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
Mick swore under his breath.If the Moore Group's human resources manager had come looking for him, it couldn't be for anything good.The thought left him even more furious at Zachary, and he promptly told the employee, "Just take them to the VIP room for now. Tell them I'll be right over.""Yes, sir," the employee nodded and turned to leave.As for Mick, he whipped out his phone and called Zachary.The instant Zachary answered, he bellowed, "Zachary Evans! You've really screwed me over this time! The Moore Group human resource manager is here at Vintage Deluxe to see me—the way I see it, he's here to fire me on the spot! If I'm going to lose my job because of you, I will spill the beans and make sure everyone knows you're the one who came up with this stupid idea!"However, Zachary was infuriated too, and he immediately snapped in turn, "Have a conscience, Mick Crane! This entire plan was meant to help you chase Raymond Cole out of Antique Street, and I never took a cent from yo
Later, after Charlie told Jeremiah over the phone about the joint venture with the Ackers to establish Curtis Autos, the old man was awash with tears, especially after Charlie told him that it was Keith who suggested it. After all, Curtis was his favorite son whose death he could never really get over. Moreover, he once believed that only his family mourned Curtis while the Ackers never did, and he held a grudge over his son's passing. As such, he was surprised that Keith held such great respect toward his late son and didn't hesitate to say yes when Charlie invited him to Aurous Hill to sign an agreement with the Ackers.Still, Charlie wasn't in a hurry to arrange for a specific time, and he was going to let the Ackers sort out the human resources of Godot Autos over a few days. It still wouldn't be too late by then.Moreover, he was keen to allow the buzz to have time to grow so that the automotive industry would be astounded by the joint project between the Ackers and the Wade
Christian was the first to exclaim in approval, "Yes! Curtis Autos sounds wonderful! It has my vote!""Seconded!" Kaiden nodded, pumping the air with his right fist. "I've looked up to Curtis the most, and I absolutely agree with naming the company after him!"Jaxson was nodding too. "Me too!""Yes!" Lulu chirped.Yolden couldn't help agreeing as well. "Curtis Autos is definitely a good name!"Merlin raised his hand gingerly as well. "Quit it with your flattery already," Keith chuckled, and he turned toward Charlie solemnly. "In the end, Curtis is Charlie's father, and the final decision goes to him!"Charlie's eyes were welling up with tears—his parents had been gone for almost three decades, yet he had never thought of dedicating anything to their memory.As such, Keith's suggestion to use Curtis's name for the car company left him thrilled. After all, wouldn't his father's soul be honored if Curtis Autos rocked the country, maybe even the world?With that in mind, he nodd
Charlie also had to agree that this was an opportunity to formally reconcile the Wades and the Ackers.While he couldn't reveal himself just yet, the Wades and the Ackers had been in-laws for years. Even if they had had a dispute for the longest time, restoring good relations made sense now that the Ackers had come to Oskia, and it wouldn't arouse any suspicion.That was why Charlie agreed to it without hesitation, even making a mental note to invite his paternal grandfather, Jeremiah, to Aurous Hill.The old geezers could meet up and clear the air while deciding on the partnership.Yolden was prepared to resign as a professor as well so that he could help the Ackers and Charlie fully develop their automotive company.With a general direction planned, he asked everyone, "Since we're creating a new brand, has anyone come up with a name?"No one was feeling inspired at that moment, but that was when Lulu, who had been silent throughout, said, "Since Charlie and our family are worki
Neither Charlie nor the Ackers expected Yolden's insight to cover all corners.In fact, it felt like the man had a blueprint ready and was only waiting for the time to put it to use.That was why everyone was immensely approving of Yolden and wanted no other man for the job of CEO.Kaeden smiled, "Well, since everyone has agreed, let's put this to rest as soon as possible—this will be a joint investment between our family and the Wades, and Professor Hart will take the post of CEO. Let's all do our best to make this a good one!"Yolden also made up his mind, deciding that he didn't want to let slip a chance to realize his ambitions. "I'll resign from the university after my honeymoon trip. It probably shouldn't be long, and I can get involved in early preparations via teleconference."Charlie nodded. "Then, we can have Uncle Kaeden stay on schedule while I'll ask the Wades to send a representative over to sign a memorandum for the investment."Keith smiled and nodded. "You should
