Chapter 481
"Don't harbor such naivety. If Chamberlain's dares to drag Joseph into court, they stand no chance. The man is a master of the legal arena, unbeatable," Mabel asserted, pressing the card into his palm. "I manage my own enterprise. I'm well-versed in the financial ebbs and flows a public company navigates. Once Chamberlain's secures the necessary funds, they can reimburse me."
"Thank you," Marcus expressed, pulling her into an embrace.
A knowing smile graced Mabel's lips. Her tranquility was interrupted by Walter's call, "Where have you disappeared to? I need your presence at the villa immediately."
"Alright..." she responded, her tone laced with uncertainty.
"Just you."
Mabel paused, her brow furrowing in confusion.
An hour later, she entered the living room, her voice echoing through the space, "Dad, what was so urgent that you needed to discuss?"
"How much liquid cash do you currently possess?" Walter inquired sharply, his gaze piercing through her.
Mabel's lips pursed in bewilderment, "Not much remains, most of it is tied up in investments."
Walter rose from his seat, his movements slow and deliberate, "I am well aware of your net worth, your investments. Don't dare tell me you lent it to Marcus."
Mabel gritted her teeth, opting for honesty, "Dad, you're well aware that Joseph demanded eighty billion. Where would Chamberlain's procure such a sum..."
"So, you truly handed it over to him?" Matilda's voice wavered as she questioned.
"Yes," Mabel confirmed with a nod.
Before she could brace herself, she felt the sharp sting of a slap across her cheek, "Fool."
"Dad!" Mabel gasped, taken aback. His praise had always been her reward, save for that one time when she insisted on marrying Marcus.
"I credited you with intelligence. It seems the older you grow, the less sense you possess," Walter remarked, tossing a file in her direction, "Take a look this. It's my recent probe into Chamberlain's. Their group is valued at over ninety billion. Granted, a substantial portion is invested, but at least ten billion lies dormant in their accounts."
Mabel, sifting through the pile of documents, was dumbfounded.
She had never fathomed Chamberlain's wealth to be so vast.
Hadn't her in-laws always lamented about Chamberlain's cash flow predicaments?
"I couldn't believe the extent of my in-laws' deceit, but I'm certain Marcus is innocent. His mind is perpetually immersed in his compositions, his constant travels abroad keep him detached from the Chamberlain business..."
Walter shook his head in disappointment, "If your in-laws were that astute, they wouldn't have faced bankruptcy in their forties. The Chamberlain family has been biding their time, laying low all these years, harboring someone who's been scheming all along."
"Father, you're not insinuating that Marcus is the culprit, are you?" Mabel questioned incredulously, "I've shared a life with him for decades, no one knows him better than I do."
Mildred interjected helplessly, "Grandpa investigated, and it wasn't Liam and Celeste who propagated the rumors about Joseph's mental instability. We, the Hernandez family, are limited in number—tell me, who else could it be?"
Mabel shivered.
She didn't want to harbor suspicions, but if Marcus was indeed the orchestrator...
"There's more..." Walter added, massaging his temples, "You were aware of the Chamberlain & Leo union, deemed it a match made in heaven. But following Leo incident, the Chamberlains and Chapmans are gearing up to invest heavily in finance, logistics, and e-commerce, and they're already cornering our Hernandez subsidiaries."
Matilda chimed in, "Joseph intended for the Chamberlain family to settle a debt of eight billion, which would have curtailed their funding and halted their plans, but you..."
Mabel sank into a chair, a cold dread enveloping her.
"Thanks to your actions, the Hernandez family might be reduced to relying solely on Hernandez Electronics," Walter stated, his tone suggesting he wished he could knock some sense into her, "Leave, I can't bear to look at you."
Mabel barely remembered her exit from the Hernandez estate.
Had she been inadvertently using her hard-earned money to aid the Chamberlain family in usurping her own family's business?
No, she had to retrieve that money, by any means necessary.
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