Chapter 480 You're Messing With Me
Audrey was totally caught off guard and just stood there, speechless.
Abigail, trying to keep her cool, said, "Audrey, look, I trust you, no questions asked. But Francis is flat-out denying it, saying he never slept with you. I'm kinda stuck here, not sure what to think."
"Mom, I swear, I wouldn't lie to you," Audrey yelled. "This is Francis's baby."
"You both are sticking to your guns. I wanna help, but I don't even know how far along you are."
"Three and a half months!" Audrey blurted out, then instantly regretted it. She had planned to keep it under wraps until the baby was born.
Luckily, Abigail didn't seem to catch on and was actually pretty happy. She said, "Audrey, I knew you wouldn't lie to me. I believe you, and I'm totally on your side."
Audrey felt a bit of relief and said, almost whining, "Mom, please don't tell Francis. I'm scared he'll make me get an abortion before the baby's strong enough."
"Don't worry, I won't say a word," Abigail promised, all in. "The Getty family's first grandkid? If he tries anything, I'll fight him tooth and nail."
Audrey grinned and said, "Thanks, Mom."
Then she asked, "Mom, how's your headache been? We're almost out of your meds. I'll go see Mr. Sanders and get some more in the next couple of days."
Abigail replied, "Yeah, that'd be great. We're running low. I was just about to ask you."
"Alright, I'll bring some tomorrow."
After hanging up, Audrey couldn't help but laugh. With Abigail on her side, she wasn't worried about Francis turning her down again. He was cornered.
At the Getty Group, in the meeting room, the internal investigation team started laying out the dirt on the shady deals between the Getty Group and the Hernandez Group, all signed off by Francis. Francis sat there, stone-faced, listening to the accusations flying his way.
The deeper they dug, the more it pointed out that pulling out of the Maple Grove Manor project was all because of Francis's personal drama. He had a thing for another woman and didn't end things well with Audrey, which led to this mess.
Francis kept his poker face the whole time, not saying a word in his defense. Then Ryan stepped up, first showing his concern over the situation, then listing a bunch of Keith's accomplishments. Everyone knew what he was getting at. But no matter how many wins Keith had, they couldn't top the unbeatable records Francis had set over the years.
Even though this issue seemed big, it hadn't really hurt the Getty Group's bottom line. The shareholders were on the fence; they didn't really want to boot Francis out.
Ryan saw this coming and played his ace. He said, "Folks, I've got one more thing to share, a handwritten letter from my father."
The room went silent.
Dylan was the founder of the Getty Group, and his word still carried a lot of weight. Even though he was gone, he was still a bigger deal than Francis.
Ryan pulled out a letter, which clearly said that three years after Dylan's death, Keith would be brought back into the Getty family and officially renamed Keith Getty!
This was a game-changer. Dylan's handwritten letter recognizing Keith as his grandson would sway a lot of the stubborn folks. Some of the old-timers, even if they didn't say it out loud, deep down only saw Francis as the real deal and looked down on Keith.
With this bombshell, everyone's faces changed, including Keith's. He hadn't said a word the whole time, but the shift in his expression was unmistakable. He'd been waiting for this moment forever. Next up, Keith's mission was to slowly take over the Getty Group and make Francis vanish from the scene.
Ryan was feeling pretty smug. He figured it wouldn't be long before everyone got on board with the news. By then, it would be curtains for Francis.
Thinking about his plan, Ryan put on a fake smile and said, "I've said my piece. You all know what to do. Let's meet again in three days and decide based on everyone's thoughts."
Ryan was just sticking to the script, giving Francis three days to feel the heat from all sides. By then, with Audrey and Abigail tag-teaming him, how could Francis not cave?
Francis pressed his lips together but kept that stone-cold look. The room was tense, like a powder keg ready to blow. Before, Ryan and Francis had only been throwing punches in the dark, but now it was all out in the open, forcing everyone to pick a side.
Ryan's last move was to shake up the die-hards. Seeing those stubborn folks starting to waver, Ryan was in a great mood. He packed up his stuff like a boss and said smugly, "Meeting adjourned!"
Just as everyone was about to get up, Francis finally spoke, "Hold up."
That commanding voice made everyone sit back down, like they were used to taking orders from him. Ryan snorted, curious to see what Francis had up his sleeve.
Francis, still cold as ice, said, "You done talking?"
Ryan replied, "Yeah."
"Then let me add something," Francis said, tapping the table with his middle finger.
Victor walked in with a few people trailing behind him. Seeing this, Ryan's face twisted. He turned to Francis and snapped, "What are you up to?"
Francis casually twirled a pen, not even looking up, and said, "These folks look familiar to you?"
"I don't know them," Ryan shot back.
One of the guys behind Victor spoke up, "Mr. Getty, how could you not know me? You were the one who asked us to approach Ms. Hernandez for the Getty Group's project. You even said she had a way to help us win the bid."
"Yeah, same here!" another guy chimed in.
Ryan's face went pale as he barked, "What crap are you talking about? I don't know you; never even met you."
"Mr. Getty, at the Northfield International Charity Gala two years ago, you introduced me to Ms. Hernandez. Why deny it now?" The guy said, looking panicked. "There were other company reps with me. They can back me up that you introduced me to her!"
He didn't want to admit it, but Francis had dirt on him. If he didn't come clean, he'd be in deep trouble. Plus, Francis wasn't asking him to lie, just to tell the truth, which was easy enough.
The shareholders started whispering and gossiping. Ryan's face got uglier by the second. He roared, "Francis, you're screwing with me!"
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