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2024-10-29 19:42:56"What is this?" asked Shannon in confusion. She looked carefully at each picture Tom Cobb sent her via email.
Realising they were the same, Shannon got up from her desk. She scurried into her room and rummaged through her wardrobe.
A light-coloured box decorated with a pink ribbon was soon spotted at the bottom of her closet. Slowly, she opened the medium-sized box and removed the photo album.
Shannon's index finger began to peruse each picture. Impatiently, Shannon took the photo album back to her workspace. She juxtaposes the pictures of the boy, who was always there in every favourable moment before her dad passed away.
Sure enough, they were the same boy. Shannon let out a long sigh before dialling Tom Cobb's phone number in the body of the email.
"Where did you get these old photos? I've been to Mr Fischer's house for quite a while and I've never found any pictures like the
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RISE OF THE HEIRS: Getting Rid of The Traitor 32
"Maybe you guys think I'm getting crazy and just joking around, don't you? Introducing, I'm Tom Cobb. From now on, I will officially take over this JF Groups subsidiary."Instead of being happy to have a new CEO, they stared at each other. Liam seemed to notice Cobb's appearance from head to toe."Do you know what you're talking about? I know, Mr Fischer just passed away. But maybe only his son will take over all the JF Group’s business."After saying that, O'Dell leaned closer. "We appreciate your efforts to entertain us, sir. But please don't overdo it. Perhaps this small subsidiary with no income will be eliminated soon. Please leave if you just want to make fun of us."When Tom heard how discouraged the employees were, he naturally became demoralized. He snapped his fingers, making the three employees stare at him questioningly."Arthur Fischer wouldn't dare close JF Pr
RISE OF THE HEIRS: Getting Rid of The Traitor 33
"This is so crazy! Why are you trying to attack JF Groups from below when you yourself are going after JF Groups through me?" Arthur asked. He threw the newspaper that Tom had shown him earlier in the direction where Jill Reynolds was standing in front of him.Jill, who remained unsurprised, ended up pacing back and forth with her arms crossed. "Why bother thinking about such a small thing when you have much bigger stocks to take care of? After all, you haven't been paying attention to them, have you? I guess you also forgot where you inaugurated JF Properties, which were completely neglected and did not produce.""Then why don't you just talk to me directly, Mrs Reynolds? Why are you attacking me? You know what? You stabbed me in the back!"Jill Reynolds approached, pointing her forefinger in front of her flaming red mouth. "Have you forgotten that I've been supporting you all this time? You can't even manage JF Groups.
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"Goddamn it!" Arthur threw a tantrum. He threw away everything on his current desk. The small room was less than a quarter of the size of the director's office at JF Groups before. "Why don't you just kill me in front of everyone, huh?"Arthur's breath caught in his throat. He stared at the picture of his dad, who was still looking fit in one corner of the room. With eyes burning with anger, Arthur approached. He picked up the picture of his dad and slammed it down."Stop smiling like you're mocking me, dad! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? You're teaching your son a sneaky way to get everything, aren't you? I really can't believe it! What the fuck with everything!"Arthur looked up, then paced in front of his desk that was no longer filled with files. Occasionally, he would glance at his dad's picture and kick it quite hard. The broken picture frame of his dad soon hit the suddenly opened door.
RISE OF THE HEIRS: Getting Rid of The Traitor 35
"What makes you keep coming here every morning, huh? Don't you get bored? I'm even sick of seeing you having breakfast here!"Arthur chewed his last bite in a hurry. He got up and greeted Jill, who had just come out of the room. "Morning, future mum-in-law. I was just popping in earlier and thought of you. How's it going? Have you been resting well lately?"Jill waved her hand, trying to ignore Arthur's intrusive presence by simply walking past him without responding. She headed for the car park after grabbing a coat that was on a hanger near the main door.Arthur trailed behind Jill's back while occasionally looking up. His eyes seemed to wander in all directions. Unfortunately, he bumped into Jill, who was deliberately waiting for him with her arms crossed."Damn! You bumped into me on purpose?" Jill cursed and pushed Arthur's shoulder away.Arthur stammered. He shook his head
RISE OF THE HEIRS: Getting Rid of The Traitor 36
Quickly, Arthur held Ronald White's door open. "Wait, Mr White. Who are you referring to? You didn't mean to refuse co-operation with JF, did you? Have you forgotten—""I'm still working with JF Groups, Arthur. I still do and will continue to work with them. But I will not sign a contract with you. Shall I repeat myself? Please let it go. I lost my time for breakfast because of you. Don't lemme call security here to get you out of here right now."Of course, Arthur immediately let go of his hand. Meanwhile, Jill's face turned bright red. Her hands were clasped together with a glare that was sharper than a knife."Damn it! How could he possibly know about Ronald's project on this one? I've even sacked Pete from following me around and reporting what I'm doing!"Arthur kicked the door of Ronald's house violently. His cursing sounded utterly desperate.Without commenting, Jill
