Chapter 88
Jasper showed up directly at the hospital room, a bit earlier than I'd expected.
On the day I held the shareholders' meeting, he probably thought it wasn't important enough to attend because of Sophia's situation, but now he was rushing over.
"Ms. Wilson, can we have a proper talk?" He still tried to maintain his politeness, with a smile in his eyes that didn't reach them.
I looked down at Oscar, who had just been about to fall asleep, with a hint of impatience in my expression: "Right now is my rest time, and I'm taking care of a patient. Whatever it is, let's talk about it at the office tomorrow."
Jasper fakeed a smile. "But you didn't go to the office yesterday either, Ms. Wilson. You're really hard to figure out. What exactly do you want? What gives you the right to fire both my dad and me? The Brown Group belongs to The Brown Family - what does it have to do with you?"
Oscar had already opened his eyes, and when he looked up at Jasper, his gaze was cold: "Right now is her rest time. Since you're talking about business, you should discuss it during work hours. You're not welcome here. Please leave."
Jasper still had some respect for Oscar: "Mr. Lopez, I don't want to disturb your rest either, but I had no choice..."
Oscar looked at him coldly: "Jasper, get this straight - I'm lying in a hospital right now because of Sophia. These past few days, not a single member of The Brown Family has come to see me, and now you have the nerve to come here and question my fiancée. How dare you? You really think this matter is just going to end like that?"
Jasper quickly softened his attitude: "It's mainly that there's been so much going on these past few days, I really couldn't spare the time. I apologize on Sophia's behalf - she really didn't mean it. Whatever your requirements are, we'll try our best to meet them. She's already in enough trouble, please just let her go."
A wicked smile curved Oscar's lips: "I don't need your apology. As for requirements? I've already handed this over to my lawyer. You'll probably receive a court summons soon. As for compensation, medical expenses are just a very small part of it. You should know what my assets are, what time means to me. Get the money ready, or your dear sister will have charges piling up and might never get out."
Jasper's face went pale. He understood very well that the compensation Oscar was talking about was an amount he simply couldn't come up with right now.
He turned to look at me, struggling to hide his unwillingness as he lowered his attitude: "Ms. Wilson, I really need to talk to you properly. About Emma - I can explain."
I couldn't even be bothered to look at him: "I don't need your explanation. Save that for Emma. If there's nothing else, please close the door on your way out."
Jasper didn't leave. He just stood there. He seemed confused, not understanding how things had gotten to this point.
After a pause, he walked into the room, closed the door, and came straight toward us.
My eyes narrowed slightly, and I instinctively moved in front of Oscar. If he dared make any move, I could kick him flying.
Surprisingly, he didn't make a move. Instead, he lowered his head, his face red as he backed down: "Mr. Lopez, Ms. Wilson, I know Sophia really went too far. She shouldn't have hurt you, and I have no right to plead for her. What I want to discuss now is the Brown Group. Ms. Wilson, the Brown Group started as a small factory that my grandfather opened. From one person, it slowly grew to the publicly listed company it is today, with hundreds of employees - it's three generations of The Brown Family's hard work. We failed to protect it properly; that's our incompetence. Since you own half the shares, you do have decision-making power over the company, but could you please show some mercy? My dad and I can't leave the Brown Group."
I frowned at him: "Since you insist I tell you to your face, I'll be blunt. Your management style has long been out of touch with the market. To get to this point, you've never reflected on your own problems. If I want the company to develop in a healthy way, I have to do things my way. You just need to wait for your year-end dividends to arrive. No matter what you say, I won't let you interfere with management rights again. Of course, I also hope you can hold onto those shares you have."
It was almost the end of the year - I wondered if he'd even have a chance to get this year's dividends.
My threat was pretty naked, and he naturally understood that for him, this threat was deadly.
Oscar waved his hand impatiently: "You can go now. Hurry up and find yourself a good lawyer."
Despair was already showing on Jasper's face: "Mr. Lopez, please consider the decades of friendship between the Lopez family and the Brown Family."
Oscar laughed coldly: "What does the Lopez family's relationship with you have to do with me?"
Jasper looked defeated. As he was about to say something else, Oscar had already pressed the call button by his bed. Soon, a nurse came in and, at his request, asked Jasper to leave immediately.
The room became quiet again. I was surprised: "You're really preparing to sue?"
Oscar nodded at me with a smile: "The day you went to the shareholders' meeting, I called my lawyer. I naturally support you in confronting them. I want them to lose everything. I hope when they look back and realize The Brown Family fell apart because of an adopted daughter, they won't feel regret."
With Oscar, I always believed what he said: "What if they refuse to compensate for Sophia?"
Oscar raised an eyebrow: "They don't get to choose whether they agree or not. If they cooperate, I have legitimate ways to handle this. If they don't cooperate, well, for those underhanded methods, even though I'm not Solstice, I still have some connections."
I couldn't help but smile at him. "You're that capable? I had no idea you'd built up such connections so quickly. Looks like I'll need you to protect me more from now on."
Oscar affectionately tapped my nose: "What are you saying? Have I protected you so little? Weren't the bodyguards you hired introduced by me for you to choose from?"
"Don't tell me they're all your people." I was somewhat surprised. If that were true, no wonder he could accurately know all my movements whenever something happened.
Oscar didn't hide it from me: "Otherwise, what did you think when I agreed three years ago to move back to Lumaria for development? I definitely had to make all the preparations."
Compared to him, my little schemes were nothing: "Is there anything else you're hiding from me?"
Oscar pretended to think seriously: "Actually, when you'd return to Lumaria, what transportation would you take - I found all that out in advance too. Does that count?"
"So there weren't so many coincidences - you had it all arranged from the start?" I pressed my lips together, holding back a smile, and reached out as if to hit him.
He gently caught my falling hand in his palm and brought it to his lips for a light kiss: "This is what I wanted."
His warm lips pressed against the back of my hand, and my face immediately flushed. I tried to pull my hand back, but his grip was strong, not giving me a chance to escape.