âEveryone is talking about it, Anna. And you might get yourself into trouble because of it. So, you better not go to Allieâs funeral.â
Scott said to Anna over the phone.
âOh, no! I wouldnât be there if I didnât know that her funeral was shortly after. Now that I know that, Iâm definitely attending her funeral.â
Anna looked at herself in the mirror and tried to make her black shirt and black pants look neater. She then tied her long hair into a ponytail.
She heard Scott sigh through her wireless earphone. He said, âOkay. Iâve got stuff to do right now, so I might be late. Well, Iâll be there anyway.â
âAll right, drive safely,â Anna said. She then hung up the phone.
Everyone said that Allieâs death was an accident. However, after asking several board members who were present at the time, Anna learned that Allie had jumped off the building on her own. They all said that the situation in the company was a mess at that time. However, it was Shirley who caused all this chaos.
But, no matter what, Allie was dead.
Dylan, Allieâs uncle, planned her funeral and invited as many people as he could, including Anna.
When Anna got there, she noticed there were very few people around. So, she even suspected that she had come at the wrong time. However, it then occurred to her that no one would want to be associated with the Gabriel Group after what had happened to them.
Anna then went to Dylan and said, âMy condolences.â
Dylan nodded. His eyes welled up with tears at that point as he said, âAllie had a bad temper, but she was a good girl,â
Although Anna didnât fully agree with that, she didnât say anything more. She just nodded her head and then turned around and prepared to leave.
Dylan suddenly stopped her and said, âWait a minute! Allie died because something happened to the company, and she couldnât handle the pressure. The group has become a mess now. You should be held accountable because you are Frankâs daughter!â
After hearing his words, Annaâs brow furrowed. However, Anna restrained the urge to create a fuss because they were at a funeral. She patiently explained, âI donât own any of the companyâs stock, and my father didnât give me any assets. I have nothing to do with the group. If youâre still confused, you can ask Mr. Lee. Heâs my fatherâs lawyer.â
Dylan looked irritated. He said, âNo, Iâm not going to talk to that lawyer; Iâm just going to let you take the responsibility! Why did Frank expect us to clean up this huge mess for him? You should take action since youâre his daughter.â
Anna thought he was ridiculous and immediately said sarcastically, âBut when you knew about my fatherâs will, you didnât even seem to care about âfairnessâ at all.â
Dylan looked even more somber. He said, âThatâs different! Now is the time for you to explain yourself to Allie and the rest of us!
This company belongs to your father, so you must be responsible for this mess!â
âJust leave Anna the f**k alone!â Scott said. Even though he was standing in the crowd, Anna could hear him clearly.
Anna felt a hand gently tugging at her before she could turn around. She had just looked up when she saw Randal standing behind Scott.
âGet Anna out of here.â Randal, Scott said. He then took off his sunglasses and looked at everyone; his expression became extremely unpleasant.
As Anna left with Randal, she heard Scott saying in the distance, âI knew you all were up to no good when you made Anna go to Allieâs funeral! What did you want to do to her? Did you guys think no one would support Anna? You canât blame her for this disaster! When you divided her fatherâs estate, you utterly ignored her. What makes you think you get to take advantage of her now?! Iâm telling you, no f*****g way!â
âThereâs a lot of people there! Iâm afraid they will hurt Scott!â Anna expressed her apprehension.
âDonât worry, Anna. Someone is protecting him,â Randal said without glancing back as he helped Anna to get into his car.
Anna immediately looked in the direction he was looking, Instead of pretending to be polite at all, Dylan said meanly, âWho the f**k are you? Youâre just a stray dog Gabriel took in! Who are you to meddle in our business here?â
Anna became irritated as soon as she heard these words. When she looked up, she noticed Randal standing against the car door. He was dressed in a fine suit and expressionless.
âTeach that person a lesson,â he said calmly.
Someone let out a dismayed yell just as he finished speaking. Even though Anna was far away from there, she heard the man cry bitterly and the sound of bones breaking.
âJust hit him! Donât worry about anything else. Iâll take care of everything.â That miserable scream became more frequent in the distant crowd.
Anna was taken aback when she noticed Randal wearing a black wireless headphone clipped to his right ear.
The robust men in black in the crowd were the bouncers Randal had left with Scott to protect him.
No wonder Scott dares to scold the hell out of those shameless jerks, Anna thought.
She exhaled a sigh of relief as she watched the chaotic crowd in the distance. She thought those people were pathetic and ludicrous at the same time.
Shirley and Allie had spent their entire lives scheming and getting all their scrappy relatives to work for Gabrielâs group. What they didnât expect, though, was that something unexpected had occurred. Then, Allie passed away, and Shirley disappeared.
Instead of looking for Shirley, their so-called ârelativesâ hoped someone would continue operating the Gabriel Group. That way, they could keep getting paid for doing nothing.
After leaving the funeral, Randal drove Anna home.
Scott sat on the couch and said to Anna, âJust ignore them, okay. Theyâre all psychos. If I hadnât come in time today, they might have hurt you.â
Once Anna realized what was right and wrong and weighed the pros and cons, she certainly knew that the most important thing was to protect herself. So, of course, she would not take responsibility for the group.
She nodded before looking at Randal and then said, âYouâve been showing up together a lot recently. So, are you guys dating?â
Scott was taken aback by her words and nearly spit out the coffee he had just sipped. He said, âNo! Weâre just friends.â
âReally?â Anna looked at Randal skeptically. Scott might be too embarrassed to admit it, she thought.
Randal answered, looking at Scott, âWell, weâre sort of friends.â âWhat do you mean âsort ofâ?â Anna pursued.
âYou know, everyone has a different definition of âfriendâ. If he says weâre friends, then we are.â
Anna asked, puzzled, âWhat are you talking about?â âIn other words, heâs the only âfriendâI have.â
Anna understood what Randal meant. She smiled, looked over at Scott, and noticed his face turned from fair to rosy. She intended to tease him and deliberately asked, âHey, why are you blushing, Scott?â
Scott defended himself awkwardly by saying, âI feel hot.â âWhat? Itâs fall already!â Anna said teasingly.
âOh, itâs really hot! Donât you feel hot? Itâs so hot in your house, so I donât want to stay here anymore. Bye, Anna, Iâm leaving.â
When Scott finished, he was ready to get up. At that point, Randall looked as if he had been ready to leave for a long time. He also stood up, straightened his clothes, and said, âIâll drive you home.â
And Anna could see Scottâs face flush even more.