Todos los capítulos de All This for a Watch: Capítulo 11 - Capítulo 19

By the time we returned to the Grantham residence, dawn was already beginning to break.Every seal had been removed from the courtyard, and the collection pieces that had been carted away were being returned one by one.Dorothy stood at the door, craning her neck toward the road again and again. The moment she saw Olivia and Evelyn step out of the car, tears spilled from her eyes.The whole family embraced and held on for a long time before finally letting go.I stood off to the side and yawned. After a night like that, I was really starting to feel worn out.I was about to head upstairs to sleep when Leopold suddenly called out to me, "Lenny."It was the first time he had ever addressed me that way. He had always been polite enough before, but there had been a certain distance in the way he treated me, the kind an elder kept with someone he did not consider part of the family.He had probably assumed all along that I was just some man Nicole had taken a passing fancy to.Now,

The video call never actually ended. Someone beside Hoyle had already locked the system before he could disconnect."Mr. Falcone, what exactly is this 16 billion dollars in bailout funds about?""Didn't you tell us every single payment went toward stabilizing the market?""Why does Mr. Jensen have your signature on file?"The questions came one after another.Cold sweat broke out across Hoyle's forehead. "That is fabricated. Lionel manufactured false evidence out of spite against the Alliance."I opened the second document. Bank records, secret accounts, and the complete trail of the money appeared on the screen.The 16 billion dollars in bailout funds had passed through 17 layers of offshore accounts before finally landing in a private fund controlled by the Falcone family. Part of that money had even paid for the estate where Hoyle was currently sitting.The expressions of everyone behind him changed at once.I spoke without hurry. "Ten years ago, you knelt outside my office

After the hearing ended, reporters swarmed the entrance to the Grantham Group's headquarters.Just the day before, they had been asking when the Grantham family would go bankrupt. Today, they were practically fighting each other for an interview with Nicole, eager to know whether the Grantham Group had any new investment plans in the works.Major banks reinstated the company's credit lines on their own initiative. Canceled contracts returned to the Grantham Group's desk one after another. Even the creditors who had hounded the Grantham family for repayment just a day earlier began sending apologies.Evelyn looked over the stack of partnership proposals piling up in the conference room and could not help but comment, "People sure change their tune fast."Connor scoffed. "Yesterday, they were still calling Lionel a curse on this family. Today, they've all switched over to Lionel."I sat in Nicole's office, unwrapping a limited-edition watch that had just arrived.Nicole sat behind

The next morning, the Grantham Group convened an emergency shareholders' meeting.Simone arrived right on time. A handful of lawyers followed behind her, along with a group of minor shareholders she had won over.Despite having her assets frozen, she still wore a sharply tailored dark red suit. Her makeup was flawless, and not a strand of hair was out of place.The moment she walked into the Grantham Group, she carried herself as though she still held every card.The meeting had barely begun when Simone slapped her shareholding documents onto the table. "I hold 15% of the Grantham Group's shares. Another 9% of the minority shareholders stand behind me as well."Under Nicole's leadership, this company has lost nearly 20 billion dollars in market value. She is no longer fit to serve as chief executive."She looked toward the Grantham family. "I move for Nicole's immediate removal."Several minor shareholders raised their hands in support.Olivia said coldly, "Those losses happene

I set the watch down. "That night at Atmos Club, Nicole was willing to hand over every share she owned if it meant you would let her family go. Did you agree?"Simone's expression went rigid.I continued, "The moment she agreed to sign, you told her it was too late. You kept raising the price again and again, not because you actually needed any of it. You thought you had already won, and you wanted to watch her lose all hope."Simone's shoulders trembled faintly.Outside, the sound of a car pulling up drifted through the door. Moments later, the investigators entered the living room with official documents in hand.Simone shot to her feet. "Lionel! I already gave you everything! Why won't you let me go?"I leaned back against the sofa. "Because none of it was ever yours to begin with."The investigators approached her. "Miss Montreux, please come with us for questioning."…The day after Simone's arrest, the authorities officially dropped every charge against the Grantham Grou