Chapter 52

From a distance, Samuel couldn't catch what they were saying, but he saw the whole group kneeling before Louis.

Samuel flopped down on the ground, totally fed up.

"Dammit, Tony, you jerk! Give me my money back! How do you even sleep at night?" Samuel cursed, feeling completely miserable.

Meanwhile, Louis acted like he didn't recognize Tony. He asked, "Do we know each other? What's going on?"

Tony quickly replied, "You must have forgotten! We were in the same room at Unity Medical Center. You even rubbed my face into the ground. Remember now?"

"Oh, I do recall something like that," Louis said, nodding like he just remembered. "Do you need something from me? If not, I gotta go. I need to find a job."

"No, no, we just wanted to say hello," Tony said, trying to be as polite and obedient as possible.

"Can I go now? I'm in a rush," Louis asked with a hint of amusement.

"Of course, do you need a ride? A Rolls-Royce Phantom or a Bentley Bentayga, your choice!" Tony bowed so low his head nearly touched his toes.

"No need, I can get back on my own," Louis said, shoving his hands into his pockets and swaggering away.

"Tony, what do we do now?" one of his men asked, unable to hide his frustration. They had come for a fight but ended up kneeling.

"Let's go find Samuel! How dare he to scam me!" Tony stormed off toward Samuel's location, furious. He was determined to get compensation for his "emotional distress," or his reputation would be ruined.

In the hospital corridor, Samuel, Arnold, Jonathan, and Isabella, the main members of the Brown family, were causing a scene outside Anna's office.

"Anna, how can you sit here? You're a disgrace to our family!" Samuel started, his usually punchable face even more contorted.

Arnold followed, his voice like nails on a chalkboard: "Exactly! You gave up being the CEO of the family company to be a doctor? Are you out of your mind?"

Jonathan sneered, "She's doing it on purpose to embarrass us! This is her revenge!"

Isabella pretended to be heartbroken. "Anna, how could you do this to us? We're family! How can you face your late grandfather?"

They surrounded Anna, their words like sharp knives stabbing at her heart.

Anna took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. She knew they were here to cause trouble.

"I don't need to explain myself to you," Anna said firmly, her voice steady. "I'm a doctor. My duty is to save lives. I have no interest in the family business."

"No interest? You're ungrateful!" Samuel shouted. "Are you trying to take over the family assets?"

"Exactly! You self-seeker!" Arnold echoed.

"Are you planning to transfer the family assets to your useless husband?" Jonathan sneered

."You... you are ridiculous!" Anna trembled with anger. She couldn't believe how they twisted the truth.

At that moment, the office door opened, and Louis walked in. He took in the scene, his brow furrowing briefly before he regained his composure.

"What's going on here?" Louis's voice was cold, like a drawn sword, instantly freezing the atmosphere.

"Louis? Perfect timing!" Samuel exclaimed.

"Stop making a scene," Louis interrupted. "I just know you embezzled twenty million dollars from the Dragon Group's project funds."

"What?" Samuel and the others turned pale.

"You're lying!" Samuel tried to stay calm. "We would never embezzle the Dragon Group's funds."

"You know the truth," Louis sneered. "I've already notified the authorities. They'll be here soon."

"Don't you dare!" Samuel was furious. "You're framing us!"

"Framing?" Louis laughed. "You overestimate yourselves. I'm just doing what needs to be done."

"Louis, don't get cocky!" Isabella screamed. "Do you think this will bring us down? Dream on!"

"I'm not trying to bring you down," Louis said calmly. "I just want you to understand that actions have consequences."

"You..." Isabella started, but Samuel stopped her.

"Louis, what do you want?" Samuel asked through gritted teeth.

"It's simple," Louis said. "Return the embezzled funds, and I'll pretend this never happened."

"Impossible!" Samuel refused. "We don't have that kind of money!"

"Then there's nothing I can do," Louis shrugged. "Prepare to be sued by the Dragon Group."

"You..." Samuel and the others were speechless with rage. They didn't expect Louis to be so ruthless.

Just then, a group of uniformed officers entered. "Which one of you is Samuel Brown?" the leader asked.

"I... I am," Samuel stammered.

"We received a report that you embezzled the Dragon Group's project funds. Please come with us."

"No... I didn't..." Samuel tried to argue, but the officers took him away.

Arnold, Jonathan, and Isabella were also taken away.

In the office, only Anna and Louis remained.

"They're still my family..." Anna hesitated for a moment and said.

"Family?" Louis scoffed. "Do they treat you like family? They see you as a cash cow."

Anna was silent. She knew Louis was right.

"Don't think too much about it," Louis comforted. "It's all over now."

"Okay," Anna nodded. She knew that from today, her ties with the Brown family were completely severed.

Outside the hospital, Harper was anxiously waiting for news.

When she saw Samuel and the others being led out, Harper was stunned.

