Chapter 278 You're Her Father—How Could She Possibly Kick You Out?

Chapter 278 You're Her Father—How Could She Possibly Kick You Out?

He wore a black trench coat, holding a bouquet of white lilies in his hand, standing at the entrance to the funeral hall, looking through the doorway at the black and white photograph inside.

Benjamin in the photo looked quite young, his hair slightly longer than it would be later, the corners of his mouth turned up a bit, looking like he was smiling, or maybe showing no expression at all.

It was the photograph he had given the college for their records.

Back then they had just met, and Benjamin wasn't yet the gloomy and depressed person he would become.

He used to smile, crack jokes, and after drinking too much would put his arm around Hugo's shoulder and say, "Hey, knowing you in this lifetime, it's been worth it."

Hugo didn't cry. He just stood there, staring at that photograph for a long time.

"Dr. Graves."

A voice came from beside him. Hugo turned his head and saw Joseph standing on the other side of the hall, wearing a black suit with a white paper flower pinned to his chest.

Jessica stood beside him, also dressed in black, her expression very calm.

"Mr. Williams." Hugo walked over and placed the bouquet of white lilies on the table in front, "Ms. Martinez."

The few of them stood there side by side, no one saying a word.

"When he passed, was it painful?" Hugo spoke, his voice a bit hoarse.

Jessica said, "It was very brief."

Hugo didn't know the inside story; he still thought of Benjamin as a friend.

Jessica didn't mind giving him a more acceptable version.

Hugo nodded, forcing out a smile.

He knew Jessica was lying. The explosion did happen very quickly, but the part about "it was very brief" wasn't true.

The time spent trapped under concrete slabs waiting to die was long enough, long enough for a person to relive all the regrets of their entire life.

After the funeral ended, Hugo stood outside the funeral home for a long time.

He watched the already sparse attendees leave in twos and threes, watched Joseph and Jessica get into their car, watched the staff remove the flowers, dismantle the table, take down that black and white photograph and pack it into a cardboard box. Everything was being cleaned up quickly, like dealing with an old item no one wanted to keep anymore.

"Hugo."

Hestia walked over, stood beside him, and placed the bouquet of white lilies in her hand on the steps at the funeral home entrance.

"My condolences." Her voice was very soft.

Hugo lowered his head, looking at the bouquet. The white petals swayed slightly in the wind, like a group of butterflies trying hard to fly away but never able to leave the ground.

"Let's go." He turned around and took Hestia's hand.

Hestia looked at him, some heartache in her eyes. She didn't say any words of comfort. She knew very well that sometimes, silence is more like companionship than words.

They walked together toward the parking lot, their shadows stretched long in the setting sun, looking like a wound, leaving its final mark at the end of this day.

Jessica's net worth multiplied who knows how many times overnight. The assets Benjamin left her, along with those investment projects whose specific details she still hadn't figured out, were like a huge boulder thrown into an already restless body of water.

The media and social networks stirred up wave after wave of reactions. Some people were shocked, some were full of jealousy, some were secretly angry, some began to get ideas.

Those who started getting ideas went to Jeremy first.

The drinking party was set at a private club, the private room dimly lit. Several old friends who had known Jeremy for years sat around a round table, covered with expensive dishes that almost no one touched, though several bottles of wine had already been opened.

They took turns pouring wine for Jeremy, their words of provocation almost laid out in the open.

"Jeremy, that daughter of yours is really something now. Benjamin left her everything he had, you know what that means? Half of Northgate City's commercial territory will depend on her attitude from now on."

"That's right. You're her father after all, if she got all those benefits, she should share some with you, right? Look at your situation now, the Martinez Group shares are in her hands, how much weight do your words carry in the company anymore?"

"If I were you, I would have quit long ago. She's your daughter, her things should be yours anyway. What's wrong with competing with her for them? She can't really kick out her own father, can she?"

Jeremy held his wine glass, listening to them talk, the corners of his mouth slowly, bit by bit, pulling into a smile.

There was no happiness in that smile, only sarcasm. He was mocking these people, and mocking himself too.

"Compete?" He put down his wine glass, the porcelain cup hitting the table with a short sound. "What do I have to compete with her?"

He stood up, pushing his chair back, the movement so forceful it nearly knocked into the server bringing dishes behind him.

"I'm her father! But I've never been good to her!"

He paused, his eyes slowly reddening, though he didn't let the tears fall. He picked up his wine glass, drained it in one gulp, and set the empty glass heavily back on the table.

"You want me to compete with her? What face do I have to compete with her? Those shares were given to her by my mother, those assets were left to her by Benjamin. What have any of you given her? You've never given her anything, what right do you have to ask her to share things with you?"

The private room suddenly fell silent. Those who had just been fanning the flames looked at each other, their faces turning green, then somewhat pale.

They didn't know how to respond. They had known Jeremy for decades and had never seen him like this. He wasn't acting anymore, wasn't pretending anymore, and didn't plan to fight for anything anymore.

When Jeremy left the club, it was completely dark outside.

He stood at the entrance, letting the night wind blow on his flushed face. He took out his phone and scrolled to Jessica's number.

He stared at that number for a while, but ultimately didn't press the call button. He put his phone back in his pocket, got in the car, and told the driver, "Go home."

Outside the car window, neon lights passed by one after another, red, green, blue, dragging blurry streaks of light across the glass.

He thought to himself, maybe she would come see him. No, probably not. He knew he had no right to ask her to come see him.

Jessica indeed didn't go see him. It wasn't that she deliberately didn't go, but that she simply couldn't spare the time. After Benjamin's will was made public, the Jones Group's board of directors was in complete chaos.

The stocks Benjamin left behind were like a sharp knife, with Jessica holding the handle and the blade pointing straight at Nathan's throat.

The Jones Group that Nathan had run for decades suddenly had a shareholder he absolutely didn't want to accept, and this shareholder was holding what he cared about most—control.

The conference room was packed with people.

Everyone's eyes fell on Jessica in the main seat.

She wore a black suit jacket over a white silk blouse, her hair falling over her shoulders. Her expression was very calm, so calm that it made people feel her sitting in that position was perfectly natural.

Nathan sat across from her, his face dark. His hand gripped the equity transfer document tightly, his knuckles white with tension, the edges of the paper creased from his grip.

"Jessica, are you provoking me?" His voice was very low, as if barely controlling some emotion about to explode.

Jessica looked at him, her gaze unwavering. "Provoking? Mr. Jones, I'm just here to attend the board meeting. I'm the largest shareholder of the Jones Group. My sitting here is both reasonable and legal."