Free Web NovelChapter 1309: Chapter 1306: Blockbuster News at the Press Conference
The situation in Brocade City was even worse than Aurora Coldwell had expected. The Coldwell Clan had completely collapsed, its stock was suspended, all of Ian Coldwell’s primary and secondary bank cards had been frozen, and he couldn’t even afford his medical bills, let alone anything else.
When the two of them arrived at the hospital, creditors and reporters had the building surrounded.
Griffith Squire’s men were all in Brocade City. A group of cold-eyed, battle-hardened tough guys cut into the crowd like a sharp blade, forcing open a path and blocking off all the creditors and media reporters.
Griffith’s sports car drove straight up to the hospital entrance. He got out under a flurry of flashes, revealing his wickedly handsome face and tall, lean figure.
After the Imperial City incident, Griffith Squire’s identity had been made public.
This was his first public appearance since the nationally shocking case, and the reporters went crazy, firing off questions like machine guns.
"Mr. Squire, were the reports from half a month ago true? Rumor has it that in order to overturn your father’s case, your life was hanging by a thread. Were you subjected to a violent retaliation?"
"Mr. Squire, what is the real truth behind your father’s case?"
...
Griffith was briefly speechless. So the people of Brocade City were still fixated on the Imperial City; they’d obviously come to cover the Coldwell Clan’s collapse, yet all their questions were about Imperial City.
And the questions were downright brain-dead. How was anyone supposed to answer stuff like that?
The man hooked his lips in a half-smile, his features striking and radiant. He looked nothing like someone whose life was supposedly hanging by a thread.
"No talk of state affairs." His deep voice sounded, each word precise. Just four words, but powerful enough that the noisy crowd suddenly went mute.
In an instant, no one dared continue asking about that Imperial City case. If it involved state affairs, how were they supposed to keep pressing?
Griffith narrowed his eyes in satisfaction. At least they knew when to back off. He turned, opened the car door, and led Aurora out by the hand.
Reporters: "???"
When everyone saw the young woman getting out of the car—with her pure, delicate features and a kind of classical elegance to her—it was like waking from a dream. Right, they were here to cover the Coldwell Clan.
So they swarmed toward Aurora again.
"Miss Coldwell, rumor has it you and Mr. Squire have a marriage arrangement. Is that true?"
"Miss Coldwell, it’s said your father is gravely ill and the Coldwell Clan has collapsed. Will you be the one taking on that massive debt in the future?"
"Miss Coldwell, we’ve heard that Mr. Coldwell and Ms. Zoe Kingston are in the middle of a divorce. Is that true?"
Aurora’s face went a shade paler as those questions bombarded her one after another.
Seeing his little white rabbit getting scared, Griffith snorted coldly and said in a flat tone, "Tomorrow morning at ten, the Coldwell Clan will hold a press conference. If you’re that free, you might as well go take a look."
With that, Griffith led Aurora straight into the hospital, leaving behind a group of overexcited reporters still blocked outside.
"A press conference?" Aurora’s hand was held tight in his warm palm. She turned her face to look at Griffith.
"That’s right. We’ll attend together." Griffith smiled. When Richard Shaw had been locked up, Ignatius Leclair had specially come to Brocade City to see him and struck a deal, making a huge sacrifice just to ask him not to kick Richard when he was down at a time like this.
Griffith was going to overturn the case anyway, but he wasn’t about to turn down benefits handed to him on a silver platter. After all, the Crown Prince of Nanyang had more money than he knew what to do with.
So what was a mere Coldwell Clan worth? If he felt like it, he could invest in Brocade City and spawn ten Coldwell Clans. Ignatius would be the one footing the bill while he just sat back and collected.
Griffith was in an excellent mood. Hmm, after pocketing so many benefits for nothing, what should he do? How about marrying his little Aurora and throwing a grand wedding?
His mind jumped so fast it skipped the whole dating phase and sprinted straight into the marriage hall.
"Isn’t the Coldwell Clan suspended?" Aurora had no idea what was running through Griffith’s mind at the moment. She frowned and asked.
"The Coldwell Clan’s biggest problem is a broken capital chain. On top of that, your father has been hands-off for years, and your stepmother and the Kingston Family have hollowed out the company’s foundation. The Coldwell Clan basically turned into Kingston territory. As long as we inject capital and bring in a core tech team, it can come back from the dead." Griffith explained gently. "All the shares we acquired are under your name. Strictly speaking, you’re now the largest shareholder of the Coldwell Clan."
"Aurora, staying in the Coldwell house all day is boring. Why don’t you go work at the Coldwell Clan?" Griffith said with a laugh.
Aurora’s eyes lit up slightly. She stared at him for a long moment, then slowly broke into a smile and nodded firmly.
On the way to Ian Coldwell’s ward, they learned that because of overdue medical bills, he had almost been thrown out of the VIP ward. It was only after the old butler received a call from the hospital and phoned Aurora that she came with the money to get the bills paid.
The old butler was still at the hospital now.
"Miss, Mr. Squire." The old butler’s eyes almost filled with tears when he saw Griffith. It was like finally having a backbone to rely on. He beamed. With Mr. Squire here, those little devils in Brocade City wouldn’t be able to stir up trouble anymore.
Griffith patted the old butler on the shoulder, then went into the ward.
In just ten days, Ian Coldwell had grown skin-and-bones thin. He lay on the bed, still unconscious.
Aurora stepped forward and looked at him for a moment without saying a word, her eyes utterly indifferent. All mortals die; it was nothing but the wheel of fate turning.
Over the past few days, Zoe Kingston and her daughter had been hiding from reporters and the media. When they heard that Griffith and Aurora had returned, they were startled but also thought it was the perfect chance to cut ties with the Coldwell Family. So Zoe hurried to the hospital with her own brother and nephew from the Kingston Family and a lawyer in tow, packing the ward with people.
Seeing that her own brother was there with a number of bodyguards, Zoe felt bolder than usual. She looked at Aurora and sneered, "Aurora, you came back just in time. Your dad and I are in the middle of divorce proceedings. I’ll be taking Brooke with me, and she’ll be changing her last name to Kingston. The Coldwell Clan can be left to you and your father."
"Yeah, that way you won’t keep thinking my mom and I stole your stuff." Brooke Coldwell chimed in sharply from the side. The Coldwell Clan was drowning in debt; better to just leave it all to Aurora. At a time like this, the sooner they cut ties with the Coldwell Family, the better.
Ian Coldwell had slept in a daze the whole day. When he woke up, he heard the mother and daughter talking and veins bulged on his forehead in anger. He almost howled himself to death. He really had raised a pair of ingrates—a whole nest of white-eyed wolves. All these years, he’d truly been blind.
"Fine." Aurora said coolly. "You leave with nothing. After the divorce, you’ll sign another agreement. From then on, you and your daughter will have no connection whatsoever with the Coldwell Clan."
