Chapter 236 Let Madison Do Things for Her
Grace stayed calm, like nothing could rattle her.
Madison glared at Grace, hating her smug attitude. How could Grace act so superior when Madison thought she had nothing to brag about?
Madison was determined: manipulating rankings was just a means to an end. Winning the World Perfumery Competition would instantly elevate her status as a top perfumer.
"Grace, I am gonna knock your socks off!" Madison threatened.
Grace replied, "Really? I'll be waiting."
Grace headed to the study, with Madison right behind her. The room was full of Zach's stuff, which Madison secretly wished was less cluttered. Madison was shocked when Grace confidently typed in the password to unlock Zach's study.
"How do you know the password?" Madison asked, disbelief in her voice.
Grace stayed silent. Zach never let anyone into his study, not even Madison. Grace rummaged around and found evidence of Zach's shady business practices—illegal contracts and real financial statements that hinted at tax evasion.
No wonder Zach kept this place off-limits. If these secrets got out, he'd be done for.
Grace had worked at the Lewis Group but never had access to its core. Zach's methods were slick, and everything seemed fine on the surface. If Grace hadn't recently studied finance with Xavier, she might've missed it.
Madison, on the other hand, was clueless. She always thought Zach's study was just full of random stuff. She was curious why Grace was so engrossed.
"Do you understand any of this?" Madison asked.
Grace looked up, a sly grin on her face. After learning from Xavier, she knew the best way to apply pressure was through intimidation. But she needed someone else to step in, just like Xavier had shown her.
"Madison, are you really not getting any of this?" Grace asked, amused.
"What do you mean?" Madison thought Grace was mocking her.
"You're running the company now, right? The Lewis Group has major loopholes. If things go south, it'll be on you, not Zach," Grace said.
Madison was stunned. "Grace, stop trying to scare me! Everything looks normal. How did you figure it out?"
Seeing Madison take the bait, Grace said, "Don't worry about how I figured it out. You wouldn't want Zach to have money and cause trouble, right? He pocketed three hundred million from the Montgomery crew for my engagement setup. No clue how much is left, but he's still got a pile. If you can get that money back from Zach and return it to the Montgomery family, I'll tell you the big problems in here."
"Zach has three hundred million dollars?" Madison had no idea.
"If you want the Lewis Group to stay safe under your management, our deal is fair. Think about it. I'm sure you're smart enough to get Zach to hand over the money," Grace coaxed Madison.
Madison wasn't entirely naive. "Why should I listen to you? Can't I just ask Zach directly?"
Grace laughed coldly. "Do you think Zach will tell you the truth? Can you even tell when he's lying?"
She patted Madison on the shoulder. "We have no conflict of interest, so I have no reason to deceive you."
Madison bit her lip, clearly hesitating.
"Also, if you want to win the perfumery competition, your skills alone won't cut it. If you get my mother's belongings back from Zach, I'll give you a perfume formula as a bonus. That way, your victory will be legit, no shady dealings. What do you say?" Grace sweetened the deal.
"I'll think about it," Madison said, tempted.
Right now, it was just the registration for the competition. After the preliminary selection, new fragrance samples would be submitted for evaluation, and those were crucial.
Although Daniel was helping her find perfumers, Madison felt their scents weren't as good as Grace's. If she had Grace's formula, then...
"My time is valuable too. If I don't hear back from you by noon tomorrow..." Grace trailed off, showing her phone with incriminating snapshots.
Under Madison's resentful gaze, Grace said, "I'll submit this evidence directly. Let me guess, will Zach try to pin all the blame on you after that?"
Grace searched further but found nothing else, so she left the Lewis family. Behind her, Madison fumed, stamping her foot in frustration.
However, Madison acted quickly. The next day, she got the three hundred million dollars back from Zach.
Grace suspected Madison used some cunning tactics but shrugged it off. After all, it wasn't Zach's money to begin with.
Since she had broken off the engagement with the Montgomery family, the gift money had to be returned.
Grace asked Ryan for his account number. Ryan was happy Grace contacted him, meaning she had taken him off the blacklist. Not knowing what Grace wanted, Ryan still sent his account number.
Ryan: [Is it the Montgomery Group's dividend? If so, you don't need to give it to me.]
Yesterday, the Montgomery Group had indeed distributed dividends, and Grace had received a large sum in her account. Yet, this was now Grace's rightful share, her hard-earned income. Why should she surrender it?
Grace quickly transferred the three hundred million dollars and then messaged Ryan: [This is the money Zach took from your family as a gift money. Since we've broken off the engagement, it should be returned to you.]
Ryan didn't expect it to be the gift money. He definitely didn't want it back. He replied: [Grace, you're going to marry me eventually, so there's no need to return this money.]
Ryan: [In a few days, there's a banquet. Will you accompany me as my date?]
Ryan waited for a while but didn't get a reply from Grace. When he called her again, he found he was back on the blacklist!
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