Chapter 893

"You haven't secured the shares yet?" Eloise was shocked. She knew little about business and couldn't understand how her son had become CEO without Derrick's holdings.

"That old fox is too stubborn," Nathaniel said casually. "I need you to persuade him. His son is dead; why cling to the shares? If he agrees to the transfer, I'll make him my godfather and care for him until he dies. He has nothing to lose."

"Take him as your godfather?" Eloise exclaimed incredulously. "How could you suggest such a thing, merely for money and power?"

"Mother," Nathaniel looked at her, amused. "If you abandoned me to marry wealth, what's wrong with my adopting him as godfather? If he gives me Tanner Corporation, I might even treat him as my real father!"

Eloise gasped, speechless at her son's words.

"I know you're healthy, so spare the theatrics," Nathaniel continued. "Even if you're feeling unwell, get the agreement signed. Don't give me that look. Everything I acquire will be yours too, so why the upset? You're not still planning to leave everything to Arianna, are you? Even the Richards family has disowned her. Don't you understand?"

Eloise took a calming breath, clutching the agreement. "Where are they?"

"I'll send someone," he mused, then a smile curled his lips. "No, I'll take you personally."

Nathaniel informed his secretary and escorted Eloise downstairs to a waiting SUV, two men resembling bodyguards inside.

Eloise felt a growing estrangement from her son. "Why?" she asked coldly. "Don't you trust me?"

"I wouldn't have survived if I hadn't always been cautious," Nathaniel replied, smiling and waving as someone blindfolded her with a black cloth.

She struggled, protesting, "What is this?! Are you worried I'll memorize the route and alert the police?"

Nathaniel chuckled. "One never knows. In the current circumstances, I trust only myself."

"Well, well," Eloise snarled, ceasing her struggle. "I've raised a fine son!" Unable to see and disinclined to converse, she soon fell asleep.

She awoke groggily to the SUV stopping. A bodyguard removed the blindfold, and she winced, slowly opening her eyes to the sunlight.

A two-story building with a garden stood in a serene setting. The quietude suggested remoteness; Eloise suspected they were in the mountains, the house the only structure visible.

"Go," Nathaniel said from his seat. "Greet your old friends and persuade them."

Eloise frowned. "You're not coming?"

"I'll await your good news here," Nathaniel said, leaning back with his hands behind his head, a confident smile playing on his lips. He was clearly applying pressure.