A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 117

"I forgot…"

Stella closed her eyes trying to remember the name of the pianist. Unfortunately, despite her best efforts, nothing came to mind.

"You are so unreliable," Cassandra teased her.

She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

But whenever she thought about the support that Stella had given her about her divorce with Lionel, Cassandra found herself instantly being filled with courage and determination.

A marriage for financial reasons instead of love was ridiculous, hilarious and tragic. It was imperative to save herself from the trap that she walked into.

Cassandra rose early the next day and prepared to travel to her father's company situated in the North District.

It was now being run by an old friend of Vernon's, Kevin Wang. However, he was unable to help as much as he would like to by this point.

As she was walking out to the garage, Cassandra saw Rufus.

He wore a relaxing smile on his face, welcoming her.

"How did you know that I am leaving?" Cassandra asked suspiciously.

She was sure that she did not share her plan with him.

"I can read your mind," teased Rufus.

He was clearly not telling the truth, but still holding the door open for Cassandra, anyway.

Cassandra just shrugged with a smile. It did not make sense to reject a free driver, a free ride and the company of a more experienced business manager. She was actually quite nervous about her visit to the Qin Group, but with Rufus on her side, she felt more at ease.

He always seemed to appear when she most needed him even without her asking. The idea that there was someone looking out for her without her knowledge made her feel safe and grateful.

They drove for long hours and it was almost noon when they arrived at the Qin Group. Cassandra quickly got off the car and walked towards the office building, hoping that she could still catch Kevin Wang. Just as she entered the building, Kevin was on his way out.

Smiling, Cassandra was about to greet him when she was taken aback by the man that followed after him.

The man was tall and looked somewhat familiar. When she finally managed to make out who it was, she was astonished to find that it was Lionel!

She froze. Kevin also spotted Cassandra and stopped on his tracks. He seemed to look nervous.

'Why is Lionel here?' Cassandra thought.

Lionel, however, acted as if there was nothing unusual happening. He bypassed Kevin, who seemed to be currently glued to the floor, and walked right up to Cassandra. Casually putting his arm around her shoulder, he said affectionately, "Cassandra, there you are! I have more or less sorted everything out with Uncle Kevin."

He beamed at her with tender eyes. His expression convinced everyone else that they were a sweet couple. Cassandra was the only one left angered.

Unfazed, she asked, "What is it that you have sorted out with Uncle Kevin?"

She intentionally continued to walk forward to subtly get rid of him.

Although he was her husband, any physical contact with him would disgust her.

"Cassandra, why didn't you tell me that you were coming?" asked Kevin Wang.

The brief conversation between Lionel and Cassandra brought him enough time to collect himself and plaster a smile across his face.

Still, Cassandra felt like there was something very wrong. The feeling was so strong that it engulfed her. She almost felt as if she would suffocate. 'Why is Lionel here and what did he do behind my back?' she thought.

"If she told you she was coming then she might find out that her father's company had a change of owner a little too late,"

a cold voice entered through the door from behind.

Kevin squinted, trying to figure out who the visitor was. It was difficult to clearly identify the man's features with the natural light coming from outside. Still, his posture revealed an air of composure and confidence.

"Rufus, why are you here?"

Lionel asked nervously before Kevin got to decipher the identity of his guest.

Cassandra did not intimidate him, but Rufus's presence made him less confident about his ability to take control of the situation.

"I have come to do a preliminary analysis to see whether Qin Group is worth acquiring or not!" Rufus replied.

Cassandra felt her heart stop at what she just heard.

For a moment, she was unsure if she understood what Rufus implied correctly. But her doubts were confirmed when she saw the awkward expressions on their faces. The two seemed to feel uneasy.

'I see. This was what Lionel was hiding from me. Uncle Kevin didn't tell me, either. He's trying to sell the Qin Group!' Cassandra realized. Evertying was coming together.

"Uncle Kevin, my dad owns 30% of the company. He is the biggest shareholder, and his shares have been transferred to my mom. With that and the 10% that my sister and I own, we own 40% of the Qin Group. If the Tang Group wants to acquire the company, they will have to first get our consent," Cassandra stated as her face turned grim.

