Zachary's voice was choking with tears. "Please, don't just see how much it actually is—the problem is that we're just amateurs and sold that bronze sculpture as a forgery. That's something we can't change…"Jacob remained brazenly stubborn. "Don't give me that crap—that's not what I'm talking about. All I ask is for you to get that bronze sculpture back. I'll send you the 300 thousand later, and I don't care about anything else. Get it done, or I'm talking to Charlie. I'll even confess that I was up to no good, but I want it back! Hell, it's not like Charlie would do anything to me even if he finds out!"Zachary really burst into tears right then, sobbing, "Please, you can't do this! Master Wade won't punish you, but he will punish me! I'm where I am today only because he put a good word in with Don Albert for me… if he knew what we were up to such treachery and flips, I'm screwed!""What treachery?!" Jacob demanded, furious. "How is this treachery?! You came up with the plan, didn
Zachary felt like the world was falling apart around him after Jacob hung up, and he regretted endlessly that he even had anything to do with Jacob.While he knew all along that Jacob was painfully mediocre and awfully vain, just the thought that Jacob's son-in-law was Charlie Wade still made Zachary eager to fawn over him.He thought that like the average person, even if they didn't feed a dog that wags its tail at them, they could at least give the dog a pat on the head. Even if they didn't feel like it, they could at least not take away the dog's food and then kick it twice.Zachary certainly didn't know that Jacob was exactly that—immoral, unconscientious, and unprincipled.But even as he regretted everything, it was too late now. He had to at least manage a solution before Jacob landed.It was do or die anyway, so he called Bill and instructed, "Find someone older than you with a really mean look to pretend to be your brother. Then, send him to Raymond and demand that bronze
Pausing, Raymond then continued, "I even told him that he could leave the bronze sculpture with me as a consignment, and I would only be eligible for a ten percent commission.""He refused to take that offer, so I offered yet again a 50-50 investment, where he would still get half of what I make after I sell the bronze sculpture. He refused me again anyway, and he was set on the three hundred grand, take it or leave it. There's security footage that proves it too, so how could I have defrauded him?"Then, seeing that there were plenty of others around them, he smiled, "Since you're here, I shall invite the public to be my witness as I show everyone the security footage I have. I will ask everyone to be the judge and decide if I've deceived his so-called brother!"Bob's heart skipped a beat at Raymond's words, but he was afraid to retreat right then, so he braced himself and snapped, "No, that's not necessary! You bought the bronze sculpture, so you return it this instant! I will ret
Pausing, Raymond continued, "To prove that the will is legally binding, a public notary needs to be present and ideally certifying said will—otherwise, you'd just be talking out of your ass.""In the case of the latter, that means the bronze sculpture belongs to your father—not you. And because you can't produce a legally binding will, it's by law that you and your brother share half the right of inheritance to that bronze sculpture… or less, should you have more living siblings or if your mother is alive.""However, since your brother has the right of inheritance, selling that bronze sculpture to me is legal. You can sue him in court and request the court make him compensate you for your loss. Therefore, what you should be doing now is filing a lawsuit against your brother, sorting out the inheritance issue instead of coming to me."Bob was left speechless, and even Zachary was stunned, unable to find the right retort.Seeing that Bob was hesitant and constantly fiddling with his
Pausing, Raymond then finished, "And last but not least, the origin of the bronze sculpture itself must be investigated to see if it was the work of some syndicate specializing in forgery!"With those words, Bob was left pale, trembling, and sweating buckets.Even Zachary could feel his soul leaving himself as he watched in secret.He really didn't expect Raymond to be that sharp, dissecting the entire plot and finding the fatal flaw directly.To prove that the bronze sculpture was stolen, Bob must first prove that he was Bill's biological brother—which he certainly wasn't.In fact, Bill only had two sisters… and worst of all, his father was still alive.As such, once the cops were involved and they investigated Bill's family, Bill's lies would be exposed.Naturally, he had the sink or swim method of having Bill admit he had stolen that bronze sculpture from a stranger's house and had a friend impersonate the lost owner. However, that still meant Bill was screwed because he wo
At that point, Zachary had completely acknowledged the fact that he had lost.As he understood that he was no match for Raymond, he knew he would get into more trouble if he kept trying to screw with him.That was why he knew all too well that if he wanted to resolve this crisis, Jacob was the only solution.All he could do now was to come up with some way to make Jacob recognize reality as there really was no other choice.As such, he waited for Jacob to land in Dubai, and he would then call Jacob and start begging.If push comes to shove, he'd just have to give Jacob all the money he had and consider it a painful lesson.-At the same time, word of Raymond's feat was circulating throughout Aurous Hill's Antique Street.Initially, many presumed that Raymond had been hiding the true value of the bronze sculpture when he bought it, but the video proved that he had unshakable character and business ethics.The security footage alone proved that there was no one else as ethical a
