Chapter 1214 I Still Want to Meet You
The news rocked all of Madison.
When the stock market opened in the afternoon, the Hernandez Group shares tanked by twenty points.
Cassie couldn't fathom the chaos at the Hernandez Group.
She tried calling Joseph, but no answer. Then she called Nathaniel and learned Joseph was being questioned.
"Ms. Brooks, Mr. Hernandez said you should stay away from the company for now. It's crawling with reporters and angry partners," Nathaniel said.
"What's wrong with the product?" Cassie asked, worried.
"Nothing, really. It's just a ploy to crash our shares and force us to disband," Nathaniel explained. "For details, you should talk to Mr. Hernandez."
Cassie didn't dwell on it and headed back to the Hernandez House early.
Around seven in the evening, she heard Joseph was back.
She rushed to the main hall and saw not only Mildred and Walter but also Mabel, who had just left the hospital, and even Cameron, who had planned to go abroad.
"Nathaniel told me you were questioned. Are you okay?" Cassie asked, holding Joseph's hand.
"I'm fine. They were fishing for info," Joseph said, pulling Cassie to sit beside him. He looked calm. "But I'm not that easy to crack."
"Don't kid yourself. They're doing everything to bring down the Hernandez Group," Cassie said, frustrated.
Walter was also livid. "This is insane. The Hernandez Group has been a pillar of Madison's economy for over a century. If we lost fair and square, fine, but this is outright sabotage."
Mabel sighed. "Some shareholders are planning to pull out, probably because they got wind of something. If this leaks, the stock will keep dropping, and we'll be forced to restructure. The Hernandez family will be ousted."
Cameron looked at Joseph. "The people behind this are powerful. I know you want Carl to take over, but there's still half a month until then. In that time, they'll do everything to destroy us. We just acquired the Chamberlain Group and don't have much capital left. You won't last half a month."
Mabel looked like she wanted to say something but stayed silent.
Everyone knew what she was thinking, so Cassie spoke up, "Cameron, what if the Garrison Group steps in? They might not know about your connection to Joseph."
"No," Joseph said firmly. "We don't know how powerful they are. If they find out about my link to the Garrison Group, they could target them next. Both Hernandez and Garrison are top global companies. If they can take us down, Garrison could be next."
Cameron nodded. "That's why I haven't acted. We don't know enough about them. If we join forces and still lose, Garrison won't be Joseph's fallback."
Cassie felt stuck.
Walter finally looked at Cameron, a mix of helplessness and pleading in his eyes. "You're right. If we can't save the Hernandez Group, please take Sophia and Oliver back to Yugrot. The Hernandez family owes you too much. The Garrison Group shouldn't go down with us."
Cameron stayed silent, which meant he agreed.
Sophia and Oliver were his grandkids, so he'd naturally take care of them. But he had no obligation to the rest of the Hernandez family. He was here purely for Joseph.
"Dad," Celeste said anxiously, not wanting to accept it.
"Alright, as long as we're alive, we can earn money again," Walter said with deep emotion.
In the main hall, no one knew how much time had passed when Celeste muttered, "I wonder what kind of powerful enemy the Hernandez family has provoked."
Cassie's eyes widened, and she tightened her grip on Joseph's hand.
When Cassie and Joseph returned to the villa under the cover of night, Cassie stayed silent.
"Cassie, don't take Celeste's words to heart," Joseph said, gently caressing her cheek.
Cassie, feeling guilty, replied, "How can I not? If I hadn't married you in Silverwood, you wouldn't have offended Olivia."
"By that logic, I was also at fault. I should have killed Olivia when I caught her instead of letting her escape," Joseph sighed. "I also let Marcus take advantage of the situation."
"Anyway, if you hadn't met me, you wouldn't have had a grudge with Olivia," Cassie argued.
"No, if I could do it all over again, I'd still want to meet you," Joseph said. "Money can be earned again. Cassie, I've been through days when everyone looked down on me. Those days don't mean much to me. As long as I have you, I don't care about anything else. Olivia can target the the Hernandez Group, but if she wants to kill me, that's impossible. At worst, I'll take you and the kids and leave Madison. But you might have to give up the Peace Group."
"Do I seem like someone who cares about money?" Cassie laughed, hugging his waist. "We can earn money again. We're still young. I'm just afraid Olivia will target the rest of the Hernandez family."
"Don't worry. I've discussed it with Carl. He said that once he's in power, he'll protect the Hernandez family. If things get really bad, we can move them over once we're stable," Joseph said, kissing her lightly. "Trust me."
"Okay," Cassie said, looking up, her lips glowing in the moonlight.
Joseph realized it had been a long time since he had kissed her properly. He leaned down and kissed her deeply.
When he finally let go of Cassie, who was gasping for breath, they suddenly heard Sophia's teasing voice. "You two hiding out here making out so late."
Cassie's heart almost jumped out of her chest. She turned and saw Sophia and Oliver looking at them with disdain. Her face turned red with embarrassment. She didn't know how long they had been watching.
"When did you get here?" she asked, really embarrassed.
"Too long, we don't really remember," Oliver answered expressionlessly.
Cassie fell silent.
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