Julian’s speech was extremely inciting and inspiring, particularly to the stakeholders in the audience who were drawn to his glamourized promises. In addition, the philanthropists whom he never interacted with were moved by his speech as well. “I don’t think we’ll stand a chance.”
“Where is Justin? He shouldn’t have been eliminated in the first round of internal elections, right?” Jolly said while clapping her hands.
“That’s impossible,” Rachel said as she looked around the candidate seating area, but Justin was nowhere to be found. He was highly regarded by the foundation’s president that he could not be defeated in the first round of internal elections.
Jolly refused to believe it, so she assured, “Perhaps President Connor wants to save his face. Do you think there will be a campaign meeting like this if in any case, Justin is reinstated with all honesty?”
The Foundation Supervisory Committee wronged him because of public opinion in the previous case, so his name was removed. However, Justin should arguably be reinstated once the truth had been revealed.
Rachel felt guilty at the thought of this. After all, it was Jessica who started the trouble and Julian was at the root of it.
“Hey, now that the second one is over, should Justin be next?” Jolly’s remark snapped her out of her reverie. Rachel stared at the stage, feeling perplexed. “What’s going on?”
Jolly patted her hand and said, “What did I say? Justin must’ve been eliminated in the first round of the internal elections! What is going on with the Foundation’s old men?”
Rachel was in disbelief. He was clearly recommended by President Connor, and only a total of five people signed up. Who could be compared to Justin after a thorough evaluation? How could he have been eliminated in the Supervisory Committee’s first round of selection?
She was still in shock when Jolly suddenly grabbed her sleeve, saying, “Chris, look! My dad sent me a message.”
The chat interface with Mr. Carter was displayed on Jolly’s mobile phone screen. Leaving aside the emoticons and stickers they sent to each other, the final sentence caught her eyes: ‘Julian bribed the committees.”
Rachel’s expression instantly changed when she saw that.
“Hey, where are you going?” Jolly wasn’t able to stop Rachel from leaving the venue with her phone in her hand.
When Rachel exited the venue, she immediately made a phone call standing in the corridor near the entrance. “Mr. Carter, it’s me.”
“Oh, Chris,” Richard responded, thereafter adding, “You saw the message I sent to Jolly. didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I saw it.” She then looked around to ensure no one was around before lowering her voice and asked, “Did Julian really bribe the committee? Is this true?”
“I wouldn’t have told Jolly if it’s not true.”
“How did you find out?” A total of seven people took part in the Supervisory Committee’s inspection round. As long as three of them did not vote for Justin, he would be eliminated and would be deemed completely ineligible for the election.
“Mr. Kodi of the Supervisory Committee was drinking tea with me and happened to touch on this subject. Robin went looking for his wife. His mother almost took bribes if she hadn’t been careful, and several of them are most likely being offered bribery the same way.”
There was an unfamiliar voice on the other end of the phone and it sounded a little helpless. “My mother had no idea. She thought she could make a pickle jar out of a porcelain vase from the earlier era, but thankfully my wife discovered it early, so she quickly returned it. Otherwise, she would be forced to accept bribes with no other options.”
Listening to Richard’s words, Rachel felt a chill on the back of her neck and she clenched her fists tightly. It was all Julian’s doing.
Right after she hung up the phone, there was a creak behind her, and the door to the corridor was pushed open. Her pupils dilated as she met the other pair of eyes.
“You saw that. I’m determined to win today’s election, Julian boasted cockily. “Are you truly content to bribe the committees and flaunt it in front of me?”
“In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with this. Since it is a competition, everyone can use different strategies to win. Shouldn’t you support me?”
“Support you?” Rachel echoed. At that point, she was flabbergasted.
“Isn’t your displeasure related to my selfishness? I will do exactly what I said as long as I am in charge of the foundation and I will do it better than Justin,” Julian stated flatly.
Hearing that, she realized she was powerless at this point. “I hope you can follow through on what you say. Anyone can manage this foundation if the lives of those vulnerable groups are guaranteed.”
“I will.” He smirked, which made her shudder. There were no shortcuts in this world. If one were to take the so-called shortcuts, they would no longer be down to earth because they would always believe that everything could be solved through other means. Would Julian truly support those marginalized groups with all his heart?
Rachel was entirely skeptical. When Jolly appeared, there was a voting session in progress inside the venue. “Chris, who should we vote for? Should we just vote for one of the three randomly?”
Rachel glanced at the time, unsure of what to expect. The final outcome had already been announced, and Julian’s name was unmistakably enunciated from President Connor’s lips. Julian took the stage amid the thunderous applause to accept the vice chairman’s seal and letter of appointment.
From the beginning to the end of the election, Justin did not appear at all. “Let’s go,” Rachel’s last glimmer of hope was lost and she removed her gaze from the stage to leave.
The foundation rented the school’s auditorium, which was packed with speakers. Rachel and Jolly walked around the floor to the elevator entrance, but they couldn’t get away from the 3D surround sound of Julian’s thank you speech.
The elevator finally arrived with a ‘ding’ and his speech came to an end as well. “Wait a minute. Before we end, I would like to make one more announcement.” President Connor’s frail voice came over the loudspeaker. “For many years, I have been preparing for the position of foundation president. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed in recent years, so I’d like to recommend a new person to take over.”
Hearing this, Rachel and Jolly both came to a halt. “Speaking of which, this newcomer isn’t so new, and everyone knows who it is.” The uproar erupted unexpectedly and nearly toppled the entire venue.
“No way! There can’t be such a big plot twist of the century, can it?” Jolly’s eyes widened. She was astounded while looking straight at Rachel, wondering if the other woman had the same guess.
Rachel turned to face the loudspeaker, and the next thing she knew, she heard a familiar voice being broadcasted. The voice was not strident; it was calm and powerful, overpowering the chaos in the audience.
“Hello everyone. Thank you for your adoration, President Connor and the seniors of the Supervisory Committee…”
Justin, who was dressed in a sharp-looking suit, was standing next to President Connor in the auditorium at this moment. In a calm tone, he explained, “I believe everyone is most concerned about the previous big case, and I would like to provide a clear explanation about it in order to avoid suspicion in my future work
Julian stood beneath the stage, his fists clenched and veins bulging as he stared intently at Justin.
