Chapter 17: 9.99 Million Dollars In Debt
Trapped By Tainted Love
Jack was a handsome gentleman, and he was considerate to Elisa during their wedding day. Caroline felt so jealous that she thought she would go insane. She wanted to take him away from Elisa, and the jealousy tortured her day after day. One day, Caroline couldnât stand it anymore. She went to Elisaâs house while Elisa was away on a business trip. That night, when she looked at Jack lying beside her on the bed, her heart was filled with a sense of victory and satisfaction. It had been so long since she had a taste of this pleasure. Once he had started their affair, Jack could no longer stop himself from cheating again. In addition, Caroline was more seductive and more womanly than Elisa. He was obsessed with her sweetness, so he decided to just go with it. Caroline did her best to please Jack to keep him by her side and render him unable to leave her. Naturally, it boosted her ego to know that he could not get enough of her.
But as time went by, she was no longer satisfied with having a secret affair with Jack. She asked him to divorce Elisa, but he refused.
Jack had married into Elisaâs family, and he was living in their mansion.
Divorcing Elisa would mean that he would have nothing left.
Upon taking that into consideration, Caroline decided to keep her relationship with Jack a secret.
However, her hatred for Elisa grew with every passing day. Finally, Carolineâs evil prayers had been answered. Soon after Elisa gave birth to Rachel, she died from a serious illness that caused postpartum complications, adding to the fact that she was always overworking herself. After Elisaâs death, Caroline married Jack and successfully moved into the Bennet familyâs mansion. Caroline thought that her days of being looked down upon had come to an end, but she had never imagined that the upper class women thought she was ridiculous. She could see in their eyes how much they disdained her every time they met. Perhaps in their minds, Caroline was just a mistress, and that was what she would always be.
âOnce my daughter marries Victor and become the hostess of the Sullivan family, nobody will ever look down on me again! And when that time comes, all of them will come to me, begging for forgiveness!
Caroline thought.
Why wouldnât she happy at the prospect of having the opportunity to get revenge?
âMom, donât worry. Soon, Iâll make Victor fall for me,â Alice said with confidence.
Caroline nodded, stroking Aliceâs hair affectionately.
At this time, Alice looked outside the window, realizing that they were not on the way back to the Bennet familyâs villa. With a frown, she said, âMom, arenât we going home?â
She had completely forgotten that Rachel had driven them out.
To be exact, Alice never believed that Rachel could ever drive them away!
Upon hearing that, Carolineâs smile disappeared. âThat bitch, Rachel, drove us out using her motherâs will.â
Alice was arrested by the police, and she didnât have any idea what happened to her family afterwards.
She thought that Rachel was just bluffing, but clearly she meant what she said. âMom, are you really just going to let Rachel have the villa? Why? That villa is ours! Weâve lived there for more than a decade, and that loser is in no position to-â.
âIf we donât move out, Rachel will call the police again. And if we cause a commotion, then we will be the butt of the jokes of all those gossipy women. Do you want us to suffer through that?â Caroline didnât want to move out either, but they didnât have a choice. Had she known about Elisaâs will, she wouldâve done her best to destroy it! However, it turned out that Elisa had anticipated this would happen.
That was why Caroline was caught off-guard. She didnât have any time to prepare for it. Alice bit her lower lip. There was no way she would give up the villa to Rachel. A sinister gaze appeared in Carolineâs eyes. âDonât worry. It wonât be long until Rachel leaves that villa.â âMom, what are you trying to say? Why wouldnât she live long in that villa?â Alice was puzzled by her motherâs statement.
âSo what if she has the will? Over the past two years, the Bennet Group had accumulated a mountain of debt, and it is now just a husk of its former glory. Besides, donât forget that the Bennet Group doesnât belong to Rachel. Victor is the one who holds the majority of the companyâs shares.â Aliceâs eyes lit up when she heard that. âMom, are you saying that Victor will do something against Rachel?â
âWhat? He doesnât need to do anything at all. The Bennet Group is just a useless money-losing company now. I heard that Victor has been planning to liquidate the Bennet Group. Once the liquidation starts, Rachel will have no choice but to hand over the villa,â Caroline sneered. âWhen that time comes, Rachel will have nothing left, and she will be at our mercy.â Alice laughed maniacally.
Caroline nodded in agreement. âSo, what you need to do right now is to concentrate on winning Victorâs heart. Rachel is no match for you!â
âBut what if Rachel gets away with everything she did to me? I suffered so much when I was held detained in the police station for the past few days! Mom, Iâm not happy with this outcome. I canât just accept this lying down!â Alice held Carolineâs arm, leaning on her shoulder. âWho said Iâm going to let her off the hook? Donât worry, my darling. She wonât get away with what she did to you!â
Alice nodded with satisfaction; her eyes looked vicious at the moment. In the study of the Bennet familyâs house.
Rachel was looking through the documents that Andy sent her. She looked at him, hoping that she misheard him.
âAre you saying that once the liquidation is settled, my villa will be sold, and all the assets my mother left me will be frozen? Even if go bankrupt and have nothing left, Iâll still have to pay millions of debt?â
This was the third time that Andy confirmed her question. âMiss Bennet, you heard me right.â
Rachelâs mouth twitched as she closed the folder. âWell, I donât understand why Iâm the one paying for all that debt. I only hold one percent of the Bennet Groupâs shares. Even if the company goes bankrupt, I shouldnât be paying off all the companyâs debts, right? Isnât Victor the major shareholder of the company?
If so, why isnât he shouldering the companyâs debts instead?â
âIn theory, youâre right.â
âIn theory?
Rachel understood what he was implying, and smiled sardonically. âYouâre right. I almost forgot how
9.99 Million Dollars In Debt much Victor wants to see me suffer.â
The Sullivan Groupâs legal team had never been beaten. Changing the Bennet Groupâs creditor to Rachel was just a piece of cake for them. Once more, Rachel opened the file to take a look at the list.
Her eyes fell on the total amount of debt, which was 9.99 million dollars.
Right now, Rachel wanted to laugh at her misfortune. âShould I thank Victor for being kind enough to not make my debt higher than this?â âMiss Bennet, perhaps you should go talk to Mr. Sullivan. Maybe heâll give you a chance to negotiate. After all, you used to be his wife,â Andy suggested. âA chance to negotiate? Andy, if things are negotiable, I never wouldâve gotten this list! This is clearly the final notice.â
What Rachel said rendered Andy unable to respond. Upon seeing the worry in his eyes, Rachel let out a sigh. She knew that he never meant to say that, but that seemed to be the only way to get her out of this predicament. âIâll think of a way to speak to Victor.â Rachel decided to agree to Andyâs suggestion, though she was well aware that Victor would never change his mind. âIâll also look for an alternative solution to your problem, Miss Bennet.â Andy felt relieved to hear her answer, for it meant that there was still a glimmer of hope. Rachel nodded perfunctorily. âMiss Bennet, Mr. Torres, lunch is ready,â Abby said as she knocked on the door. âLetâs have lunch first.â Rachel glanced at Andy, and then got up from her seat. He wanted to speak up, but then he bit it back. He figured that it was best to put it on hold for now.