bChapter /b63

Eleanor said, “When I’m gone, if you don’t want the family business, make a deal with them. It’d be best to get some money out of it. If that doesn’t work, take over thepany yourself. After all, it’s your grandpa’s and my life’s work.”

“Grandma, are you really sure you want to give it to me?” Ste asked.

“I’m absolutely certain, Ste. There’s no way I’d ever give it to them. They already have so little, yet they’ve been bullying you like this. Who knows what they’ll do to you when I’m gone?” Eleanor said firmly.

“But Max…” Ste began, her voice trailing off.

“Don’t mind him,” Eleanor said dismissively. “That old–fashioned thinking ispletely outdated. Your grandfather and I have always agreed that thepany must go to someone with solid moral character.

“But Ste, giving you all the shares might not be such a good thing after all. Who bknows /bwhat those four might do to you?” Eleanor held Ste’s hand tightly, looking somewhat uneasy.

“Don’t worry, Grandma. I’m the one who made a billion, you know. Oh, by the way, how did you find out about this?”

“I didn’t know about it myself,” she said, “but Mary overheard it while going about her duties. At first, she didn’t intend to tell me,

but after some thought, she found their behavior simply outrageous and decided to let me know.

“Ste, you weren’t even eighteen back then, were you? How did you manage to make so much money all at once?”

Ste didn’t hold anything back from Eleanor.

“I’ve always loved tinkering withputers. The more I yed around, the more fascinated I became. I even learned how to develop software. You know that app that’s been going viraltely? I was the lead developer behind it.”

Even Eleanor, who hardly ever uses her phone, has heard of that app. There was just so much packed into it. It was like having a bunch of different apps all in one ce. And it barely took up any space.

Eleanor never would have imagined that Ste was the one behind it. “My granddaughter is simply brilliant. Nu…under Quentiham University came calling,” Eleanor beamed. To Eleanor, Ste could do no wrong.

For the first time, Ste opened up about this in front of someone, and her heart swelled with joy at Eleanor’s praise. “Grandma, if I’m this amazing, I must have gotten it from you.”

“You bet,” Eleanorughed. Both Ste and Eleanor burst intoughter.

Before leaving, Eleanor needed to use the restroom, and Ste went with her. As they walked past Jordan, he was nervously gearing up to greet Ste, but she didn’t even spare him a bnce/b. Jordan froze in surprise.

Eleanor didn’t spot Jordan, but she’d clearly noticed the earlier scene. With a knowing chuckle, she said, “Ste, there was ba /bhandsome young man, well–dressed too, who kept looking at you. Howe you didn’t even nce his bway/bb?/b”

Ste looked around, puzzled. “Really? I didn’t notice.”

“He’s not here now, but he was just here a moment ago,” Eleanor confirmed.

“Maybe…” Ste said self–consciously. “He probably thought I was so strange. And if he’d stayed, he might’ve even heard how miserable I sounded. The way he looked at me was probably just pity.”

Eleanor gave her a gentle nudge. “Oh, Ste, can’t you have a little more confidence in yourself? It didn’t look that bway /bto me at all. That young man seemed so excited when he saw you. I actually thought you knew him.”

Ste simply hadn’t noticed. With so many peopleing and going near the restroom, her entire focus was on Eleanor, leaving her no chance to notice anyone else.

Eleanor shook her head with a resigned sigh. She thought Ste still needed to nurture her spirit. Once she built up her self- assurance, everything would be just fine.

Eleanor took Ste to see awyer and made sure all the paperwork for the share transfer was properly finalized.

Before signing the papers, Ste asked gently, “Grandma, are you sure you don’t want to think it over one more time?” Eleanor replied firmly, “I’ve made up my mind.”

She was worried that someday she would pass away. Even if she was still around, she couldn’t anticipate what tricks Andrew might pull.

Ste would never let those assets fall into the hands of Andrew.

It was getting quitete, but Eleanor and Ste still hadn’t returned. Fiona grew anxious as a thought suddenly struck her. “Don’t tell me Mom’s taking Ste to transfer the shares right now.”

Andrew rolled his eyes at her. “Stop jumping to conclusions. No way. Ste’s the least educated one in this family. Even if Mom had that idea, she wouldn’t act on it right away.”

“You can’t be so sure,” Fiona said anxiously. “Mom didn’t even care about our reputation today. She’s so shrewd. Who knows, she might have already gone and done it.”

Andrew snapped, “No way!” He wouldn’t hear of it.

Fiona turned to Max and Anna. “Well? What do you think?”

Max and Anna exchanged uneasy nces, neither able to say for certain whether Eleanor had actually gone through with it.

Fiona turned to Andrew sharply. “Stop saying it’s impossible. Do you really know your mother that well? Today, humiliated us and exaggerated everything we’ve done. Have you thought about how people will see us tomorrow?”

publicly

Andrew’s temper red. “That’s why I said it’s impossible. Everyone at the buffet today bwas /bloaded. Rich folks don’t go bbing about this stuff. What you’re worried about simply won’t happen.”

“Fine. You don’t believe me, do you?” Fiona snapped. “Then just you wait and see.” She had had enough of arguing with him and simply shut her mouth.

Anna nced at the others hesitantly. “So, about Grandma’s shares, are we still sticking to the original n?”

Andrew paused, considering. “No, we can’t do that yet. I can’t bring myself to hurt your grandma.”

Fiona was fuming. They had just reached a perfect agreement, yet in the blink of ban /beye, Andrew went back on his word. bIn /bher opinion, Andrew’d end up with absolutely nothing.

Anna stared at him,pletely at a loss.

Andrew said thoughtfully, “Let’s think of another approach. I believe it’s best if we can get her to willingly hand them over to us ol start="1924"liThu 31 Ju /li/ol

Fiona shook her head in utter exasperation.

Anna pointed out, “But if Grandma really wanted to give us the shares, she would’ve done it blong /bago.”

Andrew tried to reassure Anha, saying, “Trust me. After all, your brother is still here. He’s the heir bof /bour Hayes family. There’s no way Grandma would give the shares to Ste instead of him. Absolutely not.”

Anna bit her lip hard, still unsure whether Andrew was right. Normally, both her grandparents would side with Max, but, of all people, Eleanor was now favoring Ste. They could never be too careful.

At the sound from outside, Andrew was the first to jump to his feet, a wide smile already stered on his face. “Mom and Ste are back.”

Fiona, Max, and Anna, however, remained bsealed/b.

Andrew quickly stepped forward to offer Eleanor his arm, but she simply waved him off.

Andrew, unfazed, said with a smile, “Mom, you’ve got it all wrong. We just figured you probably wouldn’t eat much, so we didn’t invite you this time. But next time we go out, we’ll definitely take you with us.”

Eleanor looked at the three people sitting on the s and smiled faintlyi. /i“Well then,” she said, “just make sure you’re not embarrassed by bus/b.”

Feigning concern, Fiona said, “Mom, how could you say that? How could we possibly be ashamed of you? If anything, we were worried you’d be ashamed of us. We rushed back without even finishing our meal, just worried that you and Ste hadn’t eaten properly.”

iAD /i

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