Chapter 371 Summit Technologies Group Thirty Percent Shares
The Puckett family castle.
Gavin knelt directly before Wilford.
"Master, I failed in my mission. I couldn't bring Isabella back!"
For the first time, he realized just how terrifying a skilled hypnotist could be.
He couldn't even get close to Isabella, constantly fooled by her illusions.
Hearing this, Wilford's expression darkened slightly.
He rubbed the gemstone ring on his hand and said flatly, "I'll go find her myself tomorrow. If that doesn't work, either she dies, or she makes Delmar return to normal."
After speaking, he glanced at Delmar, who was tied to the bed.
Delmar had been given a sedative and was now asleep.
Just then, a family elder walked in. "Wilford, Garth is here."
Wilford got up and went out.
Arriving at the main hall, Garth had already been seated. Seeing Wilford arrive, he stood up and raised his hand in greeting. "Wilford."
Wilford smiled. "Garth."
The two sat down.
Wilford poured Garth a cup of coffee and asked with a light smile, "Have you thought about what I asked for?"
Hearing this, Garth sighed repeatedly. "To be honest, Wilford, that's exactly why I'm here."
"You're asking for thirty percent of the shares right off the bat. Aren't you making things difficult for me? I don't have that many shares to begin with. If I give them all to you, what am I supposed to do?"
The Hope family had opened a tech company called Summit Technologies Group, mainly responsible for developing advanced military technology. Now, much of the technology used by the Northern Ice Empire military was even purchased from Summit Technologies Group.
So Summit Technologies Group was essentially the Hope family's main source of income. The entire Hope family relied on Summit Technologies Group's profits to live.
Two months ago, Garth received an audio file sent by Wilford.
The content of the file was from four years ago—his participation in the raid on the Powell family.
Garth never expected that after all these years, when he'd almost forgotten about it, this recording would suddenly surface. His spine went cold at the time.
If the Powell family found out about this recording...
Would he even survive?
After two months of back and forth, Garth wanted Wilford to destroy the evidence, but Wilford's terms remained the same: thirty percent of Summit Technologies Group's shares, not a penny less.
Giving Wilford thirty percent of Summit Technologies Group's shares was equivalent to handing over a third of the entire Hope family to Wilford.
Wilford's appetite was too big!
Garth was unwilling and said, "Wilford, ten percent of Summit Technologies Group's shares—that's my final offer."
Wilford just laughed.
"Ten percent? Are you trying to brush off a beggar?"
He coldly reminded him, "When it comes to life and death, do a few shares really matter? And if I send this recording to Gwyneth, think about what will happen to you. You won't even have your life then. What good would shares be to you?"
Hearing this, Garth's expression darkened.
He held back and said patiently, "Wilford, let me be straight with you. Right now, a large portion of Summit Technologies Group's shares aren't even in my hands. I don't have enough shares to give you that much."
Wilford frowned slightly. "You're the head of the Hope family now. If the Summit Technologies Group shares aren't in your hands, whose hands are they in?"
Garth squeezed his palms. "Kennedy's."
After Kennedy's father Eldridge died, Garth discovered that Eldridge had transferred all his shares to Kennedy before his death. It was a substantial amount, even more than his own.
If he hadn't later bought some shares from minor shareholders, his share percentage would still be less than Kennedy's.
Hearing this, Wilford pondered for a moment, a hint of malice appearing in his eyes.
"Kennedy? Her father's already dead, and she's useless. Taking shares from her should be easy enough, right?"
Garth looked at Wilford. "Give me a little more time. I'll find a way to get the shares from her."
"I'll give you half a month at most," Wilford said.
Garth said nothing and got up to leave.
Outside the Puckett family castle, Garth turned back and glared resentfully at the gate.
That damn Wilford.
——
Isabella took time off and returned to the Powell family castle.
"Ms. Isabella Powell."
Knox hadn't seen her in a long time and looked delighted to see her return.
"Long time no see, Knox."
Isabella had come back once before, but Knox had been out on business at the time, so they hadn't met.
Knox smiled broadly. "Ms. Isabella Powell, how are your studies? Are you doing well at Radiant University?"
"Pretty good," Isabella said with a smile.
"That's good." Knox said, "Ms. Gwyneth Powell has missed you very much while you've been away studying. But she's been so busy with official duties that she hasn't had time to visit you. Come back whenever you have time."
"Is she inside?" Isabella asked.
"Yes, though she's meeting with someone about business. You can go right in."
Isabella nodded and walked inside.
Just as she reached the council hall entrance, she ran into someone coming out—probably the person meeting with Gwyneth.
"Ansley? Why are you back?"
Seeing Isabella, Gwyneth's face lit up with joy, her whole demeanor becoming much more gentle.
"I took a day off to come see you," Isabella said, walking toward Gwyneth.
Gwyneth took her hand and looked Isabella over. "Why have you lost weight? Is the food at Radiant University not good?"
"No, I'm probably just tired from doing experiments," Isabella said. "Lab credits are hard to earn. You need 120 points to complete the course."
"That does sound exhausting." Gwyneth pinched Isabella's cheek affectionately. "I'll have the kitchen make your favorite dishes later. You need to eat well."
Isabella smiled. "That sounds great."
"By the way, there's something I want to ask you." Isabella's expression became slightly more serious.
Seeing her expression, Gwyneth thought it must be something important. "What is it?"
"After our Powell family castle was ransacked back then, were we also attacked by other families working together?"
Actually, Isabella had come back today mainly to get clarity on this matter.
Gwyneth had no intention of hiding it. She nodded. "That's right."
"We did face wave after wave of attacks. They were indeed carried out by people from the other forty-two families. Many of them probably had old grudges against the Powell family."
"But I wasn't there at the time—I hadn't returned yet. According to the elders, they stole various treasures from the Powell family and killed some people."
"Did you track them down afterward?" Isabella asked.
Gwyneth shook her head. "No."
"Because I didn't know exactly who was involved. And the Powell family castle was already in chaos at the time. Those people took advantage of the situation and left no traces. There was no way to investigate."
"Ansley, why are you asking about this?" Gwyneth looked at her puzzled.
"Nothing much. I just heard people at Radiant University talking about it, so I wanted to confirm."
Gwyneth didn't suspect anything. She ruffled Isabella's hair and asked about Isabella's situation at Radiant University.
Isabella told her everything.