CHAPTER 20
“It’s nice to see you again, Mr Anderson,” Rachel smiled at him, standing in the sitting room of George’s villa. Before heading out, George had told her that he would send Mr Anderson to see her in the afternoon so they could talk.
“It’s good to see you too, Rachel” He remarked and cleared his throat. ‘I am still shocked that you married into this family after everything. I thought you said you would stay away from anyone linked to Imperial Hub Limited.”
Rachel gestured for him to have a seat. “I know it was unexpected. My mother wasn’t pleased with my decision, though she is adjusting now. I did it to gain direct access to the company so I could watch everyone by myself.”
A maid brought a tray of fruits, placed it on a stool beside Mr Anderson and quietly walked out.
“I guessed as much…that you were doing it to get access to the company” Mr Anderson replied before mouthing a ‘thank you’ to her regarding the plate of fruits.
“I’ve managed to attend two conference meetings with George, so I know the face of all the board members now. I guess I can say that I have achieved something so far” Rachel laughed, making him chuckle in return.
“I’m sorry that I had to step back from helping you pursue the case five years ago…” He swallowed a piece of pineapple and placed the cutlery on the plate. “… Back then, I was really terrified when I started receiving those death threats.”
Rachel shook her head slightly “It’s fine. My mother had nothing against you. She understood that you were trying to protect yourself. I hold nothing against you too”
“For all these years, I wondered who could be the person behind the threats and your father’s drug trafficking case, cause obviously, it is the same person” Mr Anderson muttered “Over the years of watching all the board members closely, I’ve had my suspicions”
“Suspicions?…” Rachel scooted to the edge of her chair and leaned closer “Who do you think is behind this? Who did that to my father?”
“I’m not sure of it, and I have no evidence at the moment. I won’t be able to give their names away. But I’ll just let you know that I suspect two people in this company. The second person is someone nobody would believe is capable of doing such. But I’m sorry, I can’t say anything for now until I am sure of everything.”
Rachel sighed. She understood he was trying to be safe. This place, even though it was George’s villa, was not exactly hundred percent safe. There could be a spy maid who was eavesdropping on their conversation. It could be a nanny or anybody at all. She remembered James had mentioned that some board members had believed her father was innocent too.
Fixing her gaze on Mr Anderson who was clearing the remaining fruit on his plate, she whispered “Do you believe some of the board members know my father was innocent?”
He paused for a moment and then nodded in approval “Yes, I remember overhearing some board members talking about this. That Arthur Reeves would never do something like that. You may not know this, but Imperial Hub Limited is actually divided.”
“What do you mean by ‘divided’?”
“The board members are divided, even though we all sit together almost everyday to build the same company. It seems you don’t know, but this company belonged to George’s mother at the beginning -”
“Really?” A surprised Rachel gasped
“Yes. It seems she had a deal with her husband regarding the ownership of the company. Ever since the company started growing after your father was hired, the board members started becoming divided due to greed and power.”
“Can you explain further? I’m not really sure of what you mean”
“Some of the board members are related to Mrs Patricia, they are loyal to her and want her son, George to become the next owner of the company. But there are other board members who out of greed, can see that Morris prefers Judith and James. So they cause strife and unnecessary arguments about who is qualified enough to be the CEO between George and James. All they’re trying to do is win Morris’s favor so they can get more promotions and more money.”
“Hmmm, I see,” Rachel remarked, still shocked by what she just heard.
“The bad thing is that there are just fifteen board members and only four are on Mrs Patricia’s side. That’s me and three others. The rest have been bribed by Judith and are all vying for Morris’s attention. So even though the four of us have suspicions of the real culprit behind your father’s case, we can’t say anything because we are clearly outnumbered.”
Rachel smiled and nodded “I understand the politics that goes on in huge companies like this. I can see Mrs Judith is very desperate to put her son in George’s position. I guess I’ll just have to handle my father’s case alone, it just bugs me that the enemy is so close and yet, I don’t know the person”
“You will be fine, as long as you thread with care and caution” Mr Anderson stated firmly “About Judith, she has no interest in her son. It’s just that James is the only way for her to get power. If he becomes the CEO, she gets the power and fame that comes with being the chairwoman of the company. That’s all she desires. She has no interest in James”
“She’s so mean and despicable” Rachel muttered coldly
“You can say that again.” He responded “There’s a rumor that she and Patricia knew each other in the past, I’m not really sure of the details. But it seems she is determined to get everything that belongs to George’s mom.”
