Miss Maggie hummed cheerfully as she returned home, but as soon as she stepped through the door, she was met by the sight of several men with fierce expressions standing by the sofa, pointing fingers and shouting angrily at Mr. Will Christian, who didn’t respond at all.
From a young age, Miss Maggie had been cherished and sheltered by her family. She had never experienced any hardship, and even if there were problems at home, she was always kept in the dark. This was the first time she’d seen an outsider treating her father this way.
“Who are you? Why are you yelling in my home? If you don’t leave, I’ll call the police!” Miss Maggie said in a panic.
“Maggie…” Mr. Will Christian called her. “Come here.”
“Call the police?” The leading man’s veins popped as he yelled angrily, “Your father owes us millions in project funds and tens of millions to material suppliers, yet he refuses to pay! He almost ruined our families, and you dare talk about calling the police? Go ahead, call!”
Miss Maggie froze, her face full of disbelief. “How is that possible? How could our Will family care about a few million?”
“Impossible? Ask Mr. Will Christian! See if I’m telling the truth!”
Miss Maggie’s eyes filled with tears as she stared at Mr. Will Christian for a long time. Finally, he sighed and said, “Everyone, please leave. I will find a way to pay.”
“Find a way? How? The bank won’t give you loans anymore! I hear you’re even heavily in debt to loan sharks. Where will you get the money?”
Everyone was furious, and Miss Maggie was too scared to say a word in the face of their confrontation.
Mr. Will Christian assured them, “The Will family still has some assets. I promise that we’ll repay the money on time!”
After much reassurance, they finally agreed to give him more time.
Once they left, Miss Maggie sat down in front of her father, shaking her head. “Dad, how did it come to this? Our Will family’s business is so big, and we can’t even come up with a few million? Is something wrong with the company?”
Mr. Will Christian gave a bitter smile.
Originally, the Will family had indeed been doing well, expanding from retail into real estate. However, due to continuous acquisitions and substantial investments in real estate, the company’s cash flow had suddenly become a problem, causing a financial crisis.
The once-mighty company was on the verge of collapse. No matter how capable Mr. Will Christian was, he felt powerless to stop the downfall.
After listening, Miss Maggie couldn’t believe it. “How could it happen so quickly? Everything was fine before.”
“It wasn’t fine,” Mr. Will Christian continued, smiling bitterly. “We just didn’t tell you. And as soon as the cash flow issue surfaced, we had to resort to robbing Peter to pay Paul. But now, there’s nothing left to move around, and it’s all falling apart.”
Despite the dire situation, Mr. Will Christian remained calm, as any seasoned businessman would.
But for Miss Maggie, it felt as if her world was collapsing. She had always believed her family’s business was stable and would never go bankrupt like others’. Many of her friends had lost their family fortunes, gone from living like princesses to buying clothes on non-branded clothing lines. Such a life was unimaginable for her. She had laughed at them, but now, she was facing the same fate due to the company’s impending bankruptcy.
“So what now?” Miss Maggie asked, panicking. “Dad, you have to think of something! We can’t go bankrupt!”
“Yes, I had planned to partner with the Scott family, negotiate the terms, and get some financing. But who knew… your actions messed it all up.”
Miss Maggie fell silent.
Her father had always wanted the partnership, but her willfulness had ruined it. No wonder Scott Livinus said last time that if he wanted the Will family’s company, he didn’t need a marriage alliance; he could easily take it over with the company already on shaky ground. With Scott Livinus’s skills, taking over the company would be as easy as “a walk in the park.”
At that moment, Miss Maggie’s heart turned to ashes.
“Isn’t there another way?” she asked.
Mr. Will Christian shook his head. “What can I do? I’ve been trying to get the Scott family’s investment, but with Scott Livinus now in charge, he’s even harder to deal with than his father. If his brother Scott Richard were in power, I might be able to get some consideration, but Scott Livinus…”
He could only shake his head.
Unexpectedly, a thought struck Miss Maggie. She looked at Mr. Will Christian and smiled. “Dad, don’t worry. I have a way to make him work with the Will family, and more than that, I’ll make him marry me!”
“Marry you?”
Mr. Will Christian frowned. He knew his daughter had been in contact with Scott Livinus, but from what he understood, Scott Livinus had no interest in her, not even giving her a second glance despite her efforts to improve herself for him. Though he wanted financing, he was not willing to use his daughter in such a transaction.
Shaking his head, he said, “Maggie, forget it. I only have one daughter. Do you think I’d sacrifice you for a business deal?”
But Miss Maggie gave him a strange smile. “Dad, there’s no sacrifice needed. Trust me; Scott Livinus will have no choice but to marry me!”
Mr. Will Christian stared at his confident daughter, speechless.
–
In recent days, Andrea had been uncharacteristically quiet. Even when she saw Sophia, she didn’t say anything sarcastic, unlike before.
Sophia had a bad feeling, sensing this was the calm before the storm.
All she could do was prepare for whatever might come so she wouldn’t be caught off guard if anyone tried to cause trouble.
Her internship wasn’t anything special; she mostly ran errands and followed the professor, learning basic knowledge. Though the content was easy for her, she didn’t show any sloppiness. After all, being a good doctor wasn’t just about solving tough cases; many smaller problems needed attention, and a doctor with a poor attitude would struggle to excel.
Finally, lunchtime arrived, and Barbara came over, saying, “Sophia, come with me to Scott Corp.”
“Scott Corp?”
“I have a friend interning there, and I need to drop off a document for her.”
Through recent inquiries, Sophia found that while her roommates knew she was married, they didn’t know her husband was Scott Henry or her connection to the Scott family. It was just as well, saving her unnecessary trouble.
The hospital was close to Scott Corp, and there were some restaurants nearby. The two planned to eat at a nearby restaurant after delivering the document.
