Free Web NovelChapter 85: Chapter 85: Is He Really a Genius?
Arabella Donovan understood the implication in Caspian Rhodes’s words, and her eyes lit up. "Has Mr. Lynch been busy lately? What with?"
"Oh, all sorts of things. His company has been having a lot of problems lately. And actually, it has something to do with you, Miss Donovan."
"With me?" Arabella Donovan said, surprised. "How could it have anything to do with me? Don’t tell me..."
"Have you forgotten, Miss Donovan? The last time you and your sister visited my cousin’s company, you pointed out quite a few problems. Afterwards, my cousin mulled over your words and decided to make some drastic changes, to give the company a thorough overhaul. And wouldn’t you know it, that overhaul really brought a lot of problems to light."
"What kind of problems?" Arabella Donovan’s eyes grew even brighter. She had indeed noticed a number of issues when she and Eloise visited Radiant Entertainment.
However, to avoid arousing suspicion, Arabella Donovan hadn’t dared to be too direct. She had only given Zane Lynch a few subtle hints, leaving the final outcome entirely up to his own perceptiveness.
But now, listening to Caspian Rhodes, it seemed Zane had indeed used her hints to uncover numerous internal problems at the company and was actively working to resolve them.
’Could he really be a genius?’
The smile on Caspian Rhodes’s face stiffened, and a wave of annoyance washed over him. That doofus, Zane, had let everything she said go in one ear and out the other, barely giving it a second thought.
If Caspian hadn’t been there to remind him, Zane would probably still be completely clueless.
In the end, he was the one who had done all the heavy lifting, yet he’d gotten zero credit. Instead, the one who had just stumbled cluelessly into a win—practically cheating—was getting all the praise. No matter how he looked at it, he was getting the short end of the stick.
The Donovans were oblivious to his inner thoughts. Seeing his expression shift, they assumed Arabella had misspoken and offended him.
"Serena..." Mrs. Donovan shot Arabella a look, signaling for her to stop asking questions.
This sort of internal company overhaul was confidential information that wouldn’t be shared lightly with outsiders. Arabella’s question was indeed a bit improper.
Caspian Rhodes also realized his lapse in composure and quickly tried to recover. "It’s nothing. It’s not something that can’t be discussed. Besides, strictly speaking, Miss Donovan is the real hero of the story. Do you remember that Deputy Shaw, the one with the hourglass at the finance department entrance?"
"I remember..."
’I remember him all too well. He’s that fat rat who got his job through connections, right? The one whose name was a running joke about having no morals.’
Mrs. Donovan and Lillian Donovan: Pfft...
The corner of Caspian Rhodes’s mouth twitched. "After he left, Zane kept thinking about it and felt something was off. Every other company’s finance department is meant to bring money *in*, so why was his company’s money flowing *out*? That hourglass had been there for so long, who knew how much money had trickled away with it. He couldn’t just sit on it, so he had someone secretly look into the finance department’s records for the past few months..."
Arabella Donovan was as engrossed as if she were watching a TV series, and they’d just reached the most thrilling part. She leaned in, revitalized. "And then?"
"And then he found several large investment transfers that didn’t add up. A closer look revealed that some smaller transfers were also problematic. After a full-scale investigation, he discovered that all the missing funds had gone straight into Deputy Shaw’s pockets. In just a few months, the amount involved was nearly eight figures. Talk about money flowing out, right?"
Liam Lowe and the others were shocked. "Nearly eight figures? That’s enough to send someone to prison for a very, very long time. And in just a few months? That Deputy Shaw has some serious nerve."
"Exactly. The sum was too large, so Zane had no choice but to report it to the police. The problem is, this Deputy Shaw is distantly related to his father’s side of the family. The moment Zane called the cops, they started kicking up a fuss, so this whole thing might drag on for a while."
Liam Lowe and the others understood instantly. No wonder the man was so bold—he had connections.
"On top of that, there was also an issue with Minister Holt." frёeωebɳovel.com
"What kind of issue?"
Arabella Donovan knew better than anyone what Seth Holt’s problem was. What she was interested in was how Zane Lynch had found out, and what he did about it.
"Remember that rather beautiful vase in his office that day? A friend of Zane’s, an antique enthusiast, had left it with him for safekeeping. The friend has been out of town on business and hadn’t had a chance to pick it up. Holt, however, took advantage of his position to pull a switcheroo. He stole the genuine antique to sell it, then had a fake custom-made to put in its place and fool everyone."
"After you left that day, Zane told him to pack up the vase and bring it to his office. And by pure coincidence, when it was delivered, one of Zane’s close business partners happened to be right there. This partner is also an antique enthusiast, and he could tell the vase was a fake almost at a glance."
"And this partner told him the truth?"
"They’re partners, but they’re also friends. Telling him the truth was a way of doing him a favor."
In reality, there was no "business partner"—only one long-suffering, uncomplaining cousin.
But to avoid arousing suspicion, Caspian Rhodes had no choice but to tearfully push the credit onto this fictional person.
Unaware of the truth, Arabella Donovan muttered to herself internally.
’Looks like Fourth Sister’s cousin isn’t just a genius, he’s also incredibly lucky. Is this what they call... a fool’s luck?’
Caspian Rhodes was speechless. ’...Wait a minute, how did she even arrive at that conclusion? How can someone be a fool and a genius at the same time?’
"So how did it all get resolved in the end?" freēwebnovel.com
"Zane managed to buy the vase back before his friend found out. After all, the switch happened right under his nose and he was completely oblivious, so he felt partly responsible. The only thing is, after being sold and bought back, the vase’s price had doubled. Naturally, Minister Holt had to be the one to cover that extra cost."
"Furthermore, Zane discovered that the reason Holt was selling off antiques was because he’d developed a gambling addiction. He was already millions in debt. To pay it off, he started working with a rival company, getting paid to sabotage the artists at Zane’s corporation. Zane has already taken him to court for theft of company secrets. Barring any surprises, he’ll be going to prison as well."
’Ooh, nice one! Taking down two senior executives and sending them off to jail in less than a week, and so decisively, too. The employees at his company, especially the top brass, must be in a total panic right now, terrified they’ll be next. No wonder he’s too busy to even come see Fourth Sister himself. Oh, wait, then there’s also the whole mess with Cassandra Lynch...’
Just thinking about it, Arabella Donovan figured Zane Lynch must be completely overwhelmed with troubles and frustrated to the point of tearing his hair out.
But you have to break things down to build them back up. If you ignore an abscess, it will only fester, causing a deeper and more painful wound.
The only way to heal is to be ruthless: cut it open, drain the pus, and excise the dead tissue.
If Zane Lynch sorted out all these problems now, he wouldn’t have any lingering troubles when he came for her fourth sister in the future. That would save her sister the trouble of having to clean up his messes later on.
"Oh, right. There is one more thing I imagine Miss Donovan will find interesting."
"What is it?"
"It’s about a certain Miss Thorne."