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Sarah and Emma took a step back. Both of them glanced at each other because they began to feel a considerable aura of hostility. Not to forget, Emma also pulled Nick's shirt to stay away for a while.Seeing that, Jill Reynolds just laughed. Her index finger shifted the edge of the sofa that had just been unloaded from the boxcar. "You know, Cobb? Ah, I'm amused at the mention of such a soft rubbish name."Jill's hand gripped the arm Tom had managed to reach. She looked at Tom, whose face was no longer as friendly as before. "You shouldn't come here and dream too high. You think starting a business is easy? Even for experienced people, it takes more than ten years to find the right business for them. And you're trying to bring down Arthur, who's already in the business world with your dad before?"Arthur smiled dismissively. He stepped back, then gave a thumb up to the still silent Tom. He moved away after Jill gave him a
RISE OF THE HEIRS: Getting Rid of The Traitor 38
Tom walked quickly. His hand clutched a copy of the JF Moulding yearbook that was stuck in the middle of the street. His eyes were red, burning, like an unquenchable flame.Pete was just coming out of the servants' quarters when he saw Tom coming up the stairs. He knew full well that Arthur's room would be Tom's prime destination now.Quickly, Pete moved to join Tom on the stairs. His laboured breathing couldn't keep up with Tom's steady pace.Tom had arrived on the second floor. His hand was about to knock on the door of Arthur's room when Pete greeted him breathlessly. Not to forget, his shoulders were gripped firmly, as if Pete could no longer stand on his aged knees.Surprised, Tom looked back. He helped Pete to sit up when he saw his dad's confidant looking so tired. The anger in his eyes turned to anxiety. "What's wrong, Pete? What's going on? Are you sick?"Pete shook his
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"Shut your mouth, Tom Cobb! You've gone too far in slandering me! After this, what will you do? Spread the rumours? Bring me down and humiliate me in front of everyone?"Tom laughed and stepped to stand closer to Arthur, who was enjoying the last bite. "Do I look like someone who spills the tea in public?"Arthur twisted his head and laughed dismissively. He pushed the empty plate to the centre of the table before finally getting up and moving. He pushed Tom's shoulder away with a fingertip. "You don't look like that, but I'm sure you'll make trouble with this. But this time, I will also prepare myself better, Tom. Luck won't always be on your side. You should know that."Instead of answering and warning Arthur about his recklessness, Tom just nodded as he approached the dining table. His stomach was in knots, and he didn't have time to think. He invited Pete and the maid to join him at the table."D
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"I do," Arthur said as he took out a red velvet box from beneath his luxurious clothes. He placed a simple ring with a single jewel on Dwyane's finger, which looked beautiful in his eyes.After that, the priest began to lead the prayers. It didn't take long for the two to sign the marriage contract.Although Arthur's second wedding ceremony was only held at the nearest church in the neighbourhood of the hospital, the happiness was evident on his pale face. He had been a wheelchair user for more than two hours, enduring the pain in his solar plexus after his surgery five days ago.There were only seven people in the church to witness Arthur's far from simple wedding. No party, no food. Only Shannon, Aland, Pete, Will Smith, John Benedict, Phil Allen, and Edward Frey, the officer who uncovered Arthur's many hidden cases.The first-born was given to Arthur, even though he was in a wheelchair. Seeing Arthur's weakening condition, the priest rushed the blessing and lighti
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"I'm going to file for a marriage annulment. So, will you be my lover, Dwyane?"Arthur's request just after Camellia disconnected the call made Dwyane melt. She burst into tears as he approached Arthur, who was still lying in the cage."Why just lovers? You can get married after cancelling your previous marriage," Aland said from the sofa.Aland immediately got up and approached with both hands in each of his trouser pockets. He grabbed his laptop before moving on, as he did not even get a response from his brother.Arthur was silent. Not only him, even Dwyane didn't know what to say when he was in the middle of such an awkward situation.As he put his work laptop in his bag, Aland spoke up again to help."I'll talk to Mr Smith right away. He will help you to file for a marriage cancellation as soon as possible. Only then, you guys can get married before you actually return to prison in six days. If you have anything to say, just call Pete--"Aland hadn't
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"Are you sure you're okay?"Camellia asked from a distance. The look of concern was visible, but it was not savoured by Arthur as he had savoured the anxiety on Dwyane's face earlier.The two were now connected through a call Aland had made to Mr Cavill, who was visiting his daughter. Using a phone and a laptop, the two were now face to face, even though it was only through a call connection.Arthur nodded in response to his wife's question at the end of the call. Unfortunately, he could not take his attention away from Dwyane, who was busy writing in the corner of the room."I'm fine, Lia. What about you? Did mum cause trouble again? Did she hurt you?"Although she sounded more concerned than before, Lia knew very well that it was just a pep talk from her husband. She shook her head slowly as she wiped away tears with her sleeve."Listen to me, Arthur. I asked dad to contact Aland so I could connect with you like this for some reason. Although I just found o