She could not believe that the person her father had trusted the most was plotting to sell his company while he was in jail!

She sold her car just to save his company. How could someone they trusted so much would plan to just give it away!

"Right, just 40%," Lionel jeered.

Her words did not seem to affect him.

"What do you mean by 'just 40%'? That's enough for us to make the final call for the company!" she contested.

Cassandra held her head high. She knew what she was talking about.

"Oh, Cassandra. I am an old man now, and I want to retire. So, I have decided to transfer my 20% to Mr. Tang," Kevin explained.

It was evident that he felt quite ashamed with what he did.

"To catch you up, I have taken the shares of all the board members of this company, except for Gary Zheng's. After he passed away, they were passed on to his wife. That's another 20%," Lionel joined.

With a sinister smile, he laid it all out to Cassandra.

He had negotiated with all the shareholders of the Qin Group and managed to buy their respective shares at an irresistibly high price. Now, he owned 40% of the company which was just as much as Cassandra did.

The remaining 20% was owned by the wife of the board member Gary Zheng, who had passed away. She was currently living overseas with her daughter and was difficult to reach.

With Cassandra and Lionel having equal decision-making power, the tiebreaker would be the 20% remained in the possession of Gary Zheng's wife.

If she gave it to Cassandra, Qin Group would still be able to operate independently. But if she gave it to Lionel, the company's acquisition would be inevitable.

"Uncle Kevin, my dad has always trusted you. How can you do this to him?" Cassandra asked in disbelief.

Her face was pale all over and the eyes were filled with grief.

As the old saying goes, "far of sight, far from heart." It was so true.

"Cassandra, you have to understand. This is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, the Tang group belongs to your father-in-law. It is also a very well-managed and profitable company, much more than the Qin Group is! This company will have a better future in their hands,"

Kevin explained. Although he knew that he was betraying Vernon's trust, he still managed to make it look like he cared for the company.

Cassandra shot him a sharp look. She realized that it was an impossible situation for her to win right now.

Suddenly, it all came together. This was why Horace suddenly took away her projects. He must had done that to keep her financially disadvantaged. If those projects pushed through, she would have had enough financial resources to support the Qin Group and give it enough time to get back to its feet. If this happened, the old employees would not easily give up their shares and would instead work with Cassandra on bringing the company back to life.

'This is unbelievable. He even gave me a car as a gift! Now I know why, ' Cassandra thought. She finally saw the ulterior motive behind Horace's kindness.

It was obviously to let her guard down and remove her suspicions.

When Vernon was arrested, Edith approached Horace for help. He told her that his position would not allow him to help her directly, but he promised that he would ask his friends from the government to aid her and her family. Oddly, they were not able to offer much help when Cassandra approached the officials.

Cassandra did not allow herself to resort to begging the Tang family for their help because of her pride. Still, being a naturally kind and understanding woman, she assumed that Horace meant well. She bought his excuse about how his stature prevented him from doing things. It was only now that she realized how weak that rationale was.

If he were really sincere about helping Vernon, he could have just helped Cassandra with the money for her father's fine.

Instead, he gave her a car to give her the impression that he cared about her well-being.

Putting the puzzle pieces together, she saw how it all came down to Horace's plan to acquire the Qin Group.

"Well, Uncle Kevin, if you really want the best for Qin Group, you shouldn't hand it to an outsider. My father built this company throughout his life, it was everything to him. I am certain that he will dispute the decision to have his beloved brand changed from Qin to Tang," Cassandra scoffed at Kevin.

She thought of everything that her father sacrificed for the company, and then looked at Kevin. It pained her so much.

"You shouldn't say that Cassandra. You might have forgotten that you are part of Tang family too,"

Lionel argued back, with his eyebrows creased.

Cassandra's words gave him a huge sense of loss. He did not want to admit it but with what he heard, it looked like Cassandra never saw herself as part of their family. The realization pained him gravely.