[Mick Crane is simply amazing—he has no skill to speak off, but he has the audacity to take on the position of manager in Vintage Deluxe? Aren't they scraping the bottom here? Hell, I can be their manager and I'd still be better!][If I were Mick, I'd be gone by now. I'd never dare show my face around Aurous Hill's Antique Street any more!]Meanwhile, Mick, who was self-aware enough to know that he had really embarrassed himself, was hiding himself in his office and refusing all visitors.He was pacing back and forth so anxiously that he was thinning his shoe soles—he had no idea what to do, just as he was embarrassed, worried and furious.It went without saying why he was embarrassed—he felt worse than if he had to take a dump by the road.As for his worry, it was for his future—he wouldn't be able to keep his job once Jasmine Moore found out about this.He certainly believed that this was all Zachary's fault—if it wasn't for the man's rotten idea, would he even be cornered into
While Jasmine could tolerate Mick's lack of accomplishments, she wouldn't tolerate him destroying Vintage Deluxe's reputation. Since his incompetence had now affected Vintage Deluxe severely, the only thing to do was to fire him.Still, there were procedures when it came to dismissal as the employee must sign a contract and the incident had to be proven. If said employee had made a severe blunder that had ultimately affected the company or incurred losses, they could terminate their contract on their own side without paying any compensation.As manager of Vintage Deluxe, Mick was in charge of all affairs in the outlet.As he had rejected someone who had come trying to sell the bronze sculpture worth 20 million for just a few hundred thousand, it certainly counted as a terrible loss.Moreover, Mick was shooting himself in the foot by recording the whole process, even paying to make it go viral. He was proving his own blunder without any chance of overturning it.Hence, while Mick
However, Jimmy realized something important even as he sighed in relief. "Wait, Mr. Wade… I know I should settle things in the family Stateside, but won't I be arrested upon arrival?""That's Julien's department," Charlie chuckled and turned toward the man. "Tell your butler not to send the evidence to the feds. If it has reached them already, ask to have it back and tell the feds they saw nothing."Julien promptly nodded. "I'll text him right now. You have nothing to worry about, Mr. Wade."Jimmy remained worried. "But sir, I think Nate's not going to let this slide. The man is cunning—he deliberately dug a pit so we'd fall into it, and he gathered all the dirt he could on us to be used as leverage when necessary."Charlie shook his head. "That's no big deal. Julien can make sure that you're fine even if the feds get the evidence."Julien nodded nearby. "Don't worry, Mr. Wade. The decision remains in your hands, either way. Just say the word, and it's 25 to life… otherwise, not e
The fact that Jimmy was a partner in Ares LLP already meant he had skill, while Matilda had herself been retired for years and definitely had lost her touch a little. So, having someone like Jimmy who had stayed on the frontlines all this while would definitely be no issue.And in turn, it was a good thing for Jimmy as it was better than the kennels either way.Charlie then asked Jimmy pointedly, "You say you're interested, but are you sincere about it?"Jimmy nodded without hesitation. "Yes, absolutely!""No regrets? We're talking about ten years here.""None, absolutely none!""Do you know what to say if anyone asks?""Yes, of course! I chose to further my career here in Oskia, and it was absolutely voluntary! That's what I'd say even if my family asked!"Charlie nodded. "Good. Then, you will have two weeks. Go home and set your affairs in order and report in for work afterward.""No problem!" Jimmy nodded repeatedly, actually surprised and grateful that Charlie would let hi
And yet, Julien was suddenly clapping his hands, and exclaiming excitedly, "Yes, right! We should get his wife and son over too for a happy reunion!"He then paused and quickly corrected himself, "Wait, no! I mean, they should each be caged with one empty cage separating each of their cages. They can see each other and talk, but there will be no touching. How dare he flex on me—I gotta teach him a lesson to remember!"Jimmy dropped limply on his rump, and Matilda beckoned for Paul to help him up while turning toward Julien as she pursed her lips. "Please, Mr. Rothschild… Even if you don't accept his apology, don't bring his family into this. It's against Oskian tradition—you'd insult your family's name!"Julien shrugged, not hesitating to retort, "What do your traditions have to do with me? If I mean to hurt him, forget his family—I'll drag his dogs over too!"Seeing that Julien was so furious, Charlie decided to stop him, or he might actually go through with it."That's enough, J
