Chapter 5

To be honest, Summer knew the upper management staff very well.

Besides Hank, who was still quite new, most of the upper management staff were employees from her father's generation. Almost all of them started from the grassroots and worked their way up step by step.

When she had just started dating Hank, she had introduced him to Fred. Hence the two men had interacted with each other quite a number of times.

Hank was two years older than her and not only was he gifted academically, but his work ethic was also compatible with Fred's. This made Fred take a liking to him.

Despite that, if it weren't for Summer constantly putting in good words for him to Fred, Hank would never have managed to be part of the upper management of Charter Corporation.

The headlines flashed in her mind, and she thought back to Fred's warm and kind expression this morning.

She wasn't sure if it was due to regret or fear over how Fred would react to the news but her knees turned to jelly. She remained slumped on the ground of the elevator.

This was all her fault. She was the one who had introduced Hank to the upper management. In doing so, she had doomed the company.

Tears streamed down her face. She sat on the elevator floor silently with her head bowed until the doors slowly slid open. A pair of polished leather shoes appeared in front of her.

She raised her head and saw Fred, who was standing with his head held high. With his back facing the light, he seemed exceptionally frail.

"Summie …" he called out, his voice achingly gentle as he knelt down to her level.

Hearing the familiar voice, Summer met Fred's gaze. After glancing at the documents that he passed to her, she immediately hugged him.

"Dad … is there really no way to save the company?" she wailed.

"Summie, the company's cash flow has completely dried up, and no one would be willing to help us out in this situation. Even if we were to take a loan, no one would be foolish enough to act as our guarantor.

"I'm showing you these documents to let you know that our downfall has been planned for a long time now. I know it's normal for businesses to rise and fall. However, this time, we've fallen too hard.

"It would be hard for the company to rise again," he explained calmly.

Summer took the documents and tore them to shreds before she asked, "Did you already know about it last night? Hank he …"

"It doesn't matter who's involved in this matter anymore," Fred interrupted. "Hank has made his own choice. However, it's important to note that it's practically impossible for a young man like him to set us up like this. There has to be another party involved."

Even now, Fred was still trying to reassure her.

Summer felt as if there was a tight band around her heart. Tears welled up in her eyes again.

Fred was right. This setup had been meticulously planned. Someone like Hank, who was still relatively inexperienced, could not have been the mastermind.

Moreover, the mastermind had to be someone who knew the inner workings of Charter Corporation like the back of their hand.

"I admit that I never took great risks when it came to business. I preferred stability at the cost of improvement.

"For the past decade, I adopted a defensive approach when it came to the business. Still, I forgot that sometimes offense was the best form of defense."

Fred paused before he continued, "Summer, I'm telling you all of this because I want you to know that life is unpredictable, and it's alright to fail.

"What matters is that you have to get up and try again. You can't just give up and lose all drive to move on …"

Summer listened to Fred. His soothing voice calmed her tumultuous emotions.