Chapter 47: Chapter 47: The Arranged Meeting Time
Jessica Keller’s words swayed Mrs. Sheridan, a flicker of hesitation and conflict in her eyes.
During this time, it was true that Cecilia Croft hadn’t called her even once.
’Whose son gets married without his parents taking charge?’
She had worked so hard to raise Jude Sheridan, yet she couldn’t have the normal status a mother deserved within his family.
She truly couldn’t let Cecilia Croft walk all over her anymore.
"What’s your plan to deal with her?"
Mrs. Sheridan looked at Jessica Keller and asked in a low voice, her expression dark.
Jude Sheridan and Cecilia Croft were getting married in two days; she didn’t think Jessica Keller could come up with a way to deal with Cecilia Croft.
A faint smile played on Jessica Keller’s lips as she leaned close to Mrs. Sheridan’s ear and whispered.
"I don’t have a plan, actually. It was one of Jude’s good buddies who thought of it."
"This plan won’t just make it so Cecilia Croft can never hold her head high in front of Jude again; it will even make her completely obedient to him."
Mrs. Sheridan’s eyes lit up, and she quickly asked.
"Even make her willing to give up all her assets in the company?"
Jessica Keller nodded.
"Of course."
Mrs. Sheridan looked at Jessica Keller with doubt, not believing her plan could be that effective.
Jessica Keller raised a hand to cover her mouth and whispered Zane Keller’s plan into Mrs. Sheridan’s ear.
"Jude is probably holding on to some old feelings for Cecilia Croft, so he’s not willing to use this method against her."
Mrs. Sheridan hesitated.
She was well aware of Jude Sheridan’s feelings for Cecilia Croft. If he found out she had conspired with others to set Cecilia up and ruin her, he would probably hate her for it.
Seeing her indecision, Jessica Keller quickly went to work on her.
"If you want to get some dirt on Cecilia Croft, this is the only way. Auntie, if Cecilia finds out about me and Jude, she’ll definitely take half of his assets. As Jude’s mother, you should be his last line of defense."
She knew Mrs. Sheridan’s primary concern was money, so she continued to coax her.
"Actually, Jude’s feelings for Cecilia Croft have been fading for a while; otherwise, I wouldn’t be in the picture. He just lacks an excuse—a legitimate one—to get a firm grip on the company. Can you really bear to watch her take half of the company Jude worked so hard to build?"
Mrs. Sheridan was finally, completely convinced.
「One day left until the wedding.」
Cecilia Croft woke up early, confirmed that all of tomorrow’s arrangements and plans were in order, and bought a plane ticket to Karthus for the following afternoon.
She had endured for a month, and now everything was finally drawing to a close.
Cecilia Croft couldn’t tell whether she felt more excited or sad.
Just as she was about to leave, she received a text message from an unknown number.
[I have evidence of all of Vantage’s illegal and criminal activities from the past six months. President Croft, if you don’t want anything to happen to Vantage, bring three million in cash to Maplewood Court at 10 p.m. tonight. You must come alone.]
Cecilia Croft frowned.
She had checked Vantage’s books, and there were no issues.
’Could it be that Jude Sheridan had done something illegal behind her back?’
She thought about how, ever since Jude Sheridan had taken full control of Vantage, he’d been put on a pedestal by his disreputable friends. Who knew what kind of detrimental decisions he might have made for Vantage after letting it all go to his head.
She had already sold all of her shares in Vantage to Sebastian Hawthorne.
Whatever happened to Vantage wasn’t really her problem.
The only problem was that she had sold those shares to Sebastian Hawthorne.
If Vantage suddenly imploded, she would have effectively set a trap for Sebastian Hawthorne.
During this time, Cecilia Croft had already figured out how to pull the Croft Group out of its current predicament.
Her first step to reviving the Croft Group was to resolve the conflict between the Croft and Hawthorne families.
The Hawthorne family’s previous announcement that they would no longer partner with the Croft family had certainly had an impact on the Croft Group.
If Sebastian Hawthorne were to partner with the Croft Group again in the future, it would undoubtedly serve as a massive reassurance to the companies that were still watching from the sidelines, hesitant to cooperate.
Sebastian Hawthorne bought the Vantage shares for profit. If Vantage imploded, his shares would instantly become worthless.
She couldn’t lead him into a trap.
That would be short-sighted.
Cecilia Croft gritted her teeth and called the unknown number.
The call connected quickly.
The person’s voice was altered, so Cecilia Croft couldn’t guess their identity.
Cecilia Croft’s repeated probing angered the person on the other end.
"If President Croft doesn’t believe me, then just wait for tomorrow’s headlines in Silvercrest. Consider it my wedding gift to you and President Sheridan. I don’t lose anything either way."
Cecilia Croft frowned, her hand clutching the phone tightening slightly. She spoke quickly, just before the person could hang up.
"How could you have nothing to lose? Three million is no small sum. I need time to raise that much money, and besides, I should at least discuss it with Jude Sheridan."
The person on the other end immediately refuted her. "No."
A flicker of confusion crossed Cecilia Croft’s eyes. "What do you mean, no?"
The person went silent for a moment, then lowered their voice. Their tone was no longer as angry as before; instead, it held a hint of persuasion.
"President Croft, since Jude Sheridan went behind your back and did things that hurt the company, haven’t you ever thought about getting all the evidence into your own hands to use against him one day?"
"If you consult him now, won’t you lose your bargaining chip? Besides, I hear Jude Sheridan is keeping a mistress. Are you sure you want to let your guard down around him?"
Cecilia Croft fell silent, a grave look flickering deep in her eyes.
"Who are you?"
’Very few people knew Jude Sheridan was cheating.’
The person’s voice was low. "President Croft will know who I am when she gets here."
With that, he hung up.
Cecilia Croft stared at her phone screen, standing frozen in thought for a long moment.
After a long while, she finally started walking again, heading to her car.
There were still twelve hours until ten o’clock at night.
With her resources, raising three million wasn’t difficult.
But a sense of unease gnawed at her.
This sudden call had completely disrupted her plans for the day.
Cecilia Croft took a deep breath, steadied her nerves, and began to gather the cash.
She managed to get all the cash together in a single morning.
The caller didn’t send any more messages or make any more calls.
After putting the bags of money in her trunk, Cecilia Croft drove aimlessly through the city, waiting for the caller to contact her.
As she passed a shop selling incense and candles, Cecilia Croft hesitated for a moment before getting out of her car. She bought a bag of joss paper and placed it in the trunk as well.
The caller didn’t phone her again until nine o’clock that night.
"President Croft, it’s almost time for our meeting. Is the money ready?"