Holding up a thumb at Charlie, Julien exclaimed in approval, "You're right, my friend! That's far more exciting than having him jailed!"Just hearing that he would be sent to a kennel, Jimmy knew nothing would come of it—even if he didn't know the details, it was so obvious that Julien was thrilled by the very idea!Turning nervously toward Charlie, he was sobbing as he asked, "Mr. Wade…? What's this about a kennel…?"Julien chuckled coolly even before Charlie said a word. "A kennel is where you keep dogs, of course. Though there are literal dogs and metaphorical dogs, and you are the latter."Oh, don't worry. It's a really nice place where you get your own cage, and you'll be fed every day. You don't even have to work, so just sit tight and keep eating until the day you die."Jimmy's soul left his body in that instant.He was going to be locked in a cage?! That was way worse than being locked up and sent to jail! Where was the humanity around here?!Even as the thought struck h
Matilda was actually caught off guard by Jimmy's pleas, and even Paul found it hard to watch.Turning to Charlie, he said, "Please, Mr. Wade—my uncle can be a little despicable, but he is my father's brother. Please, let him have a chance to turn over a new leaf, seeing that he's earnestly repenting."While Paul spoke with Charlie, Jimmy was still confused and wondered why Paul would plead his case with Charlie instead of Julien. If there was anyone Paul should ask, it was Yolden since he was Julien's friend. So, why would he ask some young man instead of Yolden?That was when Charlie asked in curiosity, "You want to let him off? After he tried to take away your parents' legacy?"Paul smiled awkwardly. "I mean, I know the guy. He made sure to travel all this way to make a scene because he had nothing legal that could help him claim Smith Group Corporate Law from us. Otherwise, he'd have already filed the lawsuit in the States. Sure, it's a dirty move, but that's basically a des
As Julien finished, he realized something was wrong and turned toward Charlie before he knew it.Charlie held his gaze in turn, his expression quizzical and amused.Julien cleared his throat right then. "See, there are people who can order me around, but they have my utmost respect. However, a third-rate lawyer like you? Who do you think you are?"That was when Julien's butler called, and he reported respectfully as soon as the call was answered, "Sir, I've spoken with Nate Ellis, the owner of Ares LLC. He has since agreed to fire Jimmy Smith right away as well as disbar him nationwide."Julien asked, "Good. Anything else?""Well, Mr. Ellis also delivered some documents that can be used as evidence against Jimmy Smith, which he claims is enough for a lifetime sentence. If you deem it necessary, we can have it sent to the FBI.""Yes, let's go with that!" Julien replied, his tone satisfied. "And ask the director to handle it personally—I want this prick to never set foot stateside
Jimmy was sweating profusely in fear, but he argued back before he knew it, "That's impossible! Everything you say is bullshit! Gaiman simply thought he had a fair chance of winning and didn't want to pay Ares that much, and I have no idea who he partnered with, and I'm certainly not involved. Don't you try to slander me!"Nate chuckled. "Come on, Jimmy. We're all adults here, so there are things we shouldn't have to be so direct about. Mills Gaiman and your old classmate met in private many times, not to mention the private conferences you three had in secret, discussing your overall strategy and decisive points. Just so you know, Gaiman recorded every conversation, and I have the tapes with me."Jimmy's heart was left pounding as he blurted, "B-Bullshit! That's impossible!""Grow up, Jimmy," Mr.Goodman chuckled. "Every partner in every law firm always strives to rise higher, so I'm going to need as much leverage as I can. Otherwise, I'm not about to let them advance any further, e
Although the ringtone and vibration frequency were the ones Jimmy always used, this call somehow felt more urgent, leaving him exceedingly uneasy.When it abruptly stopped and left a missed call on his log, Nate Ellis soon sent a text: [Answer your damn phone this instant!]Just seeing the text left Jimmy feeling like his throat had gone dry, and as he gulped, it felt like his throat was being ripped, leaving him hurting.Still, he couldn't care less as his boss called again.Having seen the text, Jimmy didn't hesitate this time and promptly answered, watching Julien's smug face as he started tentatively, "Y-Yes, boss...?"Nate immediately yelled at him hysterically, "What the hell did you do?! Why did the Rothschilds call to complain about you?! And the complaint was from their heir apparent, at that! I worked hard for them and always toed the line for years, and I still haven't gotten a chance to meet the man, so how the fuck did you upset him?!"Jimmy's heart sank to rock bott
Fuming, Jimmy snapped at Julien, "If you insist on playing it like that, I will call my boss, and you can talk to him yourself!"Julien chuckled. "That's unnecessary. I've never met him. He would never recognize my voice."Jimmy laughed and nodded despite himself. "Impressive—you can really come up with anything! You don't have his number because he's beneath you, you refuse to call him because he's beneath you, and when I say I'll call him for you, you say he won't recognize your voice. Well, how do you suppose we should sort this out? At least prove you're a Rothschild, or anyone could claim that they are—"Julien held up a hand to stop him. "Then, how about this? I'll ask my butler to talk to your boss."Jimmy laughed even more loudly as if it were the best joke ever. "Hahaha!!! Butler, you say?! You really know how to talk! Alright, I'll wait and see what your 'butler' can do… I mean, what you can do. We'll see whether my boss calls me!"Julien ignored him and whipped out his