ever see me as family? You hide behind shadows and did everything in secret. You were careful enough not to let me know because you knew I would disagree. I was none the wiser on your dirty tricks. You bought the majority shares so dirtily. Do you want to devour the whole Qin Group? Well, you better listen then. As long as I am here living and breathing, you will never succeed!"

Cassandra radiated fury—a stark contrast from her usual self, which was peaceful and cautious.

She wouldn't hurt anyone else unless they tried to hurt her. 'I won't go easy on them. I will have to protect father's company, ' thought Cassandra.

"Cassandra, calm down, will you? Why are you even angry? Just because the Qin Group was going to be acquired and merged, doesn't mean you lose it all. I want to remind you that you still have 40% of the shares! You'll still benefit from the company as long as it runs well. Why are you so stubborn?"

Lionel frowned and walked from side to side. He tried to convince Cassandra who right now resembled a startled kitten.

"Have you ever run risk assessments for the Qin Group? If it goes under, the damages could cause irreparable damages to the Tang Group,"

Rufus reminded in a icy tone after being silent in the sidelines.

He had a gut feeling that something was off about Lionel and secretly did some digging. Turned out he was right, Lionel had been in touch with the board of directors of the Qin group for quite some time now. That was when Rufus realized that Lionel wanted to take over the whole company.

Normally, Horace would have discussed the merger with Rufus before hand, since he was in charge of the Tang group now. But he didn't, which meant the father didn't have a shred of trust on his son after all. Instead, Horace had given the case to Lionel directly.

Rufus squinted his cold dark eyes. It seemed that Horace didn't have much confidence in him.

What Horace asked of him was to solve the current crisis in which the company was trapped in. Rufus succeeded in doing just that. Not only that, he did so well that he managed to convince the board to expand new markets as well.

But despite proving his capability, Horace still kept him away from key businesses of the Tang Group, such as this merger.

"Risk assessment? High risks come with high rewards. I had hoped you would understand such a simple rule."

Lionel despised Rufus so much since he was always with Cassandra. One would think that he was the husband instead of Lionel. All of it put a huge dent on Lionel's manly pride.

"You bought the majority shares from those board directors and asked them to retire. Let me guess, what is it that you want to be the big boss?"

Rufus asked with eyebrows furrowed. He looked at Lionel with such disdain.

If Lionel was capable of running a company, the Tang group wouldn't have been caught in the crisis in the first place. Rufus knew that Lionel wasn't cut out for business.

"Listen up, Rufus. It was only a matter of time before the Qin Group was acquired by us. I'm the boss now, and it is none of your goddamn business,"

Lionel quipped. He lost his temper for a bit since he realized Rufus was being sarcastic.

"Then let's see how you will ruin the company with this merger," Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

Rufus said in a light, mocking tone. He accused his brother to be incapable. Lionel was on the verge of losing his temper again after hearing what Rufus said.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Rufus? Don't be so smug for being the acting CEO. It's not as easy as you think,"

Lionel snapped and stormed out as he felt a direct hit from the truth in Rufus's accusation.

Kevin sensed how embarrasing the situation was and beads of sweat started to form on his forehead.

"Take it easy, Cassandra. You father is in trouble and was about to lose control of the company. How could you and your mother—two women—run such a company? Relying on the Tang group and letting your husband run things might be for the best,"

Kevin offered his advice carefully. He knew Cassandra and Lionel had a bitter relationship.

"Uncle Kevin, do you know how to contact Mrs. Zheng?"

Cassandra ignored Kevin's advice and changed the subject. It occurred to her that Lionel and her each held 40% of the company shares. Her words would have the impact she needed if she got her hands on Mrs. Zheng's 20% shares.

This way, there was no way Lionel could get his hands on the Qin Group and the company can return to its original state.

"From what I know, Mrs. Zheng is currently residing in Europe. Norway, to be exact. I don't have the specific address, though. I got to tell you, she is not easy to talk to. She got more and more isolated after her husband passed away. She is taken care by her daughter now."

Kevin realized Cassandra's intentions and felt bad that he couldn't do more to help.