"What... what is going on?" Harper asked, her voice trembling.

"Grandma, save me! Save me!" Samuel cried out, seeing Harper as his last hope.

"You... you..." Harper was shaking with anger.

"We... we embezzled funds from the Dragon Group's project..." Samuel said, his face full of despair.

Harper nearly fainted.

"Grandma, we had no choice! We..." Samuel tried to explain, but Harper cut him off.

"Enough! You idiots!" Harper shouted. "You're dragging the Brown family straight to hell!"

"Mom, you have to save us! We don't want to go to jail!" Arnold cried out.

"Save you? With what? You embezzled public funds! Where are we supposed to get that kind of money?" Harper said in despair.

"Mom, you must have a way! Please, go beg Louis to let us off!" Jonathan pleaded.

"Yes, Mom! Please, go ask Louis. He'll listen to you!" Isabella chimed in.

Harper sighed bitterly. Now they wanted her to beg Louis?

"Grandma, please try! For us, please go ask him!" Samuel and the others begged.

Harper sighed again, knowing she had no choice but to swallow her pride and ask Louis for help.

Harper went to the hospital and found Anna.

"Anna, please, Grandma is begging you. Go ask Louis to let your uncles and aunts off!" Harper pleaded.

"Grandma, it's not that I don't want to help them, but they brought this on themselves," Anna said helplessly.

"I know, I know they did wrong, but they're still your family! Can you really watch them go to jail?" Harper cried.

"Grandma, please don't cry, I..." Anna's heart softened. She still cared about family. She looked at Louis.

Louis remained silent, staring at Harper.

"Louis, what will it take for you to get the Dragon Group to drop the lawsuit?" Harper asked, her face full of desperation.

"That's simple," Louis replied calmly. "Just return the embezzled funds, and I'm confident the Dragon Group will drop the legal action. However, once the funds are returned, the project will no longer be managed by the Brown Group."

Hearing his words, Harper felt faint and had to steady herself on a chair.

"Grandma, will you return the embezzled funds or not?" Louis's tone was calm, but it made Harper shiver.

"Fine, fine, I'll return the money as soon as possible," Harper said, looking deeply at Louis, feeling humiliated.

"How soon? I'm impatient and can't wait long," Louis said, shaking his head with a look of exasperation.

"One hour, is that soon enough?" Harper's mouth twitched as she spoke, then she turned and left, her back looking like that of a refugee fleeing disaster.

"Am I too cruel? I feel like a villain," Louis asked, seeing Anna's conflicted expression.

Anna struggled for a moment, then shook her head. "No, they brought this on themselves."

Anna knew that if Louis couldn't cover the embezzled funds, the Dragon Group would definitely sue him, and Louis would be in trouble.

Louis letting the Dragon Group not sue the family was already a big concession.

After returning home, Harper sold everything she could, including several profitable businesses at low prices. She managed to cover the project funds' shortfall within the hour Louis had given.

However, the Brown Group was severely weakened. Not only was the crisis not averted, but the three-hundred-million-dollar project they had just secured from Louis was also taken back.

The Brown Group was once again on the brink of bankruptcy.

"Grandma, I was beaten up like this because of that loser! He bribed Tony and his men to do this to me!" Samuel wailed from his hospital bed, surrounded by Harper and other family members, their faces dark with anger.

Louis's ruthless actions in taking back the project had turned the family's disdain for him into hatred. They wanted to tear him apart.

Samuel was in a miserable state, with multiple fractures.

"Mom, Samuel was bullied by Louis. You can't just stand by!" Isabella cried, wiping her tears.

"Since Louis dares to attack Samuel, he'll definitely come after us. It's been over three years, and his heart is still so vicious!" Jonathan added, fanning the flames.

"Samuel, how can you be sure it was Louis who did this? Do you have any evidence?" Harper asked, her face stern.

"I'm the evidence! I saw Tony kneeling to him. He must be behind this," Samuel said through gritted teeth, his expression full of hatred.

Evidence? How could he have evidence? He had hired the men, but he was the one who got beaten.

He only had evidence of his own attempt to harm Louis.

Although Samuel didn't know why Tony knelt to Louis and then turned on him, he was determined to pin the blame on Louis to cover up the truth.

"Mom, if we don't push back, we'll be completely at this loser's mercy. You need to decide now!" Jonathan urged.

Harper took a deep breath and said viciously, "Louis, you've gone too far. Don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Mom, do you have a plan?" The family members saw the resolute look on Harper's face and quickly asked, their eyes filled with hope.

"Jonathan, prepare a generous gift. We're going to the Dragon Group," Harper said coldly, her tone like issuing a battle command.

"The Dragon Group?"

"Grandma, are you going to the Dragon Group yourself?"

The family members were stunned, looking at each other, unsure of what Harper intended to do.