Chapter 162 The Watson Group Maximum Penalty
A sharp screech of brakes tore through the dark, empty road like thunder splitting the night, releasing some massive beast.
Anthony gripped the steering wheel tightly as his car stopped on the roadside. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "The company's under attack? What the hell are those IT department elites doing?"
Leo's voice was panicked. "Mr. Watson, it happened so suddenly—the IT department didn't have time to react..."
The main thing was, it was late at night. Even IT staff needed rest. Though two employees on duty had spotted the problem quickly, fixing security breaches took time.
Of course Anthony understood all this. He'd always made Watson Group's network security a top priority, especially their firewall—his pride and joy. He never expected it to be breached so easily.
He took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Get all the staff back for overtime. Fix the vulnerabilities ASAP. Last month's accounts..." He paused, unable to contain his rage, and slammed the steering wheel. Then he asked, "How much doesn't add up?"
"Thirty million dollars."
"Thirty million. Not too bad." Anthony breathed deeply. "I'll handle this. Get to the company right now and watch the IT team patch those holes."
"Yes, sir."
After hanging up, Anthony irritably tossed his phone onto the passenger seat. Who the hell would randomly attack Watson Group's network?
He'd always kept his books looking clean. What company didn't have some shady dealings these days? How else could they make so much money? Tax evasion was something he'd done multiple times—basically every year since taking over Watson Group, he'd been manipulating the accounts.
But while this stuff had tacit acceptance privately, it couldn't be exposed publicly. Fortunately, only last month's accounts were off. Thirty million dollars wasn't that huge. He should be able to handle it.
He calmed down and made a call. Unexpectedly, no one picked up. Frowning, he tried again. Still nothing. He kept calling until finally someone answered, but before he could speak, the other party said bitterly, "Mr. Watson, calling me won't help. This has already gone upstairs. They've formed a task force overnight to investigate. Watson Group's accounting hole is too big—you're probably looking at major penalties. Better prepare yourself mentally."
Anthony paused, hardly believing it. "Already formed a task force? How's that possible?"
"I don't know either. Maybe think about who you've pissed off recently?" The voice sighed. "Anyway, I can't help you this time. If your company's books are clean, fine, but if they're not and they find past irregularities, I might get dragged down with you. We're all on our own now."
The line went dead.
Anthony's brow furrowed deeply. Pissed someone off? Who had he offended? But this wasn't the time for speculation. The situation was urgent—he didn't have time to figure out the cause. He quickly called the Green family.
Ten minutes later, Anthony hung up, his face dark. Fortunately, the Green family was willing to help smooth things over. The task force would probably only thoroughly investigate last month's discrepancies.
But the Green family had also warned that even with just last month's tax issues, the punishment would be severe, and they couldn't interfere with the penalties.
The thirty million dollar gap would probably result in about ten times that in fines. Plus, all honorary titles would be revoked, and if they were unlucky, some business activities might be restricted.
The Green family could only provide what help they could, but penalties were unavoidable. Anthony took a deep breath. He knew this was the best possible outcome.
At this critical moment, few people would risk helping him, especially those he'd bribed before—they wouldn't gamble their careers. So they were probably hopeless.
Ironically, in the end, he had to rely on a family that wasn't even properly related yet.
Anthony made several more calls with a grim expression, telling company finance and the general manager to rush to the office. Before the task force arrived, they needed to re-examine past accounts.
From here on, he could only adapt as situations arose.
After handling all this, Anthony looked at the nearby run-down apartment building. After hesitating, he drove in.
He arrived later than expected. Cassidy had been waiting impatiently, but when she heard the knock, she hurried to open the door.
When the door opened, Anthony was momentarily stunned. Cassidy wore a white dress—long, fitted at the waist, outlining her slender figure. Her black hair hung loose with a casual plaid hair clip. Her face was free of makeup but radiated pure innocence.
This version of Cassidy made him think of years ago, when he'd first seen her at school.
But it was just a fleeting moment. Remembering that the current Cassidy had been with so many men, her body defiled and videos of her spread around, that tiny bit of nostalgia turned into disgust.
Looking at Cassidy, his face showed no emotion. "Where's Molly?"
"She just finished homework and was tired, so I put her to bed." Cassidy looked somewhat embarrassed. "Why don't you come in and sit? I'll go wake her."
Anthony nodded, following Cassidy inside.
The apartment was tiny—maybe a few hundred square feet—with very little furniture. It looked bleak. Cassidy said awkwardly, "Please sit. I just moved in a few days ago, don't have coffee for guests. Would you like some water?"
She handed him water. When Anthony reached for it, Cassidy's hand accidentally touched his. She quickly pulled back, embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."
Anthony had expected Cassidy to try getting close to him—after all, she hadn't wanted the divorce. But instead, she kept her distance, even being polite about accidentally touching his hand.
Anthony didn't know why, but though he found Cassidy disgusting, her reaction somehow displeased him.
Cassidy smiled and went to the bedroom to get Molly.
Anthony watched her graceful figure, his expression unreadable.
Soon Cassidy returned, looking apologetic. "Molly's sleeping so deeply. I really can't bear to wake her. You know how demanding her school is—she works so hard studying. She finally gets to rest. Why don't you pick her up tomorrow instead?"
She thought for a moment, then continued, "Tomorrow afternoon after school? We can meet at the school entrance together. That way we can explain everything properly, and she won't think I'm giving her away because I don't want her."
