Chapter 457 Deception Is a Legitimate Strategy in Warfare
Roman was like, 'Hey, maybe I should go chat with the big boss at Abbott Group about teaming up.'
The guy nodded, "Yeah, that's right."
"Can I get in there? I wanna meet Mr. Abbott too. I mean, we're about to work together, and I've only met Mr. Ross so far."
The assistant got all nervous and said, "Uh, they've got some big stuff going on today, so it's probably not a good time. Mr. Thornberry, you should head back for now. Mr. Abbott hates being interrupted. Just barging in would totally piss him off, right?"
Roman remembered the head office talking about maybe canceling the deal. He didn't want to mess things up with Aaron, so he said, "No worries, I won't bug them. Just let your boss know I stopped by."
The assistant nodded, watching Roman leave, and then let out a big sigh of relief. He couldn't believe Aaron was actually in Philly! Aaron usually stayed out of branch business.
Aaron picked this crucial moment to show up in Philly, and he even heard about the Thornberry deal. He hoped Aaron would just play dumb since Calum was family.
Half an hour later, Aaron stormed out of the room, looking pissed. "No way are we teaming up with the Thornberry family. If I don't sign off, the finance department won't release a dime. If you go ahead with this, it's on you, and you'll deal with the fallout."
Aaron didn't want to waste any more time. Calum had pulled this kind of stunt before, acting clueless while knowing exactly what was up.
"Aaron, hold up! What the hell do you mean by that? We finally got a deal, and now we're about to sign, and you say no? If this gets out, how am I supposed to survive in Philly?"
Calum chased after him, pointing and yelling, "You kicked me out of Abbott Group, and I came to the Philly branch to fix things. Your branch was sinking, and if it weren't for me, it would've gone under. Would it be where it is today without me?"
Calum was getting more and more pissed. Stuck in Philly all this time, couldn't even go back to Lindwell, finally got a deal, and now Aaron was screwing it up.
Aaron shot back, "Every branch has its own rules; that's company policy."
"Screw the rules. You're the boss. Just stay out of my way and pretend you don't know anything, and there won't be any problems, right?"
"No way," Aaron said coldly.
He walked out, not looking back. No matter what, he wasn't gonna agree to this deal, especially since the Thornberry family was bragging about teaming up with Abbott in Philly and planning to go after the Jones family. No way was he letting his company get mixed up with those idiots.
"Aaron, are you trying to ruin me? I'm one of the few relatives you have, and you're really gonna do me like this?"
Aaron didn't say a word, but Sam stepped in to block Calum. "You embezzled and took bribes at Abbott Group, did all sorts of shady stuff. If Aaron hadn't covered for you, you'd be in jail by now. And now you call Aaron cold-blooded? With a family member like you, he's the one who's really unlucky."
"This is a family thing; why are you butting in? It's none of your business," Calum snapped.
Sam chuckled, "Yeah, maybe it's not my business, but you better drop the deal with the Thornberry family and give back everything you got from them. Otherwise, you might end up in court. And trust me, in Philly, Aaron can't save your ass."
"You said it yourself, this is Philly. According to Abbott Group's rules, I have the authority to lead deals here. Even if he's the big boss, he can't just order me to stop; he has to follow the process."
Calum was banking on signing the deal with the Thornberry family before Aaron could do anything about it.
Aaron shot him a cold look, "If you really wanna dig your own grave, I'll help you out."
"Aaron, what the hell? How can you talk to me like that?"
Aaron didn't waste any more time and headed out of the club.
Sam hopped into the car next to him. "I figured Calum would be stubborn, but I didn't think he'd be this dense. How much kickback did he take from the Thornberry family?"
"The big issue is those pieces of land. The Thornberry family had no right to them, so they teamed up with Calum. He used Abbott Group to snag the land and then handed it over to the Thornberry family. Since Abbott Group isn't a Philly company, they got all sorts of subsidies."
These two were clearly in cahoots.
Yesterday, Aaron had Tyler dig into the Thornberry deal to see what was up. It didn't take long to spot the problem.
"But what if Calum refuses to cancel the deal? If we follow the process, it could take a day or two."
"Screw the process. On the day of the signing ceremony, I'll personally step in and cancel the deal with the Thornberry family. Even if the contract's signed, no funds will be released if I don't approve."
Aaron got back to the fancy hotel and dove into work. He only took a break for dinner, rubbing his neck and glancing at Tyler. "What's the word from the hospital?" he asked.
"Mr. Abbott, the hospital said Lillian was discharged right after you left."
"Discharged already?"
Aaron's eyes flashed with surprise.
Sam chimed in, "Aaron, I think Lillian's doing well. It's good she got out; who wants to be stuck in a hospital forever?"
But Aaron felt like Susanna had been stalling his meeting with Lillian, and right after he visited, Lillian was discharged. It seemed fishy.
Aaron looked at Tyler and ordered, "Have someone keep tabs on Lillian and report back on anything related to her."
Something still felt off.
Sam rubbed his chin and asked, "Why not just ask Lillian directly?"
Aaron hesitated; he didn't want to drag the kid into adult drama.
But Sam had already dialed Lillian's smartwatch. Seeing this, Aaron narrowed his eyes, "Where'd you get her number?"
"From the hospital records."
Sam looked smug. The call connected quickly, and he immediately said, "Lillian, I know everything. You're not really sick, are you?"
