Chapter 124 All Left to You
Harriet suddenly remembered something. "Tristan, your mom won't threaten me with my uncle like Owen did, will she?"
"She wouldn't dare." Tristan said calmly. "I've warned Owen too. He won't harm your uncle."
Harriet couldn't help but marvel to herself—he'd already broken ties with Owen and still dared to warn him. How willful indeed.
"By the way, Mrs. Coleman called me. She said Finnegan actually reached out to her on his own to help with her lawsuit. You don't need to find her a lawyer anymore."
"Okay."
Tristan was never interested in other people's business, so Harriet didn't say more about the Coleman family.
After dinner, Tristan went straight to his study.
Before long, Harriet knocked and came in.
"What's up?" Tristan looked up at her.
Harriet placed two bank cards in front of him. "This one is my salary card. I'm giving it to you to keep from now on. The password is your birthday. This other one is what Grandma gave me when I was pregnant. After I lost the baby, I tried to return it to her, but she refused and insisted I keep it. There should be quite a bit of money in it. I'm giving both to you."
Tristan raised an eyebrow. "Mrs. Lancaster, what are you doing?"
"You're looking for the right investment, aren't you? You'll definitely need capital. Take them. I believe in your abilities—you'll definitely make money. If you earn more, maybe your mother will feel more secure."
Tristan smiled. "Are you afraid I'll listen to my mom and divorce you to marry Ms. Borgia, so you want me to make more money to change her mind?"
Harriet shook her head. "If your mom could easily make us divorce, it would mean our marriage is too fragile to withstand anything. So that's not what I'm thinking. I just feel that right now might be our most difficult time financially, so we should pull our strength together without holding back and work hard together."
Tristan stood up and walked over to her. "Harriet, have you thought about this—I was born to be the Lancaster Group heir, which is why I had my previous achievements. But now that I have no connection to the Lancaster family, I might just become an ordinary person and never return to the top."
Harriet thought seriously for a moment. "Actually, I think mindset is really important. As long as you can adjust your mindset and face gains and losses calmly, you can still live freely."
"So Tristan, if you really can't achieve anything for the rest of your life, I hope you can accept it calmly. Who says ordinary people can't be happy? Most people in this world are ordinary like me. Just because we can't live as brilliantly as you excellent people, does that mean we shouldn't live at all?"
"What about you?" Tristan gazed at her. "Can you accept a husband who accomplishes nothing? Without being the Lancaster Group president, I'm not even as good as Nolan."
"Why do you need to compare yourself to him?" Harriet said seriously. "Whether you're a golden boy or accomplish nothing, you're still the Tristan I love. You don't need to compare yourself to anyone."
"But there's one thing—if you really accomplish nothing, you'll need to change your spending habits. We should live according to our means, not have champagne tastes on a beer budget."
According to Rhea, Tristan used to spend over a hundred million dollars a month, and a random bottle of wine could cost several million dollars.
Even if she worked herself to death seeing patients, she couldn't support that kind of spending.
So she had to give him fair warning.
Going from luxury to frugality is hard, but no matter how hard, you have to learn to accept reality.
Tristan chuckled. "Okay, I'll try to be more frugal from now on."
At eight o'clock that evening, Tristan taught Harriet self-defense on schedule.
Though tiring, Harriet studied very attentively.
Learning was to protect herself—she had no reason to slack off.
Tristan was satisfied with her attitude but didn't go easy on her at all.
After over an hour, Harriet felt sore all over.
She took a bath, and when she came out, Tristan was already sitting against the headboard waiting for her.
"Mrs. Lancaster, there's something I want to discuss with you."
"Go ahead."
"Since you've given me money, I can't just take it for nothing. I've decided to start a company and begin my own business."
Harriet was very supportive. "Great! You don't need to tell me about these things. You can decide yourself. I don't understand any of it anyway, so I can't give you any advice."
"You're the major shareholder who put up the money. Of course I need to check with you."
Harriet laughed heartily. "Then I'm giving you complete freedom. Go for it boldly."
"Okay." Tristan looked at her. "Do you want to practice close combat tonight?"
Harriet thought of last night's scene and immediately scooted aside. "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep!"
Last night, by the end of their kissing, both of them were uncomfortable. Harriet had to calm down for over an hour before falling asleep.
Tristan didn't push her. He turned off the light and held her as they slept.
