Free Web NovelChapter 271: Chapter 274: I Don’t Want to Go to Jail
"Speak!!"
Finn Quincy had no patience for her silence and roared at the top of his lungs.
Cecilia Quincy trembled at his shout, her mouth feeling as if it were glued shut. She didn’t dare utter a single word.
"Speak!"
Finn Quincy’s patience was exhausted. His hands, hanging at his sides, clenched into fists he could no longer restrain. Veins bulged on his knuckles. Cecilia Quincy took one look and squeezed her eyes shut in fear.
Finn Quincy: "I’m giving you one last chance. If you still refuse to talk, I’m going to get physical."
"Don’t..." The threat worked. Cecilia Quincy immediately started speaking, her voice trembling. "I’ll talk, I’ll talk..."
His face dark, Finn Quincy waited with his last shred of patience.
She picked up the legal notice and read on, her heart pounding. At the bottom of the first page, she saw the reason Felix Preston was suing her.
"B-because Ethan Lockwood and I... we conspired to stage a plagiarism incident to frame Felix Preston. So, the moment he got the evidence, he sued me..."
"When did this happen?" Finn Quincy asked in a low voice.
Cecilia Quincy answered honestly, "It was a year ago, back when the Preston Group hadn’t declared bankruptcy yet..."
"...A year ago?" Finn Quincy narrowed his eyes, trying to recall the plagiarism scandal involving Felix Preston that had happened a year prior.
Before its bankruptcy, the Preston Group had always been the leading enterprise in Aethelburg. Plus, Felix Preston was handsome and had a huge following of female fans online, so the slightest bit of news about the Preston Group would instantly spread throughout the entire city.
It only took Finn Quincy a moment of thought to guess which incident Cecilia was talking about.
"That plagiarism incident you and Ethan Lockwood planned... don’t tell me it was the one where Azure Studio accused the Preston Group of deliberate plagiarism?"
Cecilia Quincy nodded. She felt so guilty that her voice was barely a whisper.
"Yes... that’s the one."
"..." Finn Quincy closed his eyes, a headache blooming.
"Cecilia Quincy, do you have any idea who the actual founder of Azure Studio is?"
Cecilia Quincy: "I do..."
Finn Quincy: "Then did you know that its founder, Liam Joyce, was just taken away by the tax bureau not long ago?"
"Mmm..." Cecilia Quincy shrank back, trying to hide like a quail burying its head. "I know."
Finn Quincy: "And do you know who reported Liam Joyce for tax evasion?"
That, Cecilia Quincy did not know.
She shook her head and said softly, "I-I don’t know..."
"Lynn Preston." Finn Quincy threw the name out. "Lynn Preston reported him, using her real name!"
"..." Cecilia Quincy was instantly stunned.
Finn Quincy gritted his teeth, panting with anger at her. "Lynn Preston filed a formal report against Liam Joyce under her own name, handing over a thick stack of materials to the tax bureau! They took Liam Joyce away that very day and still haven’t released him."
"Do you have any idea what that means?"
Cecilia Quincy just shook her head, her face completely pale.
"N-no..."
Finn Quincy: "It means the materials Lynn Preston submitted were all solid proof! If Liam Joyce can’t pay the enormous fine, he’s going to prison!"
"And it’s the same thing with Felix Preston suing you in court!"
"The fact that the court accepted the case proves that the evidence Felix Preston submitted is completely credible! If you can’t get his forgiveness before the trial, then a prison sentence is what’s waiting for you."
"...No!"
The word "prison" was like the Grim Reaper’s scythe, held mercilessly to Cecilia Quincy’s neck.
She was shaking so badly she could barely hold the legal notice in her hands.
"No, Dad, no! I don’t want to go to prison!" She frantically grabbed Finn Quincy’s arm, wailing and begging him for mercy. "Dad, I was wrong, I really know I was wrong, I’ll never do it again! I’m begging you, please help me! Go talk to someone at the court, help me fix this!"
Finn Quincy closed his eyes, every word he spoke trembling. "At this point, do you really think I can still help you?"
"You can!" Cecilia Quincy was frantic, her pretty face a mess of tears. "Dad, you know so many people, there must be a way to help me! I can’t go to prison, I really can’t! If I go to prison, my whole life will be ruined!"
"Dad, I’m begging you, please find someone to help me!"
"How am I supposed to help you?!" Finn Quincy flung her hand away, his bloodshot eyes swimming with heartbroken tears.
"It’s almost the end of the year. All the law enforcement agencies are conducting strict inspections. The supervisory team came to Aethelburg half a month ago and still has no plans to leave! Things are tense out there. Everyone in law enforcement is trying to cover their own asses. Who would dare to associate with us business people right now?"
"If I go to them now, it’s no different from ruining my own future!"
"...Then, then what should I do?" Cecilia Quincy looked at Finn Quincy helplessly, so frightened she was on the verge of dropping to her knees.
"Dad, what am I going to do? I really can’t go to prison..."
Finn Quincy was breathing heavily, a hot tear silently sliding from the corner of his eye.
"So now you’re scared? Why didn’t you think about the consequences when you were doing all this? Felix Preston isn’t a pushover you can just walk all over."
Cecilia Quincy was a sobbing wreck. "Ethan Lockwood coaxed me into doing all this! I didn’t know it would lead to this... I was wrong, I really know I was wrong!"
Finn Quincy: "Ethan Lockwood coaxed you into it? Don’t you have a brain of your own? You just do whatever he says?"
"Now that you’re being sued, you finally realize you were wrong? Isn’t it a little too late for that?"
"Ah..." Cecilia Quincy’s crying grew more desperate until she could no longer stand. She finally collapsed onto the floor, clutching the legal notice and sobbing.
...
When Renee Sinclair arrived at the Shaw Family’s residence, it was already half-past six in the evening. The Shaw Family was having dinner.
She had already eaten, so she declined the Shaw Family’s invitation to join them.
The Shaw Family knew her well, so when she said she’d eaten, they didn’t insist. She went to sit on the other side of the living room, watching TV while she waited for Felix Preston.
Felix Preston quickly finished his meal and came over to her.
"What’s the situation?" he asked, sitting across from Renee Sinclair and lowering his voice.
Renee Sinclair pulled a file folder from her bag and handed it to him. "I spoke with that friend of Jude Quinn’s. He didn’t just sell a villa to Willow Quincy; he transferred that private mountain estate to her as well."
"The location of the estate is in the folder. Take a look and see if you want to hand this over to the police."
Felix Preston took the file folder and pulled out the stack of documents inside.
The documents detailed the personal information of Jude Quinn’s friend, including the locations of all his properties in Kyloria.
However, regarding the villa and estate Renee Sinclair mentioned, the documents only stated that he had sold them to a person with the surname Quincy, without specifying their full name.
"Renee, this only says the buyer’s surname is Quincy. It doesn’t say the person’s name is Willow Quincy," Felix Preston immediately pointed out.
