Chapter 424 Imprisonment

Chapter 424 Imprisonment

Sophie was terrified when she heard the sirens outside the door. 

Her eyes filled with tears, unable to believe her grandfather would abandon her.

She was the only daughter in the entire Russell family and had always thought she was the sole heir, the one Liam valued the most.

When the police walked in, Sophie felt a ringing in her ears. 

She couldn't comprehend a word they were saying, only staring in shock at Liam, the man who once cherished her and groomed her to be the heir of the Russell family.

Now, he looked down at her with cold indifference, as if she were a stranger.

Sophie suddenly remembered what her assistant had once discovered.

"Ms. Russell, Mr. Russell has close ties with the hospital director."

"Ms. Russell, I found out that Mr. Russell might have had his sperm frozen when he was younger."

At the time, Sophie didn't pay much attention to these findings because Liam had just started gradually handing over the reins of the Russell family to her.

But now she finally understood. Even though Liam had always valued her, she was never his only option.

Liam had always kept a backup plan.

The Russell family was ultimately Liam's. With just one word from him, everything she had could vanish.

It wasn't until she was taken to the police station that Sophie snapped out of her daze and realized her predicament. 

She demanded, "What crime have I committed?"

The officer replied sternly, "The murder case at the Rocky Island Hotel."

She burst into laughter. "Why are you arresting me? What does that have to do with me?"

"Do you think we don't monitor online information? We watched the entire livestream, and psychological experts have analyzed Tessa's statements, confirming she was telling the truth," the officer responded bluntly.

Sophie's smile froze. She retorted coldly, "Do you have any evidence? You're basing this on Tessa's one-sided story? When did the police become so reckless?"

She knew that the livestream had caused too much of a stir. Even if someone wanted to protect her, it wouldn't be easy.

Although Liam said he would find a way to save her, she didn't know when he would take action.

As Sophie was led into the interrogation room, she paused at the door and looked out the window.

The night was deep, with only a sliver of a crescent moon hanging lonely in the sky, and the stars seemed to have hidden away.

The news of Sophie's arrest spread like wildfire throughout Aurora City.

Even though she hadn't been formally sentenced and the evidence wasn't fully conclusive, the charge of indirectly causing Maeve's death had already been pinned on her.

Meanwhile, the Russell Group returned to Liam's control.

His first act upon reentering the company was to issue a statement on behalf of the Russell Group. 

[The Rocky Island incident has no connection to the Russell Group. It appears to be a malicious attempt to frame and slander us. We will provide evidence to prove our innocence.]

This statement immediately thrust both the Russell Group and the Harvey Group into the center of public scrutiny, implying that the Harvey Group was trying to defame the Russell Group to escape its own troubles.

However, the Harvey Group did not respond.

Liam's second move was to announce that despite the cancellation of the engagement between the Russell Group and the Turner Group, the two families remained long-standing allies, and this relationship would not change due to the broken engagement.

The Turner Group also did not respond.

Every hour, Liam's assistant would enter the office to report, "Mr. Russell, there's still no response from the Turner Group."

Liam nodded slightly, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the desk, pondering, 'No response yet?'

Could the Turner Group really be planning to go all out against the Russell Group?

In the tense atmosphere of the negotiation room, Alexander met with the representative from the Summit Group.

"I'm sorry, but the cancellation of this cooperation is due to some personal matters that I can't disclose. However, the Turner Group will ensure that your company receives the compensation it deserves," Alexander said preemptively.

The Summit Group representative hesitated slightly before saying, "Mr. Turner, since you've put it that way, I can only express our regret on behalf of the group."

Alexander signaled to his assistant, who immediately understood and placed three prepared contracts on the negotiation table.

"Your company need not be too disappointed. I'm confident that we will have another opportunity to collaborate soon," Alexander said confidently.

The Summit Group representative felt a bit slighted, thinking Alexander was underestimating their group. 

