Chapter 193 Uncle
Those memories caught Camilla off guard.
Was the person who was being unreasonable and grabbing Sebastian by the collar really her?
Facing Camilla's teasing gaze, she was so embarrassed that her toes curled.
Sebastian said, "Remember now?"
"Sorry, I..."
"Do you even need to ask? Of course not. Who wants to get hit on the head? And didn't you say that too many hits can make you dumb?"
"Then why did you hit my head?" she muttered softly.
As she remembered this part, the earlier memories also became clearer.
He was the one who started it.
Sebastian said seriously, "Same as always, you can drink, but don't overdo it."
"Alright."
Camilla obediently nodded.
"What are you guys talking about?" Alistair came back after washing his hands, picked up the corn chowder, and drank it in one gulp.
Sebastian, on the other hand, sipped slowly, smiling, "Talking about drinking."
"Speaking of which, Sebastian, why don't you stay for lunch today? We can have a drink and continue our discussion about that new nuclear power technology we didn't finish last time!"
Sebastian didn't immediately agree but turned to look at Camilla. "What do you think?"
"Maybe we shouldn't drink?"
Drinking led to trouble!
"Sebastian has to go to the lab this afternoon, yes, to the lab, so he can't drink. Dad, you shouldn't drink either. Just having a meal is good enough."
Alistair nodded. "Then how about the two of us have a little?"
"Oh?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow, "Does Camilla like to drink?"
"She does. She even said she wanted to have a drink with me yesterday, but her mom stopped her."
Camilla's scalp tingled, and her eyes were sore from blinking. Alistair didn't notice at all!
"But she's a sensible kid, doesn't drink often, just occasionally a sip or two." At this point, Alistair seemed to remember something and added, "Last time was an exception."
Camilla was helpless.
Sebastian, however, laughed and nodded seriously. "Yes, she indeed has a sense of propriety in everything."
Camilla was praised, and Alistair grinned foolishly.
Alistair cooked lunch again.
He was quick and efficient, and soon a table full of dishes was ready.
And none of them were the same as last time.
At the dining table.
"Sebastian, have more, don't be shy!"
After greeting him, he looked at Camilla. "Why didn't you get a wine glass? I'll go get one!"
"Dad! No, no!" Camilla quickly stopped him.
Alistair was puzzled.
"Drinking is bad for your health, let's not drink."
Alistair had an unbelievable expression, clearly, they weren't like this in private before.
Camilla said seriously. "I suddenly realized I wasn't enlightened enough before, but now I am. Dad, you shouldn't drink, none of us should."
Alistair was stunned.
"Mom doesn't like you drinking either, right?" Camilla turned to Bella.
Alistair was speechless.
After eating, Sebastian habitually rolled up his sleeves to help clear the dishes.
Seeing this, Alistair quickly told him to stop.
"You don't need to worry about it, leave it, I'll take care of it."
Sebastian replied, "You didn't treat me as an outsider when you invited me to eat, so you can't treat me as an outsider now either."
While Alistair was still thinking about what to say, Sebastian had already collected the dishes and taken them to the kitchen.
Bella looked at his back with some surprise.
Alistair said happily, "How about that, surprising, right? There aren't many diligent men like Sebastian, like me, no wonder we get along so well."
Bella was speechless.
Praising others while not forgetting to include himself.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Sebastian was ready to leave.
Alistair was sitting on the balcony, continuing to turn the soil, and upon hearing this, quickly called Camilla, "Camilla, see your Uncle Sebastian out!"
Sebastian stumbled, his back stiffening.
Camilla quickly got up from the sofa. "Dad, don't mess up the title! Sebastian, I'll see you out."
"Fine."
As Camilla saw him out, Alistair muttered softly, "Last time you said you wanted to recognize him as an uncle."
In the blink of an eye, Alistair and Bella had been in Imperial City for half a month, and Camilla felt the time was right to arrange a meeting between Bella and Elmer.
"Mom, actually, there's another reason I wanted you and Dad to come to Imperial City this time."
"What is it?"
Camilla took out a file folder and pushed it in front of her. "This is the contract you signed with Debra. I asked you for the electronic version before, and I printed it out and had it reviewed by professional publishing people and intellectual property lawyers."
Bella was a bit startled.
Camilla signaled her to open it. "The parts marked in red are all unreasonable. For example, this publishing house in the contract is actually a reading material publishing studio controlled by Debra and invested in by her family."
It couldn't even be considered a proper publishing house.
A publishing house had formal publishing qualifications and could issue books with official ISBNs, while this studio could only handle illustrations, audiobooks, and online electronic publications.
No wonder Bella hadn't had a proper book published in the past ten years. It wasn't because Bella couldn't write.
It was because Debra couldn't help her publish!
So, every beginning and outline Bella gave to Debra would be rejected.
"Since Debra can't do publishing, why did she approach your mom and sign a contract with her? And for ten years?"
Bella was completely stunned, while Alistair remained relatively calm and asked the question.
When Debra signed Bella, she gave a considerable signing fee, which amounted to $200,000 after taxes.
$200,000 ten years ago was no small amount.
If she didn't see future benefits, why would Debra be willing to pay such a large sum upfront?
Camilla said, "This is the second trap in the contract. Mom, turn to the next page, the third page, read the lines marked in red."
Alistair looked down. "From the date of signing, all full rights to the works already published by Party A will be transferred to Party B for representation, with the profit-sharing ratio detailed in the appendix. Where's the appendix?"
Camilla shook her head. "There is no appendix."
Alistair was shocked.
That meant the contract didn't specify the profit-sharing ratio for the previously published books.
Debra could give Bella everything or nothing at all.
Bella said, "In these ten years, I've only received royalties five times, the most being $80,000, and the least only $5,000."
Camilla thought, 'As expected.'
Although it was a bit cruel, it was necessary for Bella to know the whole truth. "I checked the domestic book sales rankings for the past ten years. The Secret Key and Campus Conspiracy have consistently been in the top 20."
Bella said, "I know that. I asked Debra, and she said the publishing market has been shrinking in recent years, and overall book sales have significantly declined, so the money I received naturally decreased."
Camilla continued, "The domestic publishing industry has indeed faced a downturn in recent years, which could be a major factor affecting income. But did she mention the overseas sales of The Secret Key and Campus Conspiracy?"
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