When both Kasper and Teddie had sat down, they turned their eyes to Sylvie.
Sylvie smiled faintly and said, “What do you all want from me?”
She spoke by addressing their personal titles as she thought since they had come to see her, they surely had to come to ask her to speak for them in front of Marley and ask for mercy.
Both of them were stunned when they heard Sylvie’s calling. Teddie was embarrassed and after a pause, he said, “Sylvie, we know that we have done something wrong in the past and that we have responsibility that we cannot shirk when the company is in crisis. But Marley is so overbearing that he wants us to withdraw from the director board, yet, we can’t accept the low purchase price!”
Sylvie nodded while listening to Teddie’s words. “Do both uncles think that the purchase price is low?”
“That’s right!” Kasper said too.
“What do you all mean to come to see me today?” Sylvie went straight to the point.
“We wouldn’t withdraw from the director board!”
“Oh!” Sylvie just nodded slightly and looked at them with a faint smile on her face.
Kasper said again, “The Hughes Group belongs to the Hughes family but not to Marley! Thinking back that three of us endured hardship and made today’s achievement, yet, he just gives us few dozens of millions to buy our shares. He is so overbearing!”
“What a heartless beast! Even Aiden has never treated us like this! He is so ruthless to his uncles!” Teddie followed cursing after him.
Sylvie frowned and laughed gently, “Teddie, isn’t that a bit too much? You don’t act like an elder and how can your juniors respect you? To be honest, I don’t think Marley is at fault! I ask you, who is the one that has helped the outsiders to deal with the Hughes Group and leaking the secrets of our bids to the outsiders? If I hadn’t analyzed the reports of those failed bids yesterday, I wouldn’t have been able to see the problem! And today I’d like to ask you why we fail every time when we are so far ahead of our competitors in this industry? And how do you, who is in charge of the bidding, sell our bids to our rivals?”
“What? Sylvie, don’t slander me!” Teddie stood up in an instant and shouted at Sylvie, “You are telling me nonsense! I’m a member of the Hughes Group, how can I sell the trade secrets?”
“Then I have to ask you!” Sylvie was not panicked and her eyes were sternly looking at Teddie. “Teddie, then can you analyze the reasons for our several failed bids within the six months?”
“No wonder you and him are husband and wife! And you are even more ruthless than him!” Teddie stood up suddenly as he was annoyed by Sylvie’s accusation. It was true that he had sold the trade secrets, but he had done it very secretly, how could she know it?
“Teddie, I am sitting here today and calling you uncle for the sake of my parents-in-laws and Marley. It is normal for me to be cruel to you because we are not related by blood. And you as my father-in-law’s brother, what is inside your heart? You want to frame him when he is sick and hospitalized instead of doing your best to defend the Hughes Group. Is your heart worse than that of a wolf?”
“Sylvie Mccarthy…” Teddie shouted.
Sylvie glanced at him nonchalantly and interrupted him calmly, “Do you think it’s unfair for Marley to do this to you? Let me ask you, how can your shares have fallen from 25 percent to 11 percent in the past 20 years? Over the years, with the Hughes Group’s achievements, your annual dividends are enough for you to live a life of luxury. But you go to the casino in Macau every month, which causes you to lose all your family’s belongings, and if my father-in-law hadn’t always put up with you, you would have been sleeping on the streets today!”
“You a bad girl!” Teddie’s face became furious and pale.
Outside the conference hall, no one expected that Aiden and his wife would suddenly come to the company. The secretary’s office received a call from the receptionist downstairs, saying that the chairman had come to the company with his wife!
Few of them didn’t believe it in the beginning as to why he suddenly came today since he had been hospitalized for a heart attack and had not come to the company for a long time.
However, Alia, Maisy and Daria were stunned at the moment they saw Aiden as it turned out that he had really come and three of them rushed to welcome him. “Chairman and Madam, what brings you here?”‘
“Where is your president?” Aiden asked first.
“The president has gone out for inspection!”
“The other two Mr. Hughes are here, right?” Aiden’s face was calm as he asked in a deep voice.
He looked quite calm at the moment and his face was flushed. It was not as pale as it had been in the beginning but much better than before when he had not been hospitalized to convalesce.
“Yes, the two Mr. Hughes came to see Ms. Mccarthy and they are now in the conference room now! Do you want to see them, Chairman?”
“No need!” Aiden said. “Go ahead with your stuff!”
“Yes!”
With the help of Miriam, he then came to the door of the conference room and stood there quietly. Without pushing the door in, the couple just stood there silently.
Alia, Maisy and Daria looked at each other before turning their eyes towards the direction of the conference room with their own thoughts in their minds.
