Chapter 377
Four hours passed. Outside, night had long fallen, and the cold was even harsher. The accountant with the long beard entered to report.
“Grand Princess Eleanor, the accounts have been thoroughly reviewed. There are no discrepancies compared to those Lady Carissa presented.”
“That’s outrageous!” Eleanor smashed another cup, which crashed loudly. The sound startled Helen awake. She looked at Eleanor with sleep-laden eyes, bewildered by the fury radiating from her.
Eleanor, her voice filled with rage, declared, “How dare that vile servant falsify accounts and embezzle Helen and Jessica’s money? I will make sure he is severely punished!”
Carissa released Helen and said, “It’s enough that we’ve settled the accounts. Since Eric, at court, is at fault, there’s no need for you to get involved, Aunt Eleanor. I’ll have him sent to the Supreme Court to recover all the embezzled funds.”
“Carissa!” Eleanor’s tone softened considerably as she sighed. “Jessica is at fault as well, for failing to supervise and not realizing so much money was embezzled. Since Eric is a servant from Ironridge Estate, making this a public scandal would be detrimental to both the Marquis of Ironridge’s family and your cousin-in-law.
“How about this? Hand him over to me, and I’ll make sure he returns the money. If he fails, your cousin’s share of the 30% will be forfeited, and the entire Gilded Tower will be yours. You’re already aware of the profits The Gilded Tower has made over the years. It will continue to be profitable. You won’t be losing out if you control the entire business, right?”
“Not only are we not at a loss, but we also gain benefits.” Carissa smiled. “However, families shouldn’t bicker. I can’t let my cousin-in-law suffer alone. Since Jessica manages The Gilded Tower, and the shopkeepers and staff were all appointed by her, it wouldn’t be prudent for us to take over the shop recklessly. We might end up with losses.
Continuing the partnership is also unnecessary. After such an incident, lingering resentments are hard to avoid. Relatives should ideally not go into business together to avoid tearing apart relationships and harming both families. So, we plan to withdraw our shares.”
Carissa produced the contract.
“If there were losses, we’d adjust according to the amount of our investment. However, since the shop is profitable, our share should naturally increase. But, as I mentioned earlier, since we are relatives, there’s no need to be so calculative. We’ll just take back our investment and the profits from these years. As for the excess gains, we will forgo them.”
Jessica glanced at the total on the paper. It was over 260,000 silver coins! It would have been better if Carissa had simply asked for her life!
“No! I disagree!” Jessica’s face turned ashen. “Since it’s a partnership, neither party can unilaterally decide who gets what!”
Chapter 377 +25 BONUS
“Then, it’s simple.” Carissa pushed the account books aside and looked up. “We’ll sell the shop. Starting tomorrow, we’ll post notices about the sale. But before we do that, we need to settle how much money we’re each owed. Once the shop sells, we can split the profits seventy-thirty.”
Sell the shop? Fine. Jessica had been hoping for that. The Gilded Tower had a bad reputation; selling it would fetch little.
“Fine, sell it,” Jessica said.
Carissa smiled. “It’s settled, then. As for the distribution of profits, would you prefer to have Eric sent to the Supreme Court first, or will you advance this amount?”
Helen was stunned. This wasn’t what had been agreed upon when they arrived. Hadn’t it been said that the shop would be given to them? How had it turned into a sale now? Would they be able to recover their money from selling the shop?
Eleanor’s face was dark with displeasure. But since sending Eric to the Supreme Court was not an option, the money would have to come from her. The amount was more than a hundred thousand silver coins—a painful loss. However, Eleanor had no choice but to grit her teeth and say, “Fetch the banknotes.”