Chapter 223 You’ll Get the Money if You Catch Her
The car was already stuck in the traffic, crawling slowly like a bug on a crowded street. However, when the traffic was gradually clearing up at the front and vehicles could finally move faster, the driver, Liam, was puzzled when he heard Courtney.
“Huh?”
Whether it was Liam, William, Alicia, or Tina, everyone was startled.
Alicia was the first to return to her senses. Immediately, she grabbed Courtney by her arms. “What are you doing? Don’t forget that you just promised me that you won’t get yourself into this mess.”
Frowning at her aunt’s words, Courtney tried to observe the situation outside the window through the corners of her eyes. Anxiously, she said, “Aunt Alicia, someone’s life is at stake.”
She was not a saint, but it was her empathy that drove her reaction. She felt that no one’s life should be treated so lightly.
The red light in the front was counting down. Liam was a little lost. When he noticed William’s gaze, he understood the situation and pulled over slowly by the road.
Yet, Alicia grimaced. “Courtney, do you think that the kid from the Duncan Family has your back and that’s why you have nothing to fear? This is a company. Do you understand that if there is a loophole in their finances, it is basically a bottomless pit? How are you going to fill it up?”
When Courtney heard the word ‘Duncan’, she was lost in her thoughts for a moment.
Alicia still didn’t know that she had broken up with Alexander. She never had the chance to tell them.
“Aunt Alicia, do you really think that it is a good thing to let the Hunter Group go bankrupt?” Calming down, Courtney stared at her aunt solemnly. “This isn’t just my dad’s career. It’s a result of my mom’s hard work too.”
Instantly, Alicia’s grip on Courtney’s arm froze.
It had been so long that Alicia had almost forgotten that the company that was named after the Hunter Family was actually inextricably linked to her best friend. Instead of saying that she had forgotten, she was actually trying to deny it.
Back then, when Lucian was just starting his business, his company was funded by his first wife, Cecilia. Even the ideas to promote the company came from her too. It could be said that Cecilia had half of the credit for the rise of the Hunter Group.
Initially, Cecilia was also one of the biggest shareholders and a major member of the board of directors. After she died in childbirth, the Somerfields hated Lucian to the core. Even the shares of the company were considered a stain to the family. Therefore, they sold it out at a low price.
“I paid two hundred thousand down payment for the new property developed by the Hunter Group. It was the money I borrowed from my friends and relatives. How can they simply abandon a project like this? Now, even my girlfriend ran away with someone else. My dad suffered a stroke and he needs money every month for hospital bills. Yet, it has been six months since I was last paid.”
On the roof on the 35th floor, the autumn wind was rustling. The man was dressed in a worn-out black leather jacket. His lips were dry and cracked. Because he was very stirred up, his face was flushing. Angrily, he was blaming the Hunter Group for every unfortunate event he had encountered. He shouted, “If you don’t pay me my money, I’m going to jump down from here and end everything. I won’t let anyone working in this building off the hook even after I die.”
As if being encouraged by his words, the migrant workers downstairs were agitated.
At this moment, a thin figure passed through that group of people. After explaining the situation to the firefighters, the figure entered the building.
“The bosses of the Hunter Group are b*stards. After everything that happened, how can they not come out and say something? I know I won’t be able to get my money back. I’ll jump down from here now.”
“Please calm down! We’ve sent someone to contact the directors of the Hunter Group.” The firefighters on the roof were still five to six meters away from the man in a leather jacket. Staring at the shaky figure on the roof, all of them were nervously trying to figure out countermeasures. “You can earn more money even after you’ve lost it, but if you lose your life, everything is over.”
“Without money, why should I live?” Apparently, their advice wasn’t effective enough to persuade the man. He was so infuriated that one could see his blue veins bulging out on his temples. “Don’t come closer. I’m counting down to three. If the Hunter Group still hasn’t given me an answer, I’ll jump immediately.”
“They are on the way.”
“One.”
“You have to calm down.”
“Two.”
“Team 2, please be prepared. Position the safety air cushion…”
“Three.”
“Don’t jump.”
Just when the man shouted the number ‘three’, Courtney came out from the stairs. Panting at the entrance of the roof, she waved at the man that was facing the rustling wind.
“Please don’t jump. I… I’ll give you the money.”
The man was obviously stunned. “Who are you?”
“Aren’t you looking for the person in charge of the Hunter Group? That’s me.”
“You must be kidding me. Do you guys think I will believe it if you simply got someone here? We’ve met the bosses of the Hunter Group. You weren’t there.” The man looked irritated. “You should have gotten someone that looks like them. Who are you trying to lie to by getting this little girl here?”
After Courtney got her breath back, her heart calmed down too. Calmly, she looked at the man. “My name is Courtney Hunter. Indeed, you’ve never seen me. In fact, most people in the company have never seen me. But, this does not change the fact that I’m Lucian Hunter’s daughter. As his daughter, I have the responsibility and duty to handle the company. Didn’t you say that you want your money? I’ll pay you.”
Instantly, the man’s expression changed. “Are you being serious?”
“This is my ID card. If you don’t believe me, come and take a look for yourself.” Courtney took out her ID card and held it in the air. “If what I said earlier is false, I’ll be struck by lightning.”
Standing by the tuyere, the man hesitated for a moment. He stared at the ID card in Courtney’s hand, and slowly, he walked down.
In an instant, the firefighters, who had been prepared for a long time, lunged toward him. The man was pressed onto the ground as he screamed in horror.
“Let go of me. Let me go…” He struggled and yelled furiously, “You cheated me. You lied to me.”
Not far away, Courtney breathed out a sigh of relief.
When the man, who was held tightly by the firefighters as if they were escorting a prisoner, walked past Courtney, his gaze was so vicious as if he was going to swallow her alive. Yet, when his gaze swept across her hand, he froze and his expression became complicated.
Noticing his reaction, Courtney was puzzled and she wanted to ask him. However, a clear voice was heard from behind.
“Thank you so much. Which police district are you from? Why haven’t I seen you before?”
As soon as Courtney turned around, her eyes met with a young firefighter.
Does he think I’m a plainclothes police officer?
Quickly, she shook her head. “No, I’m not. I was just passing by and saw what happened. So, …”
“Really? Then, you act really fast.”
“My reaction wasn’t fast. I was telling the truth.”
When Courtney went down the building with the firefighters, the entrance was already crowded and blocked by migrant workers and spectators.
Apparently, the police officers were afraid that the man in the leather jacket would do something out of their expectations. Therefore, they put him into the ambulance without loosening their grips on him. They were probably trying to send him to a psychological counseling session. Judging from his incoherent speech earlier, he might have been mentally ill.
When they were going down the stairs, one of the firefighters told Courtney that the man didn’t have a girlfriend and he didn’t even pay the two hundred thousand down payment.
The second before the man was sent into the ambulance, he suddenly turned around and shouted at the crowd, “She’s Lucian Hunter’s daughter! Catch her and you’ll get the money.”