“Really? That’s creepy.” Rachel shivered slightly. For someone to stay that long by your side, just to collect your husband and still waiting for an opportunity to collect your son’s position. Judith was very creepy. “She seems like a dangerous person. She even threatened me the last time we met that George’s victory is going to be for a short time”
“I knew her plan all along…” Mr Anderson replied, glancing at the clock briefly “… I always wondered what Mr Morris saw in her. If you ask me, there is a hidden secret behind their relationship.”
“Hmm…this is getting twisted. I feel the same way about Mrs Patricia’s marriage to him”
“Well, as time goes by, we’ll probably discover the truth. As far as I can remember, Mrs Patricia had been more in love with him than he ever was. She was willing to do anything for him. The biggest mistake she made was willing this company over to him. That is the cause of all this mess.”
“You are actually right”
“Rachel, your father was a good friend of mine and he was a remarkable man. I really admired his work ethic and his desire to improve this company like it was his own.” Mr Anderson voiced out, getting ready to leave “I may not be able to do anything life-changing to get him out of prison, but if you ever need my help for anything at all, I won’t hold back. When I am sure of my suspicions, I’ll let you know what I think”
“Thank you for your help, Mr Anderson”
~~~~~*~~~~~
Morris marched over to the main hallway that led to George’s villa. He had not set his eyes on Rachel Reeves since the first weeks of their marriage. For her to have the audacity to say such a thing to Judith’s face shows she clearly didn’t know her place. Her marriage to George was probably getting to her head, he was going to put her in her place.
On getting to George’s villa, he walked towards the entrance and halted in his steps when he caught sight of Rachel and Mr Anderson talking and walking down the hallway of George’s villa. What was Mr Anderson doing here? What were they talking about so seriously? He couldn’t know for sure.
He marched towards where they stood, making sure to keep an unfriendly expression on his face. Mr Anderson saw him and a look of shock flashed across his face. Rachel saw he was distracted and moved her eyes, following his gaze.
“Mr Morris Scott. Good afternoon sir” Mr Anderson muttered quietly “I was just about to take my leave.” And with that, he walked out of George’s villa, taking long strides, leaving Morris Scott to have some alone time with his daughter-in-law.
“Good afternoon Mr Morris” Rachel rasped, her tone flat. She was not excited to see her husband’s father. “George is not around. I’ll let you know when he gets back” she muttered firmly.
Morris remained silent, staring at her coldly, expecting her to shiver in fear just like everyone did when he came near. Instead, Rachel looked into his eyes with a colder stare, she didn’t even flinch.
“I heard you have been getting on Judith’s nerves continuously” Morris remarked coldly, irritated by her audacity.
“That’s a wrong way to put it” Rachel responded with the same tone he spoke to her. “Your dear mistress is the one who gets on my nerves over and over again, and each time, you’ve turned a blind eye to it.”
“What did you just say?” Morris barked, staring daggers at her, hoping she would take back her words out of fear.
“I said ‘mistress’…” Rachel moved head-on, glaring at him. She hated the way he treated George and his mother. He was not better than Judith in her opinion. So the only reason he came to George’s villa was not to see him, but instead to fight for his annoying lover. “… Everyone calls her that. Why should I be different?”
Morris clenched his jaw so hard it could break. She was fierce and he hated it. Putting her in her place was going to be hard. “I recall her saying that you said I was a stupid man for getting involved with her…”
Rachel laughed. “So she’s not just an angry bird, she’s also a liar. I see you’re fine with her going around, fighting with different people. Both of you fit each other the more I think about it.” She moved a step closer to him, mocking him with her gaze “So you marched all the way here, not to see your son but to defend your annoying lover? That’s very interesting, Mr Morris”
“This is my final warning to you” Morris stated firmly, his frown deepening. “You have less than nine months to stay here. Don’t even for a moment think you will finally be accepted into this family at the end of everything. All you have to do is behave yourself properly till your time here is over and get out of our sight”
“George will not agree”
“Who cares?!!” Morris barked angrily, he was irritated by her persistence. Everyone in this place feared him, who did she think she was? “I believe I have made myself clear. You have been warned.”
Rachel stood quietly, watching as he walked away. Back then, her father had told her about his dear friend who was the owner of Imperial Hub Limited. Dear friend?
With the way he couldn’t wait to get rid of her, she was beginning to doubt Morris also saw her father as his ‘dear’ friend.