But hearing Alexander's words, he quickly stood up, extended his hand, and put on a professional business smile. 

"Alright, I'll relay Mr. Turner's words to our boss exactly as you said."

In the complex world of business, everyone knew that if there was still a chance for future cooperation, the current interruption wasn't as simple as it seemed.

The Summit Group representative quickly understood the underlying message.

Alexander stood up gracefully, shook hands with the representative, and said, "Thank you for your understanding."

Around 9:10 AM that morning, the Turner Group issued a statement: [The Turner Group has terminated the tripartite cooperation with the Summit Group and the Russell Group.]

The statement was concise and to the point, filled with official language, essentially saying that due to reasons involving commercial confidentiality, details would not be disclosed.

By the time Liam saw the statement, it was too late to reverse the situation.

He was furious, his eyes bloodshot, and his hand gripping his cane trembled uncontrollably.

Over the years, he had taken great care of his health, almost forgetting what it felt like to be so enraged that he felt dizzy.

"Fine, fine!" Liam closed his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

His trusted aide quickly supported him, helping him to sit down and handing him a cup of coffee. "Mr. Russell, if the Turner Group does this, won't it be a lose-lose situation?"

Liam took a sip of coffee, calmed down a bit, and snorted coldly. "Alexander is willing to hurt himself to take down his enemy. Ruthless."

"You need to go back to the company immediately," Liam said, putting down his cup and suddenly standing up. "No, I'll go with you."

Understanding the gravity of the situation, the aide quickly arranged for a vehicle, and they rushed to the company as fast as possible.

The original contract clearly stipulated the order quantities, with the Russell Group's factories only responsible for a portion of the orders.

Now that the Turner Group had withdrawn, all the remaining orders flooded into the Russell Group's factories.

The key issue was that the Russell Group's factories had no way out.

The contract had clearly stated that if one party breached the agreement, the Russell Group would have to work overtime to fulfill the orders.

The Russell Group couldn't afford to breach the contract like the Turner Group did. 

If they did, the Russell Group would not only suffer huge losses but also gain a bad reputation. If the impact was severe enough, the factories might only go downhill from there.

Liam couldn't allow that to happen.

He didn't rest, holding nearly three hours of continuous meetings. After the meetings, he seemed to have aged significantly.

His aide stood beside him, organizing the meeting notes.

Liam glanced at him, waved his hand, and said, "Don't bother with the notes. None of the suggestions from the meeting are useful."

The aide paused for a moment, then put down his pen.

"Any news from the factory?" Liam asked, exhausted.

The aide nodded quickly. "Yes, the factory manager is extremely anxious, constantly urging the company for a solution."

At that moment, Liam received a phone call. His expression turned serious as he agreed to the meeting.

When he walked into the nearby café, a woman was already waiting in a private room.

After sitting down, the woman stood up and introduced herself, "Liam, I'm from the Harvey family."

"The Harvey family? Wendy's Harvey family?" Liam's eyes filled with caution.

Hestia smiled and shook her head. "No, Gilbert's Harvey family."

"What's the difference?"

"Although the Harvey family has Wendy's shares, my son Gilbert is the one in charge. One day, the entire Harvey family will belong to my son," Hestia said confidently.

She paused and continued, "But it's too early to discuss that now. The key is, I can provide you with the production lines you need."

"You? How can you provide them? Doesn't the Harvey family's business require Gilbert's approval?" Liam asked, puzzled.

Hestia replied softly, "Liam, you just need to sign this contract. Starting tomorrow, these two production lines will be dedicated to producing the products you need."

Liam took the contract and skimmed through it. The contract seemed normal, offering no particular advantage to him.

He looked up at Hestia and asked, "What's your condition?"

"My condition is simple, and I believe it's also your wish. I want Wendy to be utterly ruined, preferably dead."

Liam picked up the pen and signed his name on the contract. "Your wish is mine as well. Just wait, it will happen eventually."

"Thank you," Hestia said, satisfied.