Four hours passed-no more, no less. Outside, night had long fallen. The cold was even harsher.
The ountant with the long beard came in to make a report.
"Grand Princess Eleanor, the ounts have been thoroughly reviewed. There are no discrepancies with the numberspared to the ones Lady Carissa has shown us."
"That''s outrageous!" Eleanor smashed another cup, which crashed loudly.
The sound startled Helen awake. she looked at Eleanor with sleepden eyes, bewildered by the fury radiating from thetter.
Eleanor''s voice was filled with rage as she dered, "How dare that vile servant falsify ounts and embezzle Helen and Jessica''s money? I will make sure he is severely punished!"
Carissa released Helen and said, "It''s enough that we''ve settled the ounts. Since Eric is the one at Court to fault, there''s no need for you to get involved, Aunt Eleanor. I''ll have him sent to the Supreme recover all the embezzled funds."Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.
"Carissa!" Eleanor''s tone softened considerably as she sighed. "Jessica is at fault as well, for failing to supervise and not realizing so much money was embezzled. Since Eric is a servant from Ironridge Estate, making this a public scandal would be detrimental to both the Marquis of Ironridge''s family and your cousin-inw.
"How about this? Hand him over to me, and I''ll make sure he returns the money. If he fails to do so, your cousin''s share of the 30% percent will be forfeited, and The entire Gilded Tower will be yours. You''re already aware of the profits The Gilded Tower has made over the years. It will continue to be profitable. You won''t be losing out if you control the entire business, right?"
*Not only are we not at a loss, but we also gain benefits. Carissa smiled. "However, families shouldn''t bicker. I can''t let my cousin-inw suffer alone. Since Jessica manages The Gilded Tower, and the shopkeepers and staff were all appointed by her, it wouldn''t be prudent for us to take over the shop recklessly. We might end up with losses.
Continuing the partnership is also unnecessary. After such an incident, it''s hard to avoid lingering
resentments. Rtives should ideally not go into business together to avoid tearing apart rtionships and harming both families. So, we n to withdraw our shares."
Carissa took out the contract.
"If there were losses, we''d adjust ording to the amount of our investment. However, since the shop is profitable, our share should naturally increase. But as I mentioned earlier, since we are rtives, there''s no need to be so calctive. We''ll just take back our investment and the profits from these years. As for the excess gains, we will forgo them."
Jessica nced at the total on the paper. It was over 260,000 silver coins!
It would be better if Carissa had simply asked for her life!
"No! I disagree!" Jessica''s face turned ashen. "Since it''s a partnership, neither party can decide who gets what unterally!"
"Then, it''s simple." Carissa pushed the ount books aside, and looked up. "We''ll sell the shop. Starting tomorrow, we''ll post notices about the sale. But before we do that, we need to settle how much money we''re each owed. Once the shop sells, we can split the profits seventy-thirty."
Sell the shop?
Fine, Jessica had been hoping for that. The Gilded Tower had a bad reputation. Selling would fetch little.
"Fine, sell it," Jessica said.
Carissa smiled. "It''s settled, then. As for the distribution of profits, would you prefer to have Eric sent to the Supreme Court first, or will
you
advance this amount?"
Helen was stunned. This wasn''t what had been agreed upon when they arrived. Hadn''t it been said that the shop would be given to them?
How had it turned into a sale now? Would they be able to recover their money from selling the shop?
Eleanor''s face was dark with
displeasure. But since sending Eric to the Supreme Court was not an option, the money would have toe from her.
The amount was more than a hundred thousand silver coins.
That was a painful loss.
However, Eleanor had no choice but to grit her teeth and say, "Fetch the banknotes."