Chapter 417 Recognizing the Turner Family
Evander was sick, so Winona had to hurry back to Dreamopolis. She bumped into Matthew, who had just visited Evander, right at the ward entrance.
Matthew had been searching for Zachary too, and she could see the exhaustion on his face. But he still managed a gentle smile, "Winona, Evander's asleep."
Winona lowered her hand, which was about to knock on the door. "I'll come back in the afternoon then."
"Evander hasn't slept much these past few days. He might be out for a while. You look really tired. How about I take you back to rest?"
Winona tucked her hair behind her ear and said, "No need, I'll just find a hotel nearby to crash for a bit. It's too tiring to go back and forth."
As Winona spoke, she walked towards the elevator.
Watching her walk away, Matthew called out, "Winona."
"What's up?" Winona turned around.
"Zachary will come back. He's trained in the mountains and at sea, and he's practiced handling all kinds of emergencies."
"Of course," Winona forced a smile. "I know."
These words were more for her own comfort than a response to Matthew. No matter how much she refused to accept it, it had been five or six days. The surrounding sea had been searched thoroughly, but Zachary was nowhere to be found.
The only reason they hadn't called off the search was to keep a bit of hope alive.
Matthew asked, "What are your plans for the future?"
"I'll learn to do business. Evander is getting old, and he can't keep going like this. No matter what, I won't believe he's dead until I see his body. He might have been rescued and is recovering somewhere. I can't let him come back to find us bankrupt."
Matthew stayed silent.
Winona said with a faint smile, "He's got such a sharp tongue; maybe he's probably offended a lot of people. If we go bankrupt, he'll be bullied by others."
Matthew wanted to pat her on the head, but he stopped halfway and pulled his hand back. "If you need any help, just call me."
Winona's talk about going into business was just to placate Matthew. Evander's health couldn't hold up, but they could hire a professional manager to run things. There were so many shareholders and executives in the company, any of whom were more experienced than she was.
Some things couldn't be achieved just by trying hard. She knew she had no talent for business. Back in school, while other students were running small businesses and thinking of ways to make money, she was always the one spending.
But when she visited Evander that evening, he said, "Winona, we only have Zachary. Although we don't believe he's gone, we have to prepare for everything. What are your thoughts on the company?"
"What do you mean?" Winona didn't get it.
"We are getting old. The Bailey Family's business will eventually be handed over to you. With Zachary not here, someone needs to take charge. We can hire a professional manager, but you need to understand some things yourself, or you'll be easily deceived."
Evander had just woken up and hadn't fully recovered, so he spoke slowly, "If you're willing, you can work at the company for a while. While I still have some energy, I can teach you a bit. Of course, if you don't want to overwork yourself, you can rest at home."
He had it all planned out. When he couldn't work anymore, he would sell the company shares, which would be enough for her and the child to live on for several lifetimes.
Winona clenched her hands and said, "Evander, I'm sorry. I'm not pregnant. I lied to Lydia."
Evander's gaze fell on her belly, a hint of disappointment in his eyes, though he didn't show it too much. "It's good you lied to her. Otherwise, she might not have been able to handle it. So, about the company..."
"I'll hand over my work at the museum and then go to work at Bailey Group."
The person who reacted the most to her decision to work at Bailey Group was Frank. He frowned and said, "Did the Bailey Family force you? Why are you suddenly switching to business? Didn't you say that being a cultural relic restorer was your dream? Didn't you say you wanted to preserve history with your hands?"
Winona hadn't told Frank about her plans. His assistant had spotted her at a social event and spilled the beans.
Winona said, "They didn't force me."
"If they didn't force you, why would you give up your interests and change careers? Zachary..." Frank's face darkened.
He pressed his lips together and didn't continue.
Everyone had quietly accepted that Zachary was likely gone, but no one dared to say it out loud, especially not in front of Winona.
"Whether you're in business or not, expanding your social network is a good idea," Frank said, thinking that if she kept busy, she wouldn't dwell on it. "But Bailey Group is like a toothless tiger now, anyone can step on it. You're so beautiful, it's easy to get bullied at social events. How about we throw a party, invite all the powerful and influential people in Dreamopolis, and announce your identity as a member of the Turner Family?"
He had always wanted to formally acknowledge Winona as part of the Turner Family but had previously feared it would bring her danger. Then, with Zachary's incident, it wasn't a good time to bring it up. Now, there was finally an opportunity.
"Although the Turner Family's influence in Dreamopolis isn't huge, those people will have some reservations."
Winona didn't really care about being acknowledged by the Turner Family. She didn't have deep feelings for Frank, her biological father, given their short time together. But facing Frank's hopeful gaze, she said, "No need for a party."
Frank didn't mind, saying, "Then let's have a family dinner. And we can have the PR department release a statement."
Winona instinctively frowned; she didn't have a good impression of the Turner Family.
Frank said with a faint smile, "There are good ones too, not all of them are bad."
Since it was a family dinner, the timing was flexible. They set it for a weekend evening. Before that, Frank had already had Turner Group's PR department release an announcement, so the Turner Family knew about her existence, and it didn't cause much of a stir.
Except for the minor celebrity from the Turner Family who had harassed her before, glaring at her with resentment, everyone else was all smiles and congratulations.
Frank didn't coddle him, giving him a slap on the head that instantly made him behave.
"Frank, now that Winona has been acknowledged, when will she officially change her last name to Turner? This can't be done casually; we need to pick a good day."
Frank looked at Winona and said, "She takes her mother's last name, so she won't change it."
No one else said anything about it.
Overall, the family dinner was quite harmonious.
Since she was going to work at Bailey Group, Winona couldn't manage the museum at the same time. She pulled two all-nighters to finish her work and handed over the artifact headpiece to a colleague in her team.
Three months later.
Winona went to Evander's office to report on her work. As she approached the door, she heard him say, "They still won't budge?"
Dylan said, "They refused to meet with me but sent a message through their secretary saying they won't give up on the bid. If it were just following the regular process, it would be fine, but their tactics clearly target Bailey Group."
Evander said, "I heard Nicholas will attend Crystal's birthday party tonight?"
The Quinn Family was a family of officials. They originally didn't plan to throw a big party, but the old lady, Crystal Quinn, wanted a lively celebration for her 80th birthday, so they invited a lot of people.
Nicholas had only recently emerged, the youngest son of Ramsey Family. In just three or four months, he had managed to pull Ramsey Family, which was on the verge of being kicked out of high society, back into the circle, even showing signs of rising prominence.
Evander had never met him before. It was said that Nicholas had poor health and had been recuperating elsewhere, only returning home last year.
Dylan said, "Mr. Bailey, the doctor said you can't drink or stay up late."
But in such settings, not drinking was impossible.
Winona knocked and said, "Dad, I'll go with Dylan. You should listen to the doctor and not overwork yourself."
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