CHAPTER 4

Cora asked one of the shareholders out, a man who looked to be in his early thirties. 

They met out at a restaurant, and she had dressed up in a business outfit. 

"You must be Miss Aguilar" A man asked as he sat opposite her on the table whose number she had sent to the shareholder making Cora frown. This man looked nothing like the description of the man she was supposed to meet. He had round framed spectacles and looked more like an assistant. 

"My boss does not wish to reveal his identity." The man explained, sensing her surprise. "My name is Darrell, I will discuss the deal on his behalf." 

"I see." She took out the proposal she had prepared. "Is he willing to sell me his shares despite that?" 

Darrell placed his own proposal on the table. "That, he is. But these are his conditions." 

"Thirty billion for twenty percent?" Cora was rendered speechless. "Why don't you simply rob a bank?" 

"My boss doesn't want to do that, which is why you should rob the bank and pay off the amount if you would like the shares." Darrell suggested in all seriousness. 

She slowly let out a sigh. She knew how much Gemma needed the shares but she was also certain that at the moment, the latter would not be able to afford it. It was all thanks to that lowlife, Ethan. 

"How long is the offer valid for?" She carefully asked. 

"One month." Darrell responded, smiling at how smart his boss was. He had accurately guessed that the other party would be unable to pay off the entire amount and need time to gather it. It was a hefty sum after all, and the other party must be desperate if they were even considering it.  He wondered whether it was too late to make the terms more beneficial for his boss, and he did just that. "However, the longer you wait, the higher the price gets." 

"Excuse me?" Cora knew she was being ripped off so blatantly. 

"You don't expect to freely waste my boss' time? One day is enough for him to earn millions." 

"That's only going to be alright if you half the buying price." Cora smiled. 

"Then the deal is cancelled." Darrell dismissed her. 

She chuckled just as he stood up. reclining in her chair she sipped her tea. "You don't want to cancel it. If your boss was planning to be so difficult, he would not have made an offer to begin with. You offered an astronomical price on purpose, so I would have to beg you to make the terms more fair, didn't you?" 

"What makes you think I have the time to do that?"  Darrell did not give in even though he had been busted. 

When he saw Cora laugh as though she was about to cancel the deal, he could only give in. "Fine, twenty-six billion. Any lower and my boss will be suffering a loss." 

Cora raised an eyebrow but knew that she couldn't make him agree to a lesser offer, so she could only go back and report it to Gemma. 

Gemma let out a soft chuckle. 

"What is it? If you would like me to cancel it instead…" Cora started, but stopped speaking when Gemma raised a palm for her to stop speaking. 

"I just find it funny. When I created Gem Bliss, my dream was for the share value to rise as soon as possible. Who would have thought that when it finally did, it would boil down to biting me?" 

Cora didn't know how to respond to that, because it was unfortunately true. Who would have thought that her own hard work would make her so helpless later?  "How are you going to raise the money?" 

"I don't need to." She wouldn't be able to anyway, so she must as well give up trying. Twenty-six billion in a month? She might as well rob a bank. 

"I'll check my savings account for what I can find." Cora offered to help her friend, even if it was going to be a drop in the bucket.

"It's alright. I'm glad you helped me this far." She pulled her friend into a hug. "I know what to do. I'll be able to raise it." 

Cora found it strange but she nodded, knowing that Gemma was full of surprises. Perhaps she had been saving money somewhere? She only hoped that the latter would not resort to selling off her properties. While that could work, it might make her vulnerable for a while. 

"Help me take care of that damned family, especially Sofia. I will go out for a while." She instructed. 

"I will 'take good care' of that bitch." Cora laughed and changed back into her maid attire, to continue with her work. 

Gemma dressed up and went to the residence of the Arnaud family, the mansion where her parents lived. The guards at the large gate recognized her car and bowed as they let her in. It took a ten minute drive to get up the hill where Arnaud Mansion was located, and it was so large that it was often referred to as a palace by the innumerable people who admired it. 

When she first set foot in the large compound, she had felt so inferior that she was certain she would never fit in such a regal place. However, time had proven her wrong. 

As soon as she set foot through the entrance, a beautiful woman rushed to embrace her tightly. The butler had already announced her arrival, so her mother had been waiting for her. 

