Chapter 268
Chapter 268
The door closed.
Everything fell silent.
As if nothing had happened.
Diana walked over, placed her hand on Michael's shoulder, stood on her tiptoes, and looked directly into those deep eyes, "Ruby is so devoted. Doesn't a woman like that move you even a little?"
Michael took a deep breath, his eyes showing annoyance, "Don't joke about this kind of thing. I'm yours, and you're mine."
Meeting those possessive eyes, Diana said slowly and deliberately, "I belong to myself."
She never belonged to anyone.
No identity could override her own self.
Michael didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Fine, whatever you say. But what do you plan to do next?"
The Garcia family empire was now crumbling.
Bankruptcy was imminent.
Before long, the company would declare closure.
Not only that, the Garcia family would face massive compensation claims, since their cooperation with the Scott family had been illegal from the start.
The shareholders wouldn't let the Garcia family off easily, and neither would the consumers.
Diana's red lips curved up, "What's the rush? There are plenty of ways. I want to play around a bit more. This cat-and-mouse game is really interesting. So this is what it feels like to torment people."
Back when Aria was about to leave this world, those people went to provoke her one by one.
They should experience that feeling of despair.
Michael nodded slightly, "I'll go along with whatever you want, but there's one thing you have to listen to me about—wear this."
He put a pearl necklace on Diana.
"This necklace has hidden features. See? This is a surveillance camera, this is for recording audio, and this is for tracking. If you're in danger, press this button."
Hearing about the necklace's functions, Diana was shocked.
This wasn't just a necklace—it was a combination of high-tech devices.
If something felt wrong, she could even call the police.
Pressing this button would instantly send her location to Michael.
Perfect.
But thinking about the tracking function, Diana's eyes flickered, "I'll accept this necklace, but does that mean you'll know where I am at all times?"
Michael chuckled and gently stroked Diana's hair, "I knew you'd think of that. Don't worry, even though I'll know your location, I won't abuse it. It's to protect you. I'll also arrange bodyguards in secret."
This incident had blown up too big.
To prevent those people from acting desperately, he needed to take precautions early.
Especially the Scott family people.
Diana nodded, "Okay, since you prepared this for me, of course I'm willing. But I hope no one can make decisions about my affairs."
The night grew darker.
The two people back in bed soon fell into a deep sleep.
While many entered dreamland, some found it hard to sleep.
Like the Garcia family.
The Garcia family gathered together, gloomy and dejected.
They knew clearly that without Diana and Michael's help, the company had only one fate—bankruptcy.
By now, they had no way out.
Finn was dejected, looking like he'd aged a dozen years. Gone was his high-spirited appearance; instead, he seemed old and frail, hunched over.
"You two useless fools actually lost all your shares, and they ended up in Diana's hands. Do you understand? Now Diana has become the company's second-largest shareholder. If she wants the company to go bankrupt, no one can stop her."
The company was trending online, various departments were all coming to audit the accounts, and business partners were demanding payment, employees demanding wages.
The company was now almost frozen, with very little money available to move.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Unable to vent his day's rage, Finn couldn't hold back anymore and kicked Chase hard twice.
Layla was startled and wanted to stop him, but thinking of what Chase had done, she stopped in her tracks.
"You bastard, I never asked you to expand the business. Even if you just honestly became my heir, that would've been fine. Why did you have to go do those things?"
"You actually dared to gamble! What's the difference between a gambler and a madman? I'll beat you to death today, so you don't gamble away all the family assets."
Finn meant it, using full force when kicking.
Finally, Layla couldn't bear it and stepped forward to stop him, "I know Chase did wrong, but he can change slowly. Right now, the most important thing is figuring out how to get through this crisis. If the company's gone, what will our family do?"
"What can we do? Wait to starve to death."
Finn was truly exhausted.
In one day, he'd begged every friend he could, pleading with everyone.
But what good did it do?
The shareholders had already made up their minds, just waiting for the company to go bankrupt and liquidate, then sue him for damages.
People who used to call him brother now avoided him like the plague, not wanting to help at all.
Now he had no solutions whatsoever.
Layla said gently, "Won't Mother help either?"
"Are you crazy? You and I both know what really happened back then. She has no way to help either."
Finn sat down dejectedly and looked around the house, "You all better prepare yourselves. Don't you have other properties? Find a chance for our family to move out and see where we can go."
The house he was living in had been mortgaged years ago.
Now, it could no longer be kept.
Hearing that even the house was gone, Layla completely panicked. She looked at Chase and Veda, hesitated, and finally had no choice but to tell the truth.
Learning that all the houses and valuables were gone, Finn once again swung his fists at Chase.
"You animal, are you insane? You dared to gamble away all these assets, and even Mother's jewelry."
At the mention of Orla, everyone's eyes lit up.
"Grandma still has some investment funds and overseas assets. Should we hurry and protect those?"
Logically speaking, Orla's money wouldn't be affected, but just to be safe, they should prepare early.
Finn thought for a moment and nodded, "Alright, tomorrow morning we'll all go see your grandmother together. Remember, be filial. Whether we have money and can get through this crisis depends on what happens next."