Her words stirred something in Anthony's heart. After a pause, he said, "Alright."
He stood to leave.
Cassidy walked him to the door, politely saying goodbye. "Sorry you had to make the trip. Goodbye."
She started to close the door.
Anthony suddenly raised his hand, blocking her action.
Joy flashed through Cassidy's heart, but her face showed surprise. "What is it? Something else?"
Anthony frowned at her. "What are you really up to?"
Cassidy looked confused. "What?"
Anthony studied her intently. "You'd better not be scheming anything."
He turned and left.
Cassidy's voice drifted softly from behind him. "Tony, what do you take me for? Since we're divorced, I know my place. Don't worry—I won't bother you anymore. After you take Molly tomorrow, we'll never have to see each other again."
Anthony's steps faltered, then he entered the elevator.
Cassidy smiled slightly and closed the door.
She understood Anthony too well. What he had, he didn't treasure. What he couldn't have always stirred his heart. She'd been too aggressive before, which bored him—just like Arabella two years ago.
Now she was making the same choice as Arabella, being indifferent toward him, and sure enough, he was already changing.
No rush. She could take it slow. After all, she held Molly in her hands—how long she played was up to her.
Thinking this, she felt somewhat resentful. Though Anthony was showing renewed interest, it wouldn't solve her immediate problems. She desperately needed money, but Sawyer refused to show himself.
Unwilling to give up, she bit her lip, returned to her room, and anonymously emailed Sawyer's office account.
[Sawyer, your sudden disappearance terrifies me. I know you don't want contact anymore, but I just want to ask one thing—that child I once lost, does it really just become the past?]
After sending the email, she shut down the computer.
She'd tried emailing Sawyer before, but he'd been like a turtle hiding in its shell, never responding. Cassidy figured his office email couldn't just change, so he probably saw them but didn't reply. This time she'd used heavy ammunition.
She didn't believe Sawyer could ignore her after reading those words.
And just as she'd expected, the next day when Sawyer arrived at his office and saw that email, he froze completely.
His eyes locked onto the word "child," his hands clenching until veins bulged.
After a long moment, tears glistening in his eyes, he slowly picked up his phone, walked into the break room, and made a call.
On the other end was the voice that haunted his dreams. "Sawyer..."
Sawyer's throat choked up. After a long moment, he managed to respond, forcing a smile. "Cassie."
---
Arabella learned about Watson Group's troubles three days later.
Majestic City news had prominently reported Watson Group as a case study, prosecuted as a typical example with maximum penalties—three hundred million dollars in fines. Additionally, most of Watson Group's government contracts were cut.
Almost overnight, Watson Group had lost a third of its size. For the company, the blow was massive.
Arabella watched the news expressionlessly, then swiped to the next story. It was as if Watson Group's troubles were just a trivial matter to her.
Alexander used the excuse of getting heated milk from the microwave to sneak a peek at her phone screen. Seeing her completely normal expression made his heart lift a little.
Apparently she had no lingering hopes about the Watson family—she'd really let go.
After finishing the news, Arabella turned to Alexander. "Alex, since you're home today, I wanted to talk to you about something."
Alexander's heart sank.
He'd been avoiding her these past days to prevent this conversation. Today he couldn't resist wanting to see her, so he hadn't hidden away. And now she was bringing it up.
But facing Arabella's gentle gaze, his heart softened. He could only ask, "What is it?"
Arabella smiled at him. "Our marriage was originally for mutual benefit. Now we've both solved our problems—you have a marriage to report to your family, and I've gotten through my difficulties. So I'm planning to move out. I've already found a place and will move tonight after work."
Alexander's mouth opened, but the man who was always eloquent in business suddenly couldn't say a word. She wasn't just moving—she was moving urgently. Tonight.
He didn't even dare ask about their marriage, afraid she'd cheerfully suggest they get divorced this weekend.
He tried to seem normal, only asking, "Why so sudden?"
Arabella smiled. "Actually, I've been planning this for a while. I just finally have time now."
Though she was smiling, her heart felt like it was being sliced apart—no better than when she'd divorced Anthony. Fortunately, she had experience. It was just a matter of enduring. Time was the cure for everything.
Alexander cleared his throat. "Actually, there's something I'd like your help with."
Arabella immediately said, "What is it? No problem. Even after I move out, I can still help. We'll still be friends."
Alexander looked at her. "My mom and grandmother are coming to visit us in a couple days. They even brought you gifts. I was planning to have Becky squeeze in with us so they could sleep in the small bedroom, but now you're moving out..."
He gave a bitter smile. "I can't force you to do anything. I'll just have to tell them when they arrive that we're having relationship problems, to prepare for the eventual divorce."
Arabella's heart immediately ached. "Chloe is so elderly—wouldn't it be too cruel to suddenly tell her this? I thought you could gradually prepare her, wait until she's mentally ready before we divorce."
Alexander sighed. "There's no choice. Since you've decided, I can't hold you back."
Arabella hesitated, looking conflicted. "When are they coming?"
Alexander quickly replied, "Thursday. Two more days."
Arabella thought it over. "How about I wait until after they leave to move? It's only a couple more days. Their visit is so sudden—if you're flustered, I'm afraid you might slip up."
Alexander's heart relaxed as he smiled. "That sounds great."