"Gemma, welcome home. It's been so long." The older woman was so excited that she almost burst into tears. The last time she saw her daughter, they had a horrible fight and she thought that the latter would not want to return. 

"Mother, I…" Gemma wasn't sure what to say. That she was sorry? A billion apologies would never be able to erase the hurt she had caused her family, all for Ethan. She was stupid enough to reject their advice, all because they hadn't known her for as long as Ethan had. She had even blamed them for abandoning her, Which caused her mother so much pain that she cried for nights. 

In the end, there was nothing she could say aside from the words she found dumb. "I'm sorry." 

Constance shook her head as she kissed her daughter's face. "Let's forget about the past. It's already good enough that you are back home." 

She led Gemma into the house, only to see a much older woman rush into the house from the backyard. 

"Gemma!" She called out in disbelief. 

"Grandmother…" Gemma met her halfway through the room to hug her tightly. 

After the warm reunion, Gemma had tea with her mother and grandmother on the patio. 

"Are you back… for good?" Constance carefully asked. It would be best if that was the case. But if that wasn't what her daughter wanted, she would not force her. She had learnt a hard lesson from the last time she tried to force Gemma and Ethan to end their engagement. 

To her disappointment, Gemma shook her head. 

"I came because I need something." She stated honestly, but her words unknowingly made the two older women restless. 

"What do you need? I will do my best to help you out." Her grandmother promised, while her mother remained silent. What if Gemma was here to end their mother-daughter relationship? It was possible that she suspected them of the murder of Ethan, who was reported to have died, whose cause was yet to be determined. She so badly wanted to swear that she and her husband had nothing to do with it. 

Gemma didn't understand her mother's nervous expression which made her curious. Deciding not to ask, she went ahead to state her request. "Is there a way to retrieve grandfather's will?" 

Her mother slowly let out a sigh of relief. "I have it with me." 

She immediately hurried to retrieve it from her room, as she waited with her grandmother. 

"She's acting strange." Gemma whispered to her grandmother, referring to her mother. 

"She was worried that you would demand for her to set you free—nullifying the relationship between the two of you." The elderly woman was about to break her ribs from laughing at her daughter-in-law's overthinking. 

"Good Lord, why would she think that?" Gemma shook her head and decided not to think about it. Nothing was impossible. 

Constance returned within a few minutes, and she gave an envelope to her. "Here. Honey, are you having trouble with anything? If you have financial issues, we can help you out. You don't need to use the inheritance left for you by your grandfather." 

Gemma shook her head and thanked her for the envelope. "It's alright." 

She knew that her mother had guessed right out of logic. 

In his will, her grandfather had decided to leave all his wealth to the child of his eldest son, William, if he ever had one. If he didn't, then William and Constance could decide what to do with it. Since she had sought the will, it was not hard for Constance to guess that she was intending to claim the inheritance. 

She opened the envelope and checked the familiar old letter, then nodded in satisfaction. "Thank you, mother. I will speak to the lawyer."

"Gemma, you know that we are here for you." Her grandmother tried to talk her into asking for their help instead. 

Their thoughtfulness made her feel even guiltier for her past actions. If this were another family, they might have accused her of being selfish and materialistic. However, her family was willing to help her out despite knowing that the envelope in her hand could make her the wealthiest woman in the city in a flash. 

"If I need anything else, I will ask." She promised, making both of them relieved. This meant she would come back. 

When she stood to leave, her mother stood to see her out. "Don't you want to wait for your father's return? He has missed you so much." She pleaded without sounding compulsive. 

"I'll come back soon." Gemma hugged her mother before giving the lawyer a call and going to his office. 

_

"Miss Gemma Arnaud?" The elderly lawyer confirmed her identity. 

She nodded and gave her identity card to prove it. After going through her late grandfather's will, he focused his gaze on her. 

"I heard you are widowed?" 

She nodded with a slight frown, wondering what it had to do with anything. 

"I'm sorry, you cannot reclaim Elder Arnaud's estate. You have to be married." The man shook his head, baffling her. 

"What the…  why not?" She almost lost her cool. 

The man produced another document written and signed in her grandfather's handwriting, stating that if William's child was a daughter, she had to be married in order to claim his property.

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Author's Note. 

The book's background is not a particular country, so the currency is not tied to any country either.