Sophia was already married, so as far as Fanny was concerned, the betrothal gifts were rightfully hers.
“Bruno, quickly have someone bring out the betrothal gifts. These are my things, I haven’t seen them for a long time,” Fanny eagerly said to Bruno.
Bruno nodded and led a few people to move the betrothal gifts into the living room.
Gold jewelry, jade ornaments, and $7. 99 million in cash. Seeing this, many present had envy in their eyes, thinking how great it would be if this betrothal gift belonged to them.
Fanny eagerly put the gold bracelet on her wrist, the golden phoenix hairpin in her hair, looking entirely pleased with herself.
“I wonder when the person who betrothed me with this betrothal gift will come to marry me. I can’t wait,” Fanny said, full of anticipation.
After discussing the arrangements for The old Mrs. Henley’s funeral, the Henley family dispersed.
Bruno’s family didn’t leave because he now considered himself the acting chairman and naturally had the right to stay at the Henley Residence.
The next day, The old Mrs. Henley’s formal memorial was set up at the Henley Residence. Many who had heard about this came to the Henley Residence to bid The old Mrs. Henley farewell.
In public, Bruno’s performance was as excellent as it was yesterday, his eyes swollen, appearing extremely sorrowful.
When outsiders inquired about The old Mrs. Henley’s cause of death, Bruno repeated, “Sudden cerebral hemorrhage.”
Although outsiders found this event sudden, given The old Mrs. Henley’s age, such an accident was entirely possible.
On the day of The old Mrs. Henley’s cremation, Bruno encountered a headache.
The crematorium had different levels of furnaces. Given The old Mrs. Henley’s status, the highest level had to be chosen. However, because Bruno had not made a reservation in advance, The old Mrs. Henley’s body had to be left to wait along with a group of anxious people.
“What should we do? If we can’t cremate her today, we’ll miss the auspicious day. Mr. Bruno, think of something quickly,” someone said.
“Yes, Bruno, as the head of the Henley family now, don’t they give you any face?” another person added.
Bruno had already negotiated with the crematorium staff, but even the highest level furnaces today were not for just anyone. His request to jump the queue was directly refused by the crematorium’s management.
“If you go in and then come out like this, I heard it will bring bad luck.”
“Do you think maybe it’s heaven’s will… that grandmother might not want to be cremated?” someone speculated.
The discussions made Bruno shiver. If The old Mrs. Henley was to pretend to be dead, he would be in trouble, as he was the one who had caused her death.
“I’ll try again,” Bruno said, steeling himself.
Upon arriving at the director’s office, Mr. Wilfred, upon seeing Bruno, impatiently said, “I’ve already told you, there’s no way you can jump the queue. Whether you’re from the Henley family or not, these are the rules!”
“Mr. Wilfred, we’re all here. Please help arrange this. If you can help, I will definitely not mistreat you,” Bruno said, trying to appear sincere.
“Get lost. Are you trying to bribe me? Don’t you go and find out who I am!” Mr. Wilfred said, looking righteous.
Under normal circumstances, he would have been willing to offer a backdoor entrance. But today, the highest-level cremation furnaces were reserved for people with connections and influence. If he broke the rules in this situation and those important people found out, he, as the director, would be in big trouble.
Seeing his resolute attitude, Bruno nearly gritted his teeth to bits.
How could he explain to the relatives of the Henley family? He was the head of the Henley family now. If he couldn’t handle such a small matter, how could those relatives trust him to manage the entire group?
Suddenly, Leo appeared in the office.
“Leo, what are you doing here? Didn’t I warn you not to attend grandmother’s funeral? Get out!” Bruno said sharply.
While Bruno was losing his temper, Mr. Wilfred immediately stood up and walked up to Leo, looking very accommodating, saying, “You must be Mr. Bloomer. Please, have a seat!”
In fact, Mr. Wilfred didn’t know Leo, but yesterday afternoon, before leaving work, his immediate superior had sent Leo’s photo via Facebook and repeatedly instructed that if the person in the photo came to the crematorium, he must be received at the highest standard.
“Mr. Wilfred, right? I’d like you to do me aa favor,” Leo said with a smile.
“No problem, Mr. Bloomer. Please, go ahead,” Mr. Wilfred quickly responded.
Bruno was left speechless as he witnessed this scene. Just a moment ago, Mr. Wilfred had ordered him to leave, but now he was treating Leo, the in-law, with such deference, as if Leo were his direct superior.
How could this be possible?
“Leo, what are you up to again?” Bruno demanded.
“Are you blind? What you can’t accomplish, I’ve done for you,” Leo replied coldly.
“Nonsense! If I can’t handle something, how could you possibly manage it?” Bruno’s expression turned fierce.
In Bruno’s mind, as the head of the Henley family, his status was far superior to Leo’s. How could there be something he couldn’t do, but Leo could?
Leo sneered, “Bruno, are you blind? Didn’t you see Mr. Wilfred making arrangements just now?”
This retort left Bruno at a loss for words. Even if he didn’t admit it, the fact remained that Mr. Wilfred had shown great respect to Leo, while treating Bruno with indifference.
As Bruno pondered, he realized something and sneered, “Leo, this is the Browne family helping you, isn’t it? How long do you think you can be arrogant? Once the Browne family has squeezed out your usefulness, do you think you can still be proud?”
“You guessed right. Indeed, the Browne family helped me. My influence is something you can’t even imagine in your lifetime,” Leo coldly laughed and left the office.
Indeed, it was the Browne family who had arranged this matter. The condition was straightforward: Leo had to help their friend, Andy Rossetti, in return.
When Bruno returned to the Henley family, everyone admired him greatly.
“Bruno, I told you, how could such a small matter possibly stump you? Mr. Wilfred has just appeared and said he will take care of it quickly,” someone said.
“As expected of our Henley Group’s chairman, Mr. Bruno, you’re amazing!”
“With someone as capable as Bruno leading us, the Henley family and Henley Group will surely ascend to the ranks of the first-class Langstel families!”