Chapter 88 The Five Votes in Cassidy's Hand
In a setting like this, if Ryder really dared to make a move, he'd definitely lose his candidacy.
So Ryder could only glare at Easton.
Once he snagged the head position, he'd crush Easton!
The argument was halted, and the voting began.
Family members started casting their votes, with the majority split between Easton and Ryder.
The votes were neck and neck, and the atmosphere grew tense. Only the two candidates sat there with relaxed expressions, both confident they would come out on top.
When the votes were finally tallied, Ryder couldn't help but laugh at the results.
Easton had four fewer votes than him!
The position was finally his!
He grinned at Easton, "Easton, tough luck, but looks like this position is mine."
Easton wasn't surprised by the result. He knew Ryder wouldn't just sit back and do nothing.
Ryder stared at Easton, trying to read any emotion on his face—frustration, anger, disappointment, anything!
But there was nothing. No emotion at all.
Easton just looked at Ryder calmly, as if he didn't care about the voting results, as if no matter the outcome, he was the ultimate winner.
"Easton, are you stunned?"
"You planned for so long, and in the end, the position still fell into my hands!"
Ryder couldn't believe Easton was unfazed and wanted to provoke him further.
"Ryder, did you forget something?"
Easton met Ryder's gaze, a smile forming on his lips.
Ryder looked at his smile and suddenly had a bad feeling.
Could Easton still change the voting results?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
He scanned the room; all the voters were present. There was no way Easton could alter the votes!
Easton clapped his hands, and the conference room door opened. A lawyer walked in.
It was Ashton's personal lawyer, the one who had read Ashton's will.
After Ashton passed away, he became Cassidy's personal lawyer.
The moment Ryder saw the lawyer, his pupils contracted, and the bad feeling grew stronger.
He seemed to remember something, and his face turned grim.
"According to Mr. Ashton Cooper's will, during the election for the head position, Cassidy Monroe holds five votes."
"And before the former head Cassidy passed away, she left a will, casting all her five votes for Easton Cooper."
The room fell silent as the lawyer spoke, and when he finished, everyone was too shocked to speak.
After a while, Ryder finally reacted, shouting, "Impossible! How could Cassidy have left a will? She died unexpectedly; there's no way she had time to write a will!"
The lawyer, anticipating the doubt, placed a document on the table. "This is the document Cassidy left. If anyone has questions, feel free to examine it."
Ryder snatched the document and flipped through it. After reading the contents, he staggered back in shock.
How could this be? How could this be the result?
How could Cassidy have written a will so early, and why would she give all her votes to Easton?
Ryder glared at Easton fiercely. "It was you, wasn't it? You forged this document, didn't you?"
Easton was pleased with Ryder's reaction. He had anticipated this voting result and wanted to reveal the document when Ryder was at his happiest, making him taste the bitterness of losing power at the last moment.
Easton always believed he was the most suitable for the top position, but he knew Ryder would never let him take it without a fight.
So, before executing his fake death plan, he had Cassidy write this document.
If he had won the vote today, he wouldn't have needed to reveal the document.
But in the end, he had to rely on Cassidy's document to secure the position.
When he saw the vote count, he was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected things to align so perfectly.
With Cassidy's five votes, Easton had just one more vote than Ryder.
No matter how shocking or unacceptable the result was, it couldn't be changed.
Thus, Easton smoothly became the interim director, taking the position Ryder had long coveted.
Ryder couldn't accept this outcome. He had plotted for so long, only to lose to Easton in the end. How could he be content?
Damn Cassidy! She should have disappeared with her belongings when she died! Why did she have to leave a document to oppose him?
Ryder was furious. He returned to his room and started smashing things.
The room echoed with loud crashes and angry shouts, scaring the household staff.
"Damn Easton, damn Cassidy!"
"That bitch! Even in death, she ruins my plans!"
"I should never have let Ashton marry her! I should have killed that bitch earlier!"
If he had killed Cassidy right after Ashton's will was read, she wouldn't have had the chance to ruin his plans!
A dead person still causing him trouble!
Ryder continued to smash everything in the room until all the breakable items were shattered and he felt exhausted.
Declan had heard the commotion from Ryder's room but waited until Ryder had calmed down a bit before entering.
The floor was littered with debris, leaving almost no place to step.
"Ryder, calm down. What's done is done. Smashing everything won't change the result."
Ryder had barely calmed down, but Declan's words reignited his anger.
"Declan, who are you to criticize my actions?"
"Even if I smash everything in this house, you have no right to stop me!"
Declan knew Ryder was extremely angry, so he didn't take his words to heart. He just wanted Ryder to calm down.
But the more Declan tried to soothe him, the angrier Ryder became.
Finally, Ryder couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed an object and hurled it at Declan.
The object landed near Declan's wheelchair, shattering on impact with a sharp, piercing sound.
"Declan, you're just a cripple!"
"Don't you want to sit in that position too?"
Ryder sneered. "If you weren't crippled, you'd be going crazy just like me!"
"Declan, just do what you're supposed to and stay out of my business!"
Declan's face fell at Ryder's constant taunts about his disability.
Ryder was right. If he weren't crippled, he would have been a candidate too.
At that moment, Easton returned to the Cooper Manor and overheard Ryder's words.