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Arthur blinked softly. His eyes squinted as the glare of the lights greeted him as he woke up after being in a state of emergency because of heavy blood loss.Instead of finding Dwyane or Lia, he saw Aland sitting with his head bowed on the edge of the bed. Her eyes closed again to make sure before finally looking back at who was beside him.It was the same man he hated to death before. Aland.Arthur's hand moved towards Aland's closed head, hiding his face, when he suddenly saw movement from the sofa. Quickly, Arthur pretended to close his eyes again, as if he hadn't woken up from a long sleep.Dwyane was shocked to death when he looked at the clock. It was almost night and Arthur had not woken up. This was contrary to the information received from the doctor earlier.Slowly, Dwyane woke up Aland, who had fallen asleep by accident. "Mr Fischer. It's already dark. Shouldn't you be going home?"The surprised Aland got up hurriedly. He looked over to where Arth
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"What else this time, Dwyane?"Arthur's question made Dwyane shake her head slowly. She plugged the flash disc into the laptop she had brought with her. She positioned it so that the screen was facing the direction where Arthur was."I haven't seen it myself, Arthur. You can see for yourself. This was given to me by Aland. He said it was a precious gift for you."Hearing Aland's name, Arthur rose lazily. He shook his head, refusing to see what he really wanted to show."No, Dwyane. That's enough. The other day you brought me the news you secretly heard from him. And it really kept me up all night long. Now what? Are they planning to frustrate me here?"Dwyane shook her head slowly. She was just trying to keep Arthur's attention back on what Aland was about to show him."No, Arthur. The other day, the possibility that I was wrong was quite high. Aland said that sometimes there is some information that is missed and contributes greatly to misunderstandings. Tha
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"Go away, Cobb! Get out of here or I'll kill you right now!"Aland sniggered and moved off, leaving Jill filled with intense guilt."You're just bragging! Arthur is my nephew! He is everything to me! And you can't touch him! He's mine! Don't ever come back or I'll kill you right here!"The clock had already struck three in the afternoon when Aland and Shannon sat across from Dwyane Hills. He knew very well that Dwyane continued to visit Arthur, no matter what. Every day. For more than nine days."I'm sorry if I've upset you, Mr Fischer," Dwyane greeted, having just spoken after ten minutes of apparent silence.Aland cleared his throat, then took a sip of his coffee while shaking his head slowly."What do you have to apologise for? There's nothing wrong with you going there, Ms Hills. I just don't like that you went there with information you shouldn't have given."Suddenly, Dwyane's eyes widened. Her hands immediately folded on the table, and tried to rea
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"Since when did you become so talkative, Cobb?"Jill's counterattack made Aland pause. He looked at Jill, who grabbed a plastic chair to sit across from him."How can I help you with coming all the way out here?"Aland glanced at Shannon for a moment, trying to make sure that his wife was fully prepared. He looked again at his mother-in-law, whose new identity had been stripped away, leaving nothing of her once admired name."There's something I want to do about the key you gave me. Liliana's death."Jill did not seem surprised at how quickly Aland had learnt the truth with just one keyword."You found it?"Aland showed her an old photo of Sophie and Liliana that he had copied from an old file at the orphanage. Even though it wasn't clear, Jill could still recognise who was in the picture."This is you and Liliana. You two are sisters, aren't you?"Seeing that Aland was not surprised by what she had found, Jill got up and approached. Her eyes squi
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"What did you say? Sorry, but can you say it again?"Shannon's request was not without reason. For the first time, she sat in Will Smith's room with Pete and her husband to explain everything.Aland closed his eyes and smiled faintly. His hands were intertwined with each other in a position in the middle of her legs."I'm not misspeaking, Shannon. This is the truth. Until a few moments ago, only Pete and I knew about this."Will Smith didn't understand. He, who had been staring out the window while listening to Aland's explanation, could only turn around and shake his head slowly."If Arthur is not James's son, why does James insist on claiming him?""Because he just lost his son, Mr Smith. Don't you remember that his scandal broke just as he was about to celebrate JF Groups' anniversary? James couldn't just ignore Arthur's arrival with Liliana. He didn't want to act rashly, either. He asked me to keep the fact that Arthur was abandoned by Eugene a secret bec
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"Sophie? You're trying to defame our orphanage just because of Sophie's case? Do you also want to examine all the children in this orphanage so that you can be satisfied with your judgement, Mr Fischer?"Aland turned to Shannon briefly before leaning forward, trying to calm him down. "Listen to me, Mr Flitch. This is not what you think it is. We're not here to make a statement or to judge your orphanage as bad, no. I'm just here because there's something wrong. I'm only here because there's something I wanna to know. About Sophie. That's all. We will never tell anyone that Sophie is from here. After all, the whole of the UK knows that Sophie's dangerous behaviour is not the result of someone's upbringing, but her disposition, which may never change even twenty years later. We're just looking into her bloodline. That's all."Dom Flitch squinted with an angry gaze. His previously cupped hands immediately came closer, watching Aland and Shannon's movements that seemed so d