Charlie hadn't been born and raised in Aurous Hill, but he still started living here at the age of eight and was more attached to this place than Eastcliff.If he was going to take part in this automotive investment with the Ackers, he naturally found Aurous Hill the ideal location.Not only would it create a huge number of jobs for Aurous Hill, but it would also rake in much economic flow for the region.Yolden also nodded at his suggestion. "If the first plant is meant to cover the demand of the entire local market, there's no reason for a coastal plant. Aurous Hill stands at an intersection between the north and the south, so transportation is convenient. It's also killing two birds with one stone, as Mr. Wade is fond of the city."Charlie couldn't help but agree. "I won't lie—Aurous Hill has been good to me, and I hope to give back. Nothing's better than succeeding in that respect."Yolden spread his hands, "Heavy industries are certainly ideal to contribute to Aurous Hill's e
Yolden had actually been researching new energy for a while—in fact, it was when Tesla's first car models were produced.He was passionate about the subject and had his own opinions as well as ambitions, but he was busy teaching, so he couldn't realize any of it.But was this not a golden opportunity tailor-made for him?Seeing that Yolden was clearly interested, Charlie turned toward Kaeden, "Actually, the professor is getting married soon. There's no way we'd split up newlyweds so soon after the wedding, right? So, is it possible to set up base in Aurous Hill instead?""Not a problem!" Kaeden replied without hesitation. "Our family is planning to return to Oskia anyway, and everyone knows about Ashley and Curtis. So, why don't we invest in this enterprise alongside the Wades and have the base set up in Aurous Hill? And then bring Godot under as a subsidiary?"Turning to Yolden, he continued, "By the way, Godot's plant is already in the province—barely 100 miles from Aurous Hill,
Pausing, Yolden continued, "Moreover, the greatest advantage of AI is that it is self-conscious and has the processing power to analyze astronomical proportions of data. As car sales grow, every car owner's driving data will add precious new data to our data vault, and it will be processed by AI for even greater space of imagination."For example, kst's say I experienced a bumpiness along a certain road, and when the sensors pick up on that anomaly, the data will be uploaded to the servers along with images of the road condition in real time. The processing AI module would determine in no time at all that there was damage and label said location on the map, and then forward the data to other vehicles close to that location, sending notifications when they are close enough and providing the appropriate advice for countermeasures."Naturally, the AI can even be refined further so that it immediately warns us to slow down while uploading the data to the servers and informing any cars cl
Yolden's mind short-circuited at those words. "The most advanced AI module?!"He had been working on Wall Street for years, having invested in substantial startup tech companies as well as assisting plenty of Nasdaq tech enterprises with their IPO. That was why he especially had a sharp six sense for cutting-edge technology.It had been a while since he had gotten up the saddle, and AI had just become the trend recently, but he still paid close attention. He was well aware what applications were possible for AI modules, but he was shocked that Charlie already possessed what all the online giants were coveting!Thrilled, he quickly asked Charlie, "Can the Rothschilds resolve all the hardware and software issues? High-processing power display cards are a dime a dozen these days, and local enterprises are all planning to sell them one by one. The demand is just that high!"Charlie chuckled. "Don't worry—the Rothschilds will handle both issues for me, even the data centers. We bought i
Keith, who had been silent throughout, waved him off as he said solemnly, "Please don't sell yourself short, Professor Hart. I'm sure you can do well in this position, but it's still a matter of will."If your heart is truly set on educating future generations, then I'm sure you'd reject our offer no matter what we say."However, if you felt the slightest interest, even anticipation, for such a major project, then you really should consider our offer."We've already invested in Godot Autos for 3 billion USD and over 10 billion if we're counting in Ricebolt. But we still have 30 billion more in capital available—and that means it's 40 billion USD at play."I doubt any other global car maker can afford that much, let alone a new car maker. So, I dare say that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"Keith's words spoke to Yolden's very soul—a startup capital of forty billion US dollars was certainly unprecedented for electric-powered vehicles. Even Ricebolt had barely garnered ove