He had a feeling that Cassandra's plan was a long shot since Mrs. Zheng was too unpredictable. The years have turned her eccentric. She left her shares to her agent and was out of touch with the other board members.

"Oh, that's right. You can go to the TY Group. I recall a time when Mrs. Zheng once entrusted the company to make various investments for her. Maybe they have an idea how to reach her. I have to warn you, though. They wouldn't easily give that to you, since it's about the client confidentiality,"

Kevin sighed deeply, looked at Cassandra intently, then left.

Cassandra was left alone with Rufus. Her fists were clenched so hard that her fingernails drew blood as they pierced her supple palms.

She had to reach Mrs. Zheng no matter what to get her father's company back.

"Rufus, I need your help!"

Cassandra turned to Rufus with fiery conviction in her eyes. Even though she looked so fierce and determined, Rufus knew how vulnerable she was deep inside.

"You want me to find Mrs. Zheng for you, is that right?"

Rufus knowingly looked at Cassandra. His face softened after a wave of realization overcame him.

Cassandra nodded. She remembered watching a movie which starred Lyndsy and won her the Best Actress title. It was sponsored heavily by TY Entertainment, a studio under the TY Group. Rufus was well-connected enough to ask Lyndsy to cooperate at the auction, so he must know someone from the TY group.

She had no time to waste as she needed to reach Mrs. Zheng as soon as possible.

Rufus studied the anxious woman in front of him with his steel, dark eyes.

It's actually the first time Cassandra ever asked for his help. How could he turn her down now?

"Leave it to me. I'll do my best."

Rufus's heart ached seeing Cassandra's worried face.

"I want to go home and visit mother and my sister. Cloris is going abroad to study soon."

It worried Cassandra terribly thinking of Edith's reaction. Her mother would have a nervous breakdown if she knew of the impending merger.

Rufus drove Cassandra to the house of the Qin family and pulled over by the fountain near the gate to wait for her.

"I need you to find someone for me. Try to reach her and tell her that there is an emergency,"

Rufus spoke over phone and lit a cigarette. He crossed his legs and examined a phoenix tree that managed to bud in the cold, much to his amusement.

'How I wish spring would come sooner, ' Rufus thought to himself.

Meanwhile, inside the mansion of the Qin family

Cassandra decided to postpone telling Edith of the company's crisis. If she could convince Mrs. Zheng to sell her shares, that would save the company and there would be no need to let her mother know.

Cloris lay on the nearby sofa and fiddled with her phone. She was smiling and giggling every once in a while. It seemed like she was chatting with someone who made her happy.

"Cloris, do you have a boyfriend?"

Cassandra asked after she observed Cloris's sweet smile, the kind of smile you only see on girls who're in love.

"Nope. Just texting with a friend,"

Cloris answered coldly. It was obvious she didn't want to breach the topic.

At that moment, her phone lit up after receiving a message.

"Let's hang out tonight, I will meet you up in the Northern District," it said.

Cloris's heart fluttered with elation. She replied, "Okay." She even added a heart emoji.

Arthur snorted contemptously as he received Cloris's reply.

'Women are so gullible. It's easy to win their trust if you give them just the right amount of attention.

Cloris, this isn't personal. Blame your sister for what's about to happen to you, ' Arthur thought in the deep recesses of his mind.

Cassandra arrived in Norway, three days later.

Mrs. Zheng resided in a castle of antiquity. It was located in the center of a lush, thriving forest. The place was shrouded with mystery, looking abandoned and forgotten.

Cassandra took a deep breath before she rang the doorbell near the massive door. Moments later, a butler came out.

"Miss Qin, my lady knows you are here. Please, come in. She is waiting for you in the hall,"

the butler bowed respectfully. It's was obvious he was a professional.

He led Cassandra inside. She was taken aback and swept with awe as she saw the interior.

This wasn't just someone's home. It was a full-blown palace!

The hall was adorned with priceless antiques. The paintings were of the classical style and the furniture looked like they could be traced back to the time period of Renaissance.

Amidst all the grandeur, a woman was sitting at center of the great hall.