Chapter 474 A Frame
Audrey and Abigail were the first to bail today.
Harper piped up, "Found this pillbox on the ground where they were. It's gold-plated, so no way it's the assistant's. But I can't tell if it's Audrey's or Abigail's. Judging by the fancy design, it's probably Abigail's."
Francis frowned hard and said, "It's my mom's."
He'd seen it before and even asked Abigail what was inside, but she just said it was something good for health.
The folks he had checking out Abigail didn't find anything weird. Abigail mostly stayed home unless she was shopping or chilling with Audrey. But yeah, Abigail did seem kinda off.
Francis grabbed the pillbox and said, "I'll get it tested."
"Yeah, hope it's nothing serious," Harper said, worried she might be overthinking.
On the way back, Francis held her tight in the back seat and whispered, "I haven't slept well these past couple of days. Can't stop thinking about you."
Harper snorted, "Didn't seem like it."
If she hadn't called him today, he probably still wouldn't have made time for her. Even though they cleared up the misunderstanding, being ignored for the past two days still ticked her off, and her tone was a bit pouty.
Francis chuckled, then grabbed the back of her head and kissed her hard. Harper gasped as he pinned her against the seat.
Francis's tongue forced its way into her mouth, taking control. Harper was overwhelmed, letting out a soft moan.
With a grin on his handsome face, Francis asked breathlessly, "Feel it now?"
Harper's face turned bright red. She mumbled, "That's not what I meant."
Francis laughed, squeezed her butt, and said in a husky voice, "I can give you other feelings too."
Harper's face turned red, and her body felt like jelly.
Francis's eyes darkened, and he kissed her again deeply.
The next day.
At the Getty Group's summit, Francis was halfway through his speech when the conference room door swung open. Keith strutted in, uninvited. Francis shot him a cold look.
Keith tossed down a data report, showing the losses the Getty Group took because of Francis's solo decision to pull out of the Maple Grove Manor project with the Hernandez Group.
Keith blurted out, "Mr. Getty, care to explain?"
Francis coldly replied, "What do you mean?"
Keith asked, "I heard Mr. Getty ended the deal with the Hernandez Group over a woman. Is that true?"
This question instantly sparked a lot of doubt in the meeting. Francis glanced at Keith indifferently and croaked, "Got any proof?"
Keith clapped his hands, and in walked a pregnant Audrey, tears streaming down her face. "Francis, are you really gonna wreck our family for another woman? I'm carrying your kid, and we've had so many successful deals. Are you just gonna ditch all that?"
Everyone exchanged shocked glances. Audrey, who used to be with Francis, was now pregnant with his kid!
Francis knew Audrey was in cahoots with Keith. She must've thought through the fallout of going public.
Francis coldly said, "Your kid has nothing to do with me."
Audrey looked deeply humiliated and covered her face, crying, "Francis, how can you say that?"
Audrey, who always came off as gentle and capable, made her pitiful act pretty convincing. Keith slowly pulled out a report and smiled, "Francis, I thought this might come up. This is a paternity test."
The report clearly showed a 99.99% match. Keith smiled warmly, "Is this enough to prove the kid is yours?"
Before Francis could speak, Ryan stormed in angrily, "You bastard, how can you deny it? Audrey is pregnant with your child."
Francis said calmly, "I told you, it's not mine. Test results can be faked."
Ryan snorted, "Do you think a lady of Audrey's status would fake a test to pin the kid on you?"
Francis's eyes swept over the three uninvited guests, and he sneered, "It shouldn't be just her who was in it."
Ryan got the hint and blushed immediately. He hissed, "If you don't believe it, we can do another test with witnesses from all sides."
Ryan said righteously, "But Audrey's health isn't good these days. Let's wait until she recovers."
Francis coldly watched them, waiting to see what other tricks they had, and stayed silent. Audrey was being used and didn't even know it.
Sure enough, the next second, Keith played his trump card. He piped up, "I believe this isn't the first time Francis has had issues with relationships."
Keith said slowly, "Including the time when Ms. Hernandez used her relationship with Francis to exploit the Getty Group's interests. Many shareholders have complaints about that."
Audrey's eyes widened in disbelief. Keith had said he would help her, so what was he doing now?
Keith threw out a signed petition and remarked, "Here is a letter signed by forty-two shareholders and a unanimous agreement to conduct an internal review of Francis. During this period, Francis, please step down from your duties."
Ryan also chimed in, "An investigation is not bad. We owe the shareholders an explanation. The Getty Group needs a leader who can make the right decisions."
Ryan said righteously, "You're my son. But that doesn't mean I will cover for you."
He kept talking about how righteous he was as a father, but Ryan never really saw Francis as his son.
This all happened in a few minutes, and the executives needed to think it over. Audrey bit her lip as it turned purple with anger.
Only Francis remained exceptionally calm and unperturbed. He got to his feet, closed his folder, and said smoothly, "I will cooperate with the investigation."
His compliance left Ryan and Keith stunned, making their prepared follow-up moves useless.
Francis left the conference first and went to his office. Audrey followed Keith out and pulled him into an empty meeting room.
"What do you mean by this? Are you playing me?" Audrey said with a vicious expression.
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