Chapter 254 Korbin’s Secret
Branden brought Catherine back to the apartment. Catherine’s pocket started vibrating as soon as they stepped out of the elevator.
It was a ubiquitous vibrating sound, but if one listened carefully, one could notice that the vibration frequency was slightly different.
Only people who received professional training could distinguish it. Catherine knew right away that it was Ronin looking for her, so something urgent must be going on. No sooner had Catherine opened her mouth than Branden proactively asked, “Did you have the key with you?”
Catherine nodded. Branden raised his gaze and looked at her. His cold gaze softened considerably when it fell upon Catherine.
“Sleep early, as you have to wake up early for classes tomorrow.”
Both of them knew in their hearts that Branden would have probably led her to the apartment next door if it weren’t for that vibration sound just now. He was pretty smart. He knew Catherine was up to something but remained calm and showed no sign of it.
Catherine took out the key and opened the door. A slight smile escaped her stunning face. She waved at Branden and turned to go inside the room. Branden also chuckled, feeling quite pleased.
“Not bad. She didn’t even say hello before. At least she waved goodbye now. Isn’t this a kind of progress?” said he inwardly.
As soon as the door was closed, the smile on Catherine’s face disappeared, and it returned to her usual expressionless and indifferent face.
She whipped out her phone from her pocket and placed it next to her ear. Her voice was grim. “Ronin. What’s the matter?”
After watching Catherine leave from outside the door, Branden didn’t return to his apartment according to the plan. Instead, he pressed the button and walked inside the elevator.
As the elevator door closed, Branden’s perfectly chiseled smile disappeared instantly, revealing a cold and ruthless expression on his frigid countenance. He took out his phone from his pants pocket and placed it against his ear.
“It’s me!” His cold and deep voice echoed inside the elevator. Paxton’s cold voice came slowly through the receiver. “Sir, we have intercepted intelligence regarding Korbin. I am waiting for you downstairs.”
Branden knew that this intelligence was not ordinary. Otherwise, Paxton wouldn’t have contacted him right away.
“Okay, I will be there immediately!”
At Audrey’s apartment. After Catherine returned, she locked herself inside her room. She lay crookedly on the bed. It was clear that she had positioned herself to achieve maximum comfort.
Her phone was right next to her pillow. It was still lit up with the screen displaying an ongoing call, and she was talking to none other than Ronin.
“Boss, this is all the information I can currently gather. That old rascal Korbin Swann is quite tough. From what I can tell, he is not a good person at all.”
After Ronin had a fit of venting, he suddenly remembered the relationship between his boss and Korbin. No matter what, Korbin was still his boss’s father, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to say anything disrespectful about her father.
Ronin realized he had said something wrong, so he tried to make some remedy. “Boss, that’s not what I meant. I mean, I don’t even know how to put it…”
Without him saying it, Catherine already knew what Ronin wanted to express. In the eyes of outsiders, the clever and talented young computer genius Ronin may appear to be a simple and unpretentious younger brother in front of her.
Ronin spoke to her without any guard, saying whatever he wanted without hesitation. Catherine’s voice was calm, devoid of emotion, as if she was assessing a stranger.
“You are correct. Korbin is definitely not a good person!”
Upon hearing these words, Ronin couldn’t help but feel relieved. However, for some unknown reason, he felt a tinge of sadness within his heart, which was quite discomforting.
He couldn’t figure out why Korbin was so lucky to have been blessed with such an exceptional daughter as his boss.
“Unfortunately, this foolish old man lacks intelligence. He doesn’t appreciate having such an excellent daughter and has engaged in so much stupid things.
“Seriously, he’s helplessly stupid!” thought he. After hesitating for a moment, Ronin decided to give Catherine a heads-up.
“Boss, even though we might not need to make a move right now, we should still be prepared. If this old guy gets desperate and starts acting out, it could cause trouble.”
Catherine knew what Ronin meant. She stared at the information transmitted by Ronin on the projection in front of her.
She didn’t expect Korbin to embezzle such a large sum of money from the Swann Corporation and invest it in foreign exchange trading.
The foreign exchange market was especially unfavorable this year. Many people had lost a lot of money in speculation. Even big investors like Korbin suffered significant losses. To plug the gap, Korbin used the company’s funds.
Now, the management authority was still in the hands of Korbin, and since Vicente had passed away, it was hard for outsiders to find out about this embezzlement.
However, if Catherine were to win the gambling agreement and ultimately gain control of the company, this matter would be dug up again.
When the time came, either Korbin would have to dig into his own pocket to make up for the loss, or he would face impeachment by the majority shareholders and endure the pains of imprisonment.
That was why he strongly opposed Catherine taking over and refused to let go of his current position as the General Manager of the Swann Corporation. Catherine stared at the number on the document. “It’s a pretty significant amount of money.
“Korbin himself was absolutely unable to plug the gap. “He did not allow me to take over the Swann Corporation because he thought I was unworthy and concerned about my superficial relationship with the Swanns. He feared losing control and ultimately endangering himself if I were to take over the company.
“It’s no wonder that he was so alarmed when he found out about the success of the first phase of our project in collaboration with Mr. David.
“He even sent out his men to silence Leonel.
“After his attempts to silence Leonel failed, he began to probe the extent of my power.
“Regardless of how much he does, it is all in vain.
“The Swann Corporation couldn’t fall into his hands. Considering he is my biological father, I can choose not to pursue criminal charges against him.
“But there’s no way he can keep control of the Swann Corporation for himself, no matter how hard he tries. “I promised Grandpa I would take over the Swann Corporation and not let it fall. So I will keep my promise.
“Anyway, this intelligence has informed me of his determination to acquire the Swann Corporation. I can also make better arrangements accordingly,” said Catherine inwardly.
“Ronin, please contact Joseph and ask him to keep Audrey safe during this period.”
Leonel had just had an incident. To prevent Korbin from becoming desperate and shifting his focus onto the people around Catherine. Catherine needed to be fully prepared for anything.
Ronin knew very well the importance of Audrey to his boss. Audrey was the kindest person besides his boss in the entire Swanns. Moreover, she had a great relationship with his boss. As for her men, Catherine had always been protective. Ronin was well aware of this.
“Boss, rest assured. I will tell Joseph and ensure that Audrey will be safe!”
