Chapter 66: Chapter 66: To Whom Do Philip Hale’s Assets Go?
"I’ve battled my way through the business world for over twenty years, and to think I’d be taken down by a little girl!" Philip Hale said with a self-deprecating laugh.
"I really underestimated you. The last time you were brought into the station, you were only here a few hours before walking out completely unscathed. You even had Mr. Grant come pick you up personally! Now you’ve waltzed back into the police station without breaking a sweat and managed to see me—a suspect under investigation whom most people can’t access. I can’t complain about losing to someone like you."
"There’s nothing unjust about it! You reap what you sow! My teacher used to say that while it’s fine to pursue wealth, you must do so honorably. You’ve been making and selling fakes for so many years; you should have known this day would come! Even if it wasn’t me, it would have been someone else!" Seraphina Sterling said, looking at Philip Hale as she sat right down.
"Mr. Hale, I’m very interested in your business. Even though you’re in here, I’m sure you’re aware of what’s happening on the outside. The Hale Family is in a very bad situation right now. All business has ground to a halt, and those stone materials you hadn’t yet sold have been confiscated by the police. Retailers are returning their stock, and customers are demanding compensation. If you keep clinging to your assets, I’m afraid the Hale Family won’t even have enough money to hire you a lawyer!"
Seraphina Sterling smiled faintly. ’The first rule of negotiation: always hold the initiative. Maintain the dominant position.’
"You’re young, but you’re certainly ambitious! Wanting Philip Hale’s assets at your age! Let’s not even discuss whether I’d sell to you. Even if I agreed, could you come up with that kind of money?"
Philip Hale thought the person before him was insane. ’Even though my assets have shrunk considerably, they’re still worth at least fifty million. And she wants to buy them? Where would a high school student get that kind of money!’
"You don’t need to worry about that, Mr. Hale. Why don’t you name a price? I’ve already prepared the contract. All you have to do is fill in a number you’re happy with and then sign your name!" As she spoke, Seraphina Sterling passed the contract directly to him.
Philip Hale looked at the few sheets of A4 paper. It all looked surprisingly formal. "It seems you came prepared! You even have the contract ready. But do you really think that just by writing the word ’Contract’ at the top, this suddenly becomes a real legal document?"
Philip Hale sneered. "Since you want my assets so badly, I’ll indulge you—provided you can actually come up with the money!" With that, Philip Hale picked up a pen, quickly scribbled a series of numbers on the contract, and then signed his name with a flourish. The moment his pen left the paper, the contract was legally binding!
Seraphina Sterling looked at the number on the contract, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Sixty million? Not too high, not too low. Very fitting. Mr. Hale, a pleasure doing business with you!"
Only then did the color drain from Philip Hale’s face. He shot to his feet, his voice cracking. "You can really come up with that enormous sum?"
"Enormous sum?" Seraphina Sterling’s brilliant eyes twinkled, her soft voice rising slightly. "Are you referring to this sixty million, Mr. Hale?" She then gave a warm smile. "While sixty million isn’t a small amount, to me, it hardly counts as an enormous sum. I will have the funds transferred to Mrs. Hale as soon as possible."
With that, Seraphina Sterling took the contract and left, leaving a stunned Philip Hale sitting frozen in his chair.
’He had really sold the business he’d built with his own two hands to someone else. From now on, besides that sixty million, nothing belonged to him anymore!’
Ginny Gable had seen it all. He stopped Seraphina Sterling just before she left. "This was all part of your plan from the start, wasn’t it? Right from the fake stone materials, all of it was to get your hands on Philip Hale’s business?"
Seraphina Sterling raised an eyebrow. "Is there any point in discussing that now?"
"So you admit it? Everything that happened to the Hale Family was your meticulous design! All to take over their assets. And it wasn’t just them—you used me, too. This whole business with taking down a ’gang-like organization,’ my supposed ’political achievement,’ and my transfer... it was all your doing! All so I would owe you a huge favor, making it impossible for me to refuse your request to see Philip Hale today!"
A chill ran down Ginny Gable’s spine the more he spoke. ’A girl who’s just a sophomore in high school possesses this level of cunning and strategic thinking. It’s terrifying. Truly, utterly terrifying!’
Seeing his astonished expression, Seraphina Sterling’s lips pressed into a thin line. The warmth vanished from her face. Although she was as composed as ever, her brilliant eyes held an unusual gravity.
"Officer Gable, no matter what, it is a fact that Philip Hale created and sold fake stone materials to make an exorbitant profit. I didn’t force him to do that, did I? And it is also a fact that you will soon be transferred to the municipal bureau for taking down that criminal organization in Tollan Town!"
Her soft voice carried a chilling tone, projecting an aura that was impossible to resist.
"And another thing—do you really think Philip Hale is so stupid that he’d easily sell the business he worked so hard to build to me, the very person who put him behind bars? What you see with your own eyes isn’t always the truth! You’re a detective; you should know that better than I do!"
