Chapter 472 Francis' Revenge
Audrey's tears were pouring down like a busted faucet; she had never felt so damn humiliated.
Francis spat out, "From now on, you and the whole Hernandez clan ain't getting any respect from me."
With that, Francis turned on his heel and bounced without a second thought.
Audrey's head was spinning, and she instinctively wanted to say something. She yelled, "Francis, I can help you!"
She dashed out and grabbed his arm, trying to convince him, "Francis, I know the crap you're dealing with at the company. Keith's taken over the foreign trade market, but the Hernandez family still has a big chunk of it. If you just acknowledge this kid now, you'll get the Hernandez family's full support. With your skills, you'll definitely come out on top."
Audrey's mind started to clear up, and she let go of his arm, speaking more smoothly, "Have you thought about what happens if you piss off my family? You know who's been screwing with you at the company."
Audrey had been waiting forever for this chance to speak up because she knew all about Francis's tough spot. Ryan was pushing him to step down, and Keith was gunning for his position. If there was no chance of securing his heart before, now there was a break.
Francis was a businessman; he couldn't be clueless about the stakes. In a big family's power struggle, one wrong move could mean game over. If Francis didn't go for the business marriage, who knew how this would end.
"Francis," Audrey softened her tone, the cut on her lip from the key making her look kinda pathetic. She said sweetly, "I can help you. I know I can give you what you need. We'll work together like before and reach new heights."
Francis was quiet for a long time, then smirked a bit and said, "Audrey, you seem to know a lot about the Getty Group."
Audrey felt a jolt of panic but quickly steadied herself, saying, "I know all this just to support you. I want to help you, Francis. Don't get it twisted."
"Audrey, you still don't get me." Francis's eyes were clear as he said, "If winning means giving up what I love, then I don't want to win."
Audrey watched Francis's cold back as he walked away, her heart sinking. She just couldn't understand Francis anymore. Even with the situation in her favor, she still lost.
Her phone buzzed. Audrey answered, feeling numb.
The frantic voice of the Hernandez Group's manager came through, "Ms. Hernandez, the Getty Group just announced on their website that they're pulling out of the Maple Grove Manor project with us, and they're refunding all project funds at a three-to-one ratio."
Maple Grove Manor was the Hernandez family's first shot at a public housing investment. Basically, the Hernandez family didn't spend a dime on building the houses and waited to cash in. This project was initially introduced when she was still the VP of the Getty Group, leveraging the collaboration between the Getty Group and the Hernandez Group.
The Hernandez family's influence in Northfield was definitely not as strong as the Getty family's. Such fundraising efforts needed serious clout to succeed. Now, the Getty Group would rather lose money than stay in the project, which would definitely freak out investors, making them think it was a bad sign.
The manager on the other end sounded desperate as he said, "Now all those investors are storming to the company and demanding to pull their investments. What should we do?"
Audrey, already pissed, got even more furious. She snapped, "Are you a complete idiot? Why are you asking me everything? Just stall them for now."
The manager, almost in tears, said, "It's not that I don't want to stall them. They've called the cops and contacted the media, accusing us of false advertising and fraud."
With this mess, not only would this project be affected, but all of the Hernandez family's projects would take a hit, with unimaginable losses. Harper was clearly unscathed and even had some advantages after the drama at the mall, yet Francis was so ruthless to Audrey.
Audrey's eyes gleamed with a wicked glint as she said, "Hand over the list of the biggest troublemakers to Jonathan."
The manager quickly replied, "Got it, I'll handle it right away."
Everyone knew Jonathan didn't mess around, and once he gave someone a warning, they wouldn't dare to act up again.
After hanging up, Audrey covered her face with her hands and slowly slid down to the floor. After a long silence, she dialed a number and coldly said, "So, what kind of deal were you talking about the other day?"
Harper got back from the mall, feeling a bit better. The latest scoop was that Francis didn't acknowledge Audrey's kid, while both Audrey and Abigail were adamant the kid was his. If it was just Audrey, it wouldn't hold much weight, but Abigail wouldn't let Francis be made a fool of.
The more she thought about it, the messier it seemed, so Harper decided to take a break. At least in her heart, she couldn't get over the fact that Francis had lied to her.
When she got home, Harper played with Agnes for a bit and then told her that now wasn't the right time to meet her real dad and asked if she could wait a bit longer. Agnes, like a little grown-up, nodded even though she was a bit bummed and said, "Mommy, I'll listen to you."
Harper gently patted her head.
Maybe she was overthinking it, but she always felt that behind Audrey's fake smile was some hidden malice. Harper had embarrassed Audrey today; if Audrey found out that Agnes was Francis's daughter, who knew what she might do to hurt Agnes. In any case, Harper had to be super careful about everything concerning Agnes.
That night, after Agnes fell asleep, a servant came to call, "Ms. Murphy, Mr. Getty is here to see you."
Harper didn't want to see him, so she said, "Tell him I'm asleep."
After a while, the servant came back and said, "Ms. Murphy, I told him, but Mr. Getty is still outside."
Harper nodded and said, "Okay. Don't worry about him; you can go rest."
After the servant left, Harper picked up her phone, which had a bunch of messages from Francis. At first, he called, but when she didn't answer, he started sending texts.
Francis: [Harper, I'm sorry. I messed up. I thought I could handle it. I didn't mean to hide it from you.]
Francis: [Believe me, the kid is definitely not mine, I swear!]
Francis: [Can we talk? Please don't ignore me.]
The usually cool CEO was now acting like a desperate teenager.
Harper stood by the window, pulling back the curtain to look outside. Francis's tall figure leaned against the car, his eyes occasionally glancing at his phone. It was late, and he was afraid she was asleep, so he didn't call.
As if by some weird connection, Francis also looked up in the direction of the window, but he couldn't see anything.
Last time, he thought the windows might expose privacy, so he had all the windows in Harper's villa replaced with mirrored ones. She could see outside, but no one could see inside.
Harper looked back at him indifferently, feeling as if they were making eye contact, even though she knew he couldn't see her. Seeing Francis's lonely figure, she couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him.
Although she didn't fully buy Audrey's story, Abigail's firm stance had left a shadow in her heart, making her feel very confused. After a long time, Harper finally couldn't bear to leave him outside alone and went out with a coat on.
Francis's eyes lit up when he saw her, and he quickly stepped forward to hug her. He said, "Harper, believe me, I didn't. I really didn't."
The usually calm and composed Francis now had a trembling voice, speaking incoherently in his panic.
Harper felt a bit sorry and said, "Francis, you should go back."
Francis's body stiffened. His eyes reddened as he said, "Harper, you still don't believe me, do you?"
Harper was also confused and said, "I don't know..."
The next second, without another word, Francis pulled her to the car and pushed her inside.
Harper asked in a panic, "Francis, what are you doing?"
Francis looked at her intensely and said, "Proving myself!"
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