Leo’s words made Bruno pause for a moment, but he didn’t turn around, nor did he dare to. After the incident in the cold storage, he had a new understanding of Leo’s strength, fearing that Leo might actually kill him in anger.
Since the plan of turning the tables didn’t succeed, Bruno decided to wait for another opportunity. He deeply realized that the battle with Leo would be prolonged.
After Bruno left, Teresa shifted her gaze to Sophia, asking in a stern tone, “Sophia, how did things go with the loan and the equity?”
The loan matter was handled by Leo, and the reason the old Mrs. Henley asked Sophia instead of Leo was to subtly remind Leo that he had no status here.
Sophia didn’t know how to answer for a moment. Although the funds were in place, and Azure Financial had made a move, the final result was still pending.
Seeing Sophia’s silence, Teresa snorted and continued, “Now that things have come to this, I can’t let Sophia’s cosmetic company fall into someone else’s hands. So, resign from the position of general manager. The cosmetic company will be fully taken over by the group.”
Sophia had personally built Sophia’s Cosmetics, and she couldn’t bear to hand it over. Just as she was about to reveal Leo borrowing a billion, a member of the Henley family suddenly exclaimed, “Quick, look at the stock market of Sophia’s Cosmetics, something big is happening!”
Everyone was interested in everything related to Sophia’s Cosmetics. They quickly took out their phones and opened the stock market app.
“Oh my, a powerful capital flow is boosting the stock, and the situation on the market has completely reversed!”
“The aggressive takeover attempt is clearly weakening. How is this possible? Who injected such a massive amount of funds!?”
“This operation is just too amazing. I haven’t seen anything like it in years; it must be a master at work.”
The old Mrs. Henley also took out her phone and looked at it. The more she looked, the more splendid the expression on her face became.
In just a few minutes, looking at the market, it seemed the aggressive takeover had been completely defeated.
Leo and Sophia remained calm because Azure Financial had intervened, and this result was expected.
Sophia was delighted that Azure Financial’s intervention came just in time. If it had been any later, she wouldn’t know how to explain to the old Mrs. Henley and the others. Just saying Leo succeeded to borrow a billion wouldn’t be believable.
Now, the irrefutable truth was right in front of them.
The old Mrs. Henley took a deep breath, lifted her gaze from the phone screen, looked at Leo, and then turned to Sophia. “Sophia, what exactly is going on?”
“Grandma, Leo has lived up to expectations. He mortgaged twenty percent of the assets of the group company at Wampole Bank and borrowed a billion. Not only that, Leo also hired a professional trader from Azure Financial to help win this self-defense counterattack.”
Sophia spoke with pride and confidence. The victory of Sophia’s Cosmetics made her hold her head high in front of the family.
The old Mrs. Henley could hardly believe what Sophia said. “Sophia, don’t fool Grandma. Did Leo really borrow a billion from Wampole Bank and get help from Azure Financial?”
“Grandma, it’s absolutely true, without a word of falsehood. Today’s market situation is evidence. Moreover, you can have someone investigate the truth of the matter.” Sophia was resolute.
The Henley family members were all in shock. On one hand, they hadn’t expected Sophia’s Cosmetics to win, and on the other hand, they never imagined that this son-in-law they had always considered useless had actually borrowed a billion.
The gaze of everyone from the Henley family unconsciously shifted to Leo. They were eager to ask Leo how he managed to pull it off.
After a brief silence, the old Mrs. Henley voiced the question that lingered in everyone’s minds, “Leo, how did you manage to borrow a billion?”
“I know August Browne,” Leo replied with a calm expression.
This answer initially stunned the Henley family members, but soon mocking remarks erupted.
“Listen to this, the useless son-in-law is bragging again. What’s the status of August from Azure Cloud Group? Even Grandma might not get to meet him, and Leo claims to know August. That’s quite a stretch.”
“Yeah, I guess Wampole Bank granted Leo a ten-billion loan out of respect for our Henley Group’s face. In plain terms, anyone could have borrowed a billion; Leo just did a courier job.”
“The reason Sophia’s cosmetics company won is because of the Henley group, thanks to Grandma’s help. It has nothing to do with Leo, who’s widely known as a waste.”
Hearing the Henley family distorting the truth, Sophia was infuriated and wanted to argue, but Leo walked over, taking her hand. “Sophia, remember, it’s pointless to wake up someone pretending to sleep. Let’s go back to Langstel.”
As Leo was about to leave with Sophia, Teresa suddenly banged her cane on the ground and sternly commanded, “Leo, Sophia, sit down! The meeting is not over!”
In Teresa’s eyes, no one was allowed to leave without her permission. Leaving without respect for her was out of the question.
“Since you all have no trust in me and Sophia, staying here has no meaning. Sophia, let’s go!” Leo dropped these words, pulling Sophia out of the meeting room.
The old Mrs. Henley was so angry that she slapped the table and roared, “Leo, you scoundrel, I will kick you out of the Henley family sooner or later!”
…
Spring Breeze Tower, General Manager’s Office.
Patrick Gregory lay on the sofa in a dejected manner, wearing an expression of defeat. Muttering to himself, he said, “How could this happen? Such a perfect plan, and it still failed!”
After Leo exposed Bruno and left the meeting room, Bruno rushed to Patrick’s office.
“Mr. Gregory, what if we inject more funds and try to reclaim the shares?” Bruno, not well-versed in finance matters, suggested without much understanding.
“Reclaim my ass! Do you even know what one billion means? And with that skilled trader at the helm, even if you throw in more money, it’s like throwing money into a bottomless pit!” Patrick, incensed by Bruno’s foolish words, erupted in anger.
Patrick sprang up from the sofa, pointing at Bruno, scolding, “Bruno, didn’t you vow Leo, that waste, couldn’t possibly borrow a billion? What do you say now? I joined forces with other companies to manipulate the stock market, and now we’ve endured so many losses, all because of you. You need to compensate!”
Bruno found it amusing. The idea was Patrick’s, and now that it failed, he was asking Bruno to compensate? This guy must be crazy.
“Mr. Gregory, as you know, I don’t hold power in Henley Group right now, and I don’t have money.” Bruno shrugged indifferently.
Of course, Patrick didn’t expect Bruno to cover his losses. It was just a fit of anger.