The Coleman family's divorce case went to court with lightning speed, causing quite a stir in Emberfall's high society circles.
Most surprising was that Finnegan actually took on the first divorce case of his career. Many people were speculating about his relationship with Flora.
As Flora's friend, Harriet went to the courthouse to observe the trial that day.
Flora saw Harriet and greeted her happily. "Harriet, over here!"
Harriet smiled at her and immediately noticed the man beside her.
Finnegan was very young, looking only about twenty-six or twenty-seven, yet his presence was strong and steady.
He wore a dark gray suit, had handsome features, and his gold-rimmed glasses made him look even more gentle.
"Let me introduce you. This is Mr. Finnegan Savoy. Mr. Savoy, this is my good friend Ms. Harriet Getty."
Finnegan extended his hand to Harriet. "Ms. Getty, I've heard a lot about you."
Harriet was surprised. "Mr. Savoy knows me?"
Finnegan smiled. "Mr. Jones's beloved student—of course I've heard of you."
"I see. I'm still learning. Please look after me, Mr. Savoy."
"You're too modest, Ms. Getty."
The trial soon began.
Finnegan, as the plaintiff's attorney, stood up unhurriedly and removed his glasses.
Harriet finally understood why he wore glasses. Without them, Finnegan's demeanor was completely different—the sharpness and coldness in his eyes were extremely intimidating.
Just one look could instill fear in people.
He methodically presented the facts of Nash's extramarital affair and having a child outside the marriage. When the opposing lawyer denied it, he directly produced photos of the child and Nash.
The two looked very similar—there was no way to deny it.
"How can this be!" An elderly woman in the first row of the gallery stood up excitedly. "I've protected my grandson so well. How did you get photos of him? I'm going to sue you for invading his privacy and violating his image rights!"
Harriet didn't need to guess—this was Nash's mother.
"Order!"
At the judge's reminder, the courtroom quieted down again.
Finnegan continued, "The defendant has indeed protected his illegitimate child well, but the fact that he had an affair and fathered a child during marriage cannot be changed. If the court has doubts, I request that the defendant and his illegitimate child undergo DNA testing."
Faced with the facts, Nash stopped denying it, admitted to the father-son relationship, and agreed to the property division Flora proposed.
Just as Harriet breathed a sigh of relief, Finnegan smiled at Nash. "Divide what? The shell company after you transferred the assets?"
"What are you talking about?" Nash immediately denied it. "I didn't!"
Finnegan directly produced evidence that Nash had started transferring assets after Flora found out about his affair.
Nash completely panicked.
He had done it seamlessly—there was no way it could be discovered. But he never expected that Finnegan not only found out but also had solid evidence!
He knew Finnegan was good, but he never imagined he could be this good!
Flora burst into tears on the spot. So Nash had been guarding against her that early on!
Judging by the timeline, even on the day she was lying in the hospital having surgery, he was busy transferring assets!
He had transferred most of it, planning to use the small amount left to divorce her and be done with it!
Faced with the evidence, Nash had no way to deny it. In the end, calculated based on the true assets, Flora was awarded half.
Nash's mother fainted on the spot.
Harriet felt immensely satisfied.
After the court adjourned, she waved at Flora and left directly.
Just as she walked out the main entrance, someone called out to her. "Ms. Getty."
Harriet stopped and turned to see Finnegan walking toward her.
He had put his gold-rimmed glasses back on, his demeanor gentle and steady.
"Mr. Savoy, what can I do for you?"
"I wouldn't dare presume to advise you. I've been busy abroad recently, but now I'm finally back. I'll be staying in Emberfall long-term from now on. I've heard your medical skills are exceptional. I'd like to hire you as my family doctor."
Harriet was about to say that he was young and healthy—for any minor ailments, he could just go to the hospital and didn't need to spend this money.
But thinking it over, Finnegan really wasn't short of money. According to Flora, winning today's case alone would earn him several hundred million dollars in commission. Her ten million dollars really wasn't much.
With this in mind, Harriet didn't stand on ceremony. "Thank you for your regard, Mr. Savoy. It's my honor."
"Then it's settled. Let's exchange phone numbers and arrange a time to sign the contract."
"Okay."
Harriet took a taxi back to work at the clinic.
Before long, two familiar figures walked in.
Harriet's brow furrowed slightly. "Why are you here?"