Miriam, who was worried about her husband’s health, kept her hand on his arm and held it tightly. Aiden only turned his head and looked at his wife, indicating her not to speak and he was fine!
They heard the conversation inside where their own daughter-in-law’s calm voice was permeated with a composure and calmness that were not befitting her age.
“I have analyzed the case of the bid but I have not investigated some other things. Teddie, think about what if I find any traces… Oh yes! How is the commercial crime of our country treated? I remember that Article 219 of the Criminal Law commits one of the following infringement of trade secrets that says someone who causes heavy losses to the right holder of the trade secrets shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, together with being punished by a fine or a fine alone. If a particularly serious consequence is caused, the person shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than three years and not more than seven years, and shall be liable to a fine: first, if he obtains the trade secrets of the right holder by theft, inducement, coercion or other improper means. Second, if he discloses, uses or allows others to use the trade secrets of the right holder acquired by the means of the preceding subparagraph. Third, in violation of the agreement or the requirements of the right holder regarding the preservation of trade secrets, disclosing, using or allowing others to use the trade secrets in their possession. If a person acquires, uses or discloses the trade secrets of another person under the situation that knowing or should know the acts listed in the preceding subparagraph, he shall be regarded as infringing the trade secrets…”
Without taking any paper, she could easily say the legal provision and for an instant, Teddie’s face turned miserable pale with sweat flowing out of his forehead and at the same time, his eyes showed a glimpse of sinister and panic. “What… what do you mean?”
Sylvie smiled gently, “Of course, I’m just guessing. Teddie, since you are a member of the Hughes family, Marley won’t repay you in such the same way that you treat him! He would only repay his grievances with virtue, just like my father-in-law, who would rather suffer himself than let others get hurt. But everyone has limits, don’t bully people too much, and if you break someone’s heart, even the God couldn’t save you!”
“You don’t need to belittle me if you want to flaunt your man. Sylvie, I’m still Marley’s uncle and you are nothing but an illegitimate daughter of a restaurant girl! How dare you tell me what to do in front of me?”
Sylvie didn’t seem to be struck but simply said, “Yes! I don’t need to be reminded by Mr. Hughes that I’m an illegitimate daughter. You know my identity from the beginning, yet, you come to find me, may I ask what do Mr. Hughes want from me?”
“You..” Teddie was blocked speechless.
“Teddie, sit down!” Kasper scolded angrily. After all, he was the eldest of the Hughes family and although he was ill-considered in doing things, he still had some patience. When Teddie heard his elder brother’s rebuke, his heart was raging with anger yet, he still sat down angrily and simply kept his mouth shut.
Kasper glanced at Sylvie and didn’t get angry but he said, “Sylvie, we are also Marley’s uncles, he is making us disgrace if he expels us from the director board! And people will also say that Marley doesn’t know how to behave!”
Sylvie spoke calmly, “Since you know you are still a member of the Hughes family, and since you still consider yourself as Marley’s uncle and my father-in-law’s brother, why did you conspire with outsiders to set up a scheme against the Hughes Group? Isn’t your responsibility that caused the Hughes Group to have today’s situation? Of course my father-in-law and Marley are also responsible for being too indulgent towards you all! Your shares have fallen from 25 percent to 15 percent over the years and my father-in-law has always been buying up your shares one after another over the years because he is afraid that they would fall into the hands of others and he suffers a heart attack as a result. Who among you is really doing your utmost to protect the Hughes Group that you all built together back then? Asking yourself, haven’t you?”
Kasper was dumbfounded by Sylvie’s words and his face was flushed and miserable pale. “Sylvie, it is true that I am indeed to be blamed for what happened in the past and the same goes for Teddie. This is because that we do have some unspeakable concealments!”
A sense of desolation flowed out of her heart when Sylvie looked at him. Thinking of how her father-in-law, Aiden, had repeatedly tolerated and defended his two brothers for the sake of the Hughes Group all these years, but in the end, instead of receiving gratitude, he almost ruined the Hughes Group yet, he even suffered from a heart attack! And with such affection, how did he face today?
“Kasper, I’m talking to you now, neither as the president’s secretary, nor as the Mccarthy family’s second young lady, but just Marley’s wife, do you understand?”
“I understand! Sylvie, tell me, what shall we do in the future if we hand over all our shares at a low price? We have to make a living too!” Kasper heard Sylvie talking about the issues privately which meant that those words wouldn’t be exposed to the outsiders, was there still room for maneuver?
“Everyone has to live, but there is no savior in the world, only one can save oneself!” Sylvie said again indifferently.
“Sylvie, what do you want to say? Just say it directly, I am not stupid either!”
“In this case, I won’t beat around the bush!” Sylvie said calmly again.
“Good! Just say it!”