Chapter 87: Return to Gardella?
Nicole's POV
Wendy's incident caused a huge uproar in high society, but it was quickly suppressed.
She had been stabbed in the heart by the knife. Although she was resuscitated, she fell into a severe coma.
The doctors said that her brain had been deprived of oxygen for too long, and there was an extremely high possibility that she would never wake up again, becoming a vegetable.
This was an outcome I hadn't anticipated, but it was the most fitting punishment.
She had left Vera lying unconscious in the hospital to this day.
Now, she had met the same fate.
This was karma.
After Doris and Leighton learned about Wendy's true identity and everything she had done over the years, they showed no sadness whatsoever about her current condition.
They only made a token visit to the hospital once, and never appeared again after that.
As for Mary, she was sent to prison for intentional injury.
The psychiatric evaluation said she had suffered tremendous trauma after stabbing her daughter and had become mentally unstable, but this couldn't absolve her of guilt.
They had all received their due punishment.
During this time, Lola had been publicly claiming that Keith had fallen seriously ill and needed to recuperate at home for a long period.
But only I knew that he had been severely injured by Hodgson.
After things temporarily settled down, I continued working as Hodgson's secretary, dealing with mountains of documents every day and participating in various high-level meetings.
Especially with the Percy Corporation collaboration project, Hodgson had deliberately placed me on the core team.
Through deep involvement in the process, I gradually came to understand that the reason Hall Corporation wanted to partner with Percy Corporation was because of their supply chain.
Hall Corporation controlled the nation's most advanced biotechnology, with several pharmaceutical companies and laboratories under its umbrella.
Barry needed to partner with professional ports to ensure the safe transportation of high-end pharmaceuticals to destinations around the world.
And Percy Corporation, in just three short years, had swallowed up control of all the ports in Gardella, forming an absolute monopoly.
Before the Austin Company went bankrupt, my foster father had controlled Gardella's southern supply chain.
If the company hadn't gone bankrupt, Percy Corporation would never have been able to monopolize all the ports.
That evening, Hodgson had an important business engagement.
Before he left, he told me he would be back very late.
I was just preparing to rest when the window of my room was suddenly pushed open.
I was about to scream when a familiar figure flashed inside.
"It's me."
Matthew climbed in through the window. He was dressed entirely in black, his whole person melding into the night.
I forcefully pulled down his hand, lowering my voice as I questioned him with both alarm and anger.
"Are you crazy?! How are you here? If Hodgson finds out..."
"Don't worry, Hodgson is with Derek tonight, and Mr. Barry is also present. They won't finish until late into the night. I came over taking advantage of this opportunity."
My heart still hung in mid-air, so nervous that my palms were sweating.
"Why did you take such a huge risk to come find me?"
He handed me a manila envelope, his expression serious.
"I took advantage of Derek not being there tonight and opened the safe in his office."
I took the bag with confusion.
"Inside here are all the materials from when Percy Corporation acquired the Austin Company and swallowed up the southern ports."
My breathing caught, and my hands began to tremble.
I couldn't wait to tear open the document bag, dumping all the files inside onto the bed.
I flipped through them rapidly, my heartbeat accelerating.
It turned out that before Percy Corporation had monopolized all the ports, they had proposed buying out the Austin Company for fifty million.
But my foster father Adelaide had not agreed.
The Austin Company was something he had built with his own hands. He was unwilling to just sell it off like that.
After being refused, Percy Corporation changed tactics, proactively proposing a deep collaboration with the Austin Company.
Both corporations would jointly transport a shipment of goods worth over a hundred million.
Because the cargo was so valuable, they needed to purchase large quantities of specialized equipment to ensure the goods wouldn't have problems during transport.
To this end, both parties established a joint oversight account, each contributing tens of millions for the procurement of this equipment and various preliminary expenses for the transportation.
However, just when the collaboration was halfway through, the funds in the account were suddenly misappropriated.
The final investigation results showed that there was a legally binding fund transfer authorization letter that had diverted the funds to an overseas private account.
And on that authorization letter was my foster father's name: Adelaide Austin.
What happened afterward was exactly the same as what I already knew.
I stared fixedly at the photocopy of that authorization letter, my fingernails nearly puncturing the paper.
I didn't believe it.
I absolutely refused to believe Adelaide would do such a thing!
That signature must have been forged!
"These are only photocopies; they can't serve as direct evidence yet."
Matthew's voice pulled me back from my anger and grief.
He paused, looking at me. "In a while, Hall Corporation will send an inspection team to Gardella to conduct an on-site assessment of Percy Corporation's ports."
"Nicole, this is an excellent opportunity for you."
I jerked my head up.
Matthew continued, "If you can return to Gardella, you'll be able to take the opportunity to enter Percy Corporation's. Only there can you find more direct evidence."
I nodded, carefully putting away these documents.
Return to Gardella.
I hadn't been back in three years.
That was where my foster father was buried, along with everything from my past.
Just when I thought our conversation was about to end, Matthew suddenly stepped forward and grabbed my hand.
His palm was very warm, yet it made me feel a bit uneasy.
"Nicole." He looked at me, his eyes holding a seriousness and earnestness I had never seen before.
"This time when we return to Gardella, if we find the evidence, let's not come back to Astoria, okay?"
I froze.
Matthew looked at me, his face full of expectation.
"Let's stay in Gardella together and start a new life, with no one to disturb us."
His words shocked me greatly. I instinctively pulled back my hand.
"Of course not! Vera is still here. I could never abandon her!" The words burst out of me.
"I'll find a way!"
he said urgently.
"I'll find a way to get Vera out too, to get her the best treatment. Nicole, leave this place. It's too dangerous here!"
"Matthew, you know that's impossible..."
My words stopped abruptly.
Because I thought I heard footsteps coming from the doorway.
Those footsteps were getting closer. It wasn't my imagination.
My heart tightened. Could it be that Hodgson had returned?