Chapter 20
Sure enough, the moment Aria sat down, Willow got straight to
the point. “The Whitmore Group recently ran into some trouble.
Luckily, thanks to the support of the Rhodes family in Kiolria,
we landed several major projects that helped us weather the
storm. Tessa is really lucky to have such a powerful backer.“”
Aria listened quietly. The Rhodes family in Kiolria?
Only one person came to mind: Bennett.
So they’d already made their alliance this early.
The last bit of goodwill Aria had toward Bennett vanished
instantly.
Now, all she felt was a tingling scalp; some things just couldn’t be
avoided, no matter how much you ran.
“Oh, well, that’s great then. So you called me just to tell me this?”
She picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip. Bitter, just
like her fate.
Willow slid a document across to her. “Tessa has been a good girl
since childhood, never causing trouble. But because she’s
adopted, she wasn’t entitled to any of the Whitmore family’s
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assets.”
“This time, she contributed greatly to the Whitmore Group. She
deserves some compensation. Her backer is the Rhodes family,
with such a strong tree to lean on, the Whitmore Group is sure
to thrive,” she added.
As she spoke, Willow handed Aria a pen. “Aria, why don’t you
give a third of your stores to Tessa? When she succeeds in the
future, she definitely won’t forget you as her sister.”
Aria set down her coffee, showing no intention of taking the
pen.
“Grandma, you’re really joking. Since Tessa is backed by the
Rhodes family, why would she care about these small favors in
my hands? Don’t you think so?” Aria said.
“If she doesn’t want them, I’ll keep them myself. I’m not greedy,
as long as I don’t starve, it’s fine,” she added.
Tessa’s ambitions kept growing. She wanted her parents,
brothers, and fiance, but nobody was allowed to touch her
interests.
As long as she didn’t cross Aria’s bottom line, she could all get
along.
But if Aria chose to stir up trouble and step over that line, she
Chapter 20
wouldn’t hesitate to slap her down.
She’d already grabbed onto Bennett’s big, strong arm, yet still
wanted a third of Aria’s stores?
In her dreams.
Did she think she was a pushover?
Willow’s hand holding the pen hesitated; honestly, Aria had a
point.
But something still felt off.
Recalling what Tessa had said before, Willow pushed the store
transfer agreement closer.
“Aria, you’ve got so many stores. Giving Tessa a slice won’t hurt
you. Just sign it.”
Aria glanced at the agreement, bitterly laughing at what ‘family‘
meant.
Since soft words didn’t work, she might as well be blunt and lay
her cards on the table.
“Tessa has the Rhodes family backing her. The biggest
beneficiary is the Whitmore Group, not me. Why should I hand
over what’s mine?”
Chapter 20
“If you want to compensate her, why not just give her a stake in
the company? Why fixate on my worthless little stores?”
Aria knew Tessa wouldn’t get shares in the Whitmore Group;
this was just to annoy her.
Who wouldn’t get annoyed?
Grandpa arranged the inheritance legally before he died; shares
only go to the boys.
Every girl in the Whitmore family got plenty of stores, enough
for a lifetime of comfort.
But because Tessa wasn’t a blood daughter, she was excluded.
She’d been heartbroken over this for a long time.
And she wasn’t stupid; she wanted more than this.
If she got a third this time, next time she’d want all the stores.
The appetite only grows bigger. After all, a dog can’t be taught
not to eat crap.
In the previous life, Tessa used her connection with Bennett to
snatch everything from Aria’s hands.
Only now the timeline was different.
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Willow was so angry she struggled to breathe.
“Aria, what are you talking about? All this was given to you by
the Whitmore family. This is just a partial transfer, not asking
for everything. Why take it so seriously?”
“You think if you don’t sign, I can’t do anything? Taking back
your entire estate would be a matter of minutes.”
