Chapter 248 Driving Away Ophelia
"I don't care what you think or say right now. Anyway, I don't wanna argue with you. I'm here today to make it clear that your dad needs to step down and not ruin the reputation of the Lockhart Group!" Ophelia didn't beat around the bush. After all, the two families had already fallen out with each other, and there was nothing much left to say.
Cecilia smiled, "Even if my dad steps down, it won't be Vincent's turn."
"Who else but Vincent?!" Ophelia said harshly.
"Me," Cecilia said firmly.
"You? You must be kidding yourself, Cecilia! How can a woman like you possibly take over the Lockhart family business?" Ophelia's contempt was palpable. She had always looked down on Cecilia.
"Grandma, according to you, women aren't qualified to take over the Lockhart Group's business. So, as a woman, does that mean you also aren't qualified to meddle in the Lockhart Group's affairs?" Cecilia retorted.
Ophelia was left speechless by Cecilia.
"In that case, just shut up! Whether the Lockhart Group needs a new chairman and who will manage it is my dad's business, not yours!" Cecilia said authoritatively.
Ophelia blurted, "I'm the only elder in this family, so I certainly have the right to speak about the Lockhart Group!"
"Grandpa personally handed the Lockhart Group to my dad!" Cecilia said word by word, "He gave it to my dad, meaning he wanted my dad to manage everything about the Lockhart Group. Grandma, you can give advice, but the decision-making power isn't in your hands. Please have some self-awareness."
Ophelia shouted, "Cecilia, you ungrateful child, aren't you afraid of divine retribution for talking back to me like this?"
Cecilia replied, "I'm afraid. That's why I want to stay away from you. With a disrespectful elder like you, I'm afraid of getting struck by lightning when it hits you."
"Cecilia!" Ophelia was trembling with anger.
"Grandma," Cecilia remained calm and composed, speaking slowly, "You really went out of your way when you asked my dad to give the chairman's position to Vincent. To put it bluntly, Vincent is a relative to my dad, while I am family. In this world, who would unconditionally give their belongings to a relative instead of family? Grandma, it's better not to let Vincent get involved; it's too shameless."
Vincent chimed in, "Cecilia, who exactly are you calling shameless? We came here with good intentions to offer advice, to prevent harm to the Lockhart Group, and you insult us like this! And talking about relatives—are you trying to disown us?"
"Vincent, that's you, not us," Cecilia said coldly, "If you were really family, you wouldn't always have ulterior motives..."
Vincent added, "I didn't..."
"Whether you did or not, Vincent, you know best. You don't need to play the good guy here. My dad, my mom, and I are not fools. We know exactly what your intentions are. If you don't want to make things too serious, let's end this here. My mom and I need to discuss the matter of my dad being falsely accused." Cecilia issued an eviction order.
Vincent glanced at Ophelia.
It was clear that they were outmatched in their argument with Cecilia.
Continuing the fight with Cecilia would only be humiliating.
They knew they couldn't win in arguing with Cecilia.
Arguing with Cecilia here was just humiliating themselves.
Both of them exchanged a look.
Ophelia dropped a comment. "If the Lockhart Group is ruined in your hands, you'll be a sinner for the ages."
Ophelia was speaking to Theodore.
Theodore's tolerance for Ophelia was truly limitless.
Theodore's tolerance for Ophelia was boundless.
Cecilia was aware of Theodore's deep respect, or rather foolishly filial, for his mother.
So, she decided to play the villain.
In the end, Theodore sighed.
Foolishly filial as he was.
Blind loyalty or not, he was surely disappointed in having such a mother.
Cecilia said, "Dad, let's not worry about Grandma and Vincent anymore. We should give them no reason to push their luck. They won't be able to make much of a fuss. Let's focus on the case."
"Should we call Mr. Hall to join us?"
"No, let's check it ourselves for now," Cecilia refused outright.
She recalled how, in her past life, Henry was eventually bribed by Dominic.
Although in her previous life, Henry hadn't been bribed at this point because there hadn't been so many changes, and this situation hadn't occurred.
Since Henry could be bribed, he could be bribed at any time.
To be safe, it was better to be cautious.
"Alright," Theodore didn't suspect anything and nodded.
Cecilia took out the copies she had obtained from the prosecution.
Genevieve had also heard the news.
It was also being bandied about online now.
Naturally, she was extremely worried.
She hurriedly asked, "Is this serious?"
"Not at all," Cecilia said directly, "It's all false accusations. The innocent will be proven innocent."
Genevieve said, "That's good. The news made it sound so serious; it almost scared me to death."
"Don't you trust your husband?" Cecilia joked.
Genevieve blushed and affectionately scolded, "Come on!"
Cecilia smiled, "Mom, can you make some coffee for Dad and me? We need to study the case."
"Sure," Genevieve said as she got up and left.
Cecilia placed the copies in front of her and Theodore.
Theodore asked, "Cecilia, do you trust me so much? Do you really believe Dad wouldn't do anything illegal?"
"Of course," Cecilia said firmly.
Theodore was visibly moved. He patted Cecilia's head, "Having a daughter like you is better than having ten sons!"
"If you had ten sons, you'd be waiting for them to fight over the family assets!" Cecilia said irritably.
Theodore found himself at a loss for words.
"Dad, what do you know about William, the contractor?" Cecilia changed the subject, her expression serious.
They stepped into focus.
Theodore replied, "I don't know him well. Charles is the one who is mainly responsible for the bidding process for this project."
Cecilia asked, "So, you didn't sign the contract for this project?"
Theodore continued, "I should have signed it. For such a large project, my signature and seal would be required. I remember reviewing the contract, and it seemed fine, so I signed it."
Cecilia said, "The contract should be fine. The issue is that the other party insists that when the contract was signed, you demanded a $3 million bribe for the chief of Planning Department."
Theodore questioned, "Do they have evidence that I made such a demand?"
"There's a private contract here. Dad, take a look." Cecilia handed it to him.
Theodore took it, his eyes narrowing, "The signature is indeed identical to mine."
"But there's a clear flaw," Cecilia said, looking at Theodore, "You didn't leave a fingerprint!"
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