Chapter 152

Chapter 152

Elizabeth burst into tears: "Mom, Dad, are you trying to kill me? What's meant to be ours will always be ours, no matter what. What's not ours, even if we beg on our knees for it, will end up in someone else's hands. Remember how David told us clearly that taking over the Cole Group would make us a fortune? Out of our whole family, did anyone believe him? If even one person had believed David back then, things wouldn't have gotten this bad!"

Mason and Ava were left speechless.

She was right. When Elizabeth had scraped together $80 million to acquire an 8% stake in the Cole Group, the whole Perez family had been over the moon, thinking they'd struck a great deal.

Then when Ethan and his son fled, the family had been ready to string Elizabeth up. At that critical moment, David stepped up and told them that with a little more money to take over the Cole Group entirely, the Perez family could completely turn their fortunes around.

Even without spending another dime, just by holding onto that 8% stake in the Cole Group, they would now have had over 500 acres of land in the South District lowlands.

500 acres! Never mind developing it themselves — even just selling the land for a profit would have made them a killing. The Perez family would never have had to worry about money again.

But now...

As these thoughts ran through their minds, Mason and Ava gradually calmed down.

They knew Elizabeth's personality all too well. Since she refused to go to David, even if they got down on their knees and begged her today, she wouldn't agree.

But if Elizabeth wouldn't go, what was stopping them?

With that thought, Ava's eyes shifted, and she turned to Elizabeth with a look of concern: "Elizabeth, if you don't want to, that's fine. You were right just now — what's ours will be ours, and what's not ours will slip away even if we get our hands on it. For now, just focus on figuring out how to land the deal with Hill Enterprises."

Elizabeth gave a small nod and went back to her desk, sitting down in thought.

Ava turned to Mason and said, "What are you just sitting there for? Let's go. I'll take you to the hospital — who knows, you might actually have a chance of walking again."

Mason pressed down hard with both hands, trying to stand up from his wheelchair like he had before. But no matter how hard he tried this time, his legs remained completely numb.

While Mason kept testing himself, Ava stepped behind him and wheeled him toward the door.

They made their way to the front of the villa, where Ava took out her phone and called the driver. A few moments later, the driver pulled up in front of them. He got out of the car and helped Ava get Mason inside.

The driver asked quietly, "Sir, ma'am, where are we headed?"

Without a second thought, Ava said, "Zane's place."

Mason looked confused. "I thought we were going to the hospital?"

Ava snapped, "What's the point of going to the hospital now? Do you actually think you're going to walk again? Besides, both Zane and Owen are already trying to get in with David. If we stay home, knowing those two, they'll probably trick David out of every last acre of that land."

Mason caught on. "So we're going to find David now? Same as Zane and Owen — try to get some of that land from him?"

Ava said, "Worth a shot. If we can get some land, great. If not, we at least need to warn that kid not to give it to anyone else. Don't forget — he and our Elizabeth are already legally married. And this investment came after the wedding. Whatever wealth that land brings David, Elizabeth is entitled to half of it. If that fool hands it all over to Zane and Owen, we won't see a single cent."

Mason looked at her with undisguised admiration.

Meanwhile, after Zane and Quinn dragged David back to their place, Zane quickly ushered him to the seat of honor. Then he turned to his eighteen-year-old daughter Verity, who was watching TV in the living room, and said bluntly, "Verity, stop watching TV and go pour David some coffee."

Verity was just too young to understand that if her parents pulled this off, it could bring the family hundreds of millions of dollars.

"Don't bother me, I'm watching TV," Verity said coldly.

Zane's face turned red with anger. "Verity, what did you just say? You—"

Just as Zane was about to blow up at Verity, David smiled and said, "Just tell me why you brought me here."

Seeing that Verity wasn't moving, Quinn had no choice but to pour the coffee herself. She set the cup in front of David and said with a smile, "David, please don't get the wrong idea. We just wanted to have you over for a drink and get to know each other better, that's all."

David laughed out loud at that.

"Come on, don't make me laugh. We're all smart people here. Just say what you want to say — that's better than beating around the bush, isn't it? I'm asking one last time: are you going to tell me or not? Because if not, I'm walking out right now."

Seeing David about to get up and leave, Quinn and Zane exchanged a glance. Zane quickly moved to sit beside David, grabbed his arm, pulled him back onto the sofa, and said with a big smile, "David, can I ask you something? Will you give me a straight answer?"

David nodded. "Go ahead and ask whatever you want."

Zane took a deep breath, careful not to give anything away, and said with a half-smile, "David, here's the thing — didn't you spend $80 million a while back to get an 8% stake in the Cole Group? Now we're hearing that someone bought the whole Cole Group outright. Do you still have your 8%?"

David smiled. "Of course I do."

Zane followed up, "So that means you'll be getting a good chunk of the land in the South District lowlands?"