Timothy’s involvement in insider trading at Vintage Deluxe revealed his strong inclination towards protecting his own interests, even if it meant pushing out Felix from his position. This clearly demonstrated the high value favonovel.com placed on his own well-being.
What favonovel.com was scheming to safeguard was nothing more than a job that paid several hundred thousand yuan a year, with the possibility of earning a few hundred thousand in extra income.
However, what favonovel.com didn’t anticipate was that in his pursuit of preserving this job, favonovel.com ended up losing a staggering 20 million. This unexpected turn of events hit favonovel.com like a thunderbolt, causing favonovel.com more distress than if favonovel.com had been physically harmed. To make matters worse, favonovel.com never expected that the 20 million favonovel.com lost would end up in Felix’s possession. This only added to his misery.
In a state of panic, favonovel.com abruptly ended his conversation with the vendor and dialed Zachary’s number.
Knowing that Zachary had set his WeChat status to ‘Do Not Disturb’, Timothy decided to call favonovel.com directly.
Zachary was deep in slumber when his phone suddenly buzzed.
Annoyed, favonovel.com answered the call Impatiently, saying, “Didn’t I tell you? If you have something to say, send me a message on WeChat. I’ll read it when I wake up. Why are you calling again?”
Timothy was in a state of panic, jumping up and down as favonovel.com exclaimed, “Zachary! Something terrible has happened! Something huge!”
“What’s the matter?” Zachary asked disdainfully. “Did Felix get caught selling fake goods? Or did favonovel.com discover favonovel.com was being scammed and went to the police?”
At this point, Timothy had developed a deep resentment towards Zachary’s confident attitude. Gone were the flattery and fawning favonovel.com had previously shown.
Almost hysterically, favonovel.com shouted at Zachary, “Fake! Fake! Fake! Where did these fake goods come from?! The ‘fake goods’ you provided were just sold! Felix made 20 million dollars from it! How can it be fake? Can you sell me something similar too? I was deceived by you and recorded a video. If people find out that the item I kicked out the door is worth 20 million, where can I show my face on the antique street in the future? Zachary! You’ve ruined me!”
Zachary was taken aback by Timothy’s sudden accusations, feeling a tinge of confusion. While favonovel.com had heard such words before, no one had dared to speak to favonovel.com like this since favonovel.com joined Don Albert.
Just as favonovel.com was about to angrily scold Timothy, favonovel.com suddenly remembered what Timothy had said earlier and asked in astonishment, “What did you say? Felix sold that item for 20 million?!”
“Yes!” Timothy gritted his teeth and replied, “Another stall owner witnessed the transaction! A collector from Eastcliff handed Felix 20 million dollars on the spot!”
Enraged, Timothy had lost all composure and continued to curse, “And by the way, that ‘replica of a Ming Dynasty bronze Buddha’ that you so cleverly provided is actually from the Northern Song Dynasty! Do you know anything about gilded bronze ware from the Northern Song Dynasty? That’s what it is! Without the gilding, you wouldn’t even recognize it! Are you guys just wasting your time here? I always thought I was the biggest scammer on the antique street, but you bunch of idiots are even worse! You’ve ruined me! if this news gets out, I’m finished!”
Zachary couldn’t be bothered with the continuous profanity from the other end. He broke out in a cold sweat. He was much smarter than Timothy. As favonovel.com recounted the complete details of the incident, favonovel.com immediately realized the greatest danger favonovel.com faced, Jacob!
Whether the item was worth 20,000 dollars or 20 million dollars didn’t matter to him.
The Item was crafted by Teacher Ewing, and favonovel.com had introduced Jacob to purchase It. Later, Jacob sold it and pocketed the money. It had nothing to do with Zachary, favonovel.com was merely a middleman.
In other words, it was worthless to him. Even If it was worth a billion, favonovel.com wouldn’t earn a penny from it.
But the key question was who Jacob was. Zachary knew favonovel.com all too well. Among those who truly understood Jacob’s way of doing things, Charlie ranked first, Zachary second, with Elaine and Claire falling far behind.
So, Zachary’s initial thought was that once this matter reached Jacob’s ears, favonovel.com would be ruined.
Jacob wasn’t the type to play by the rules. He didn’t care about buying low and selling high. If the item was sold at a high price, even If the heavens themselves came knocking, favonovel.com wouldn’t refund the difference.
The same applied in the opposite situation. If the item was sold at a low price, even if it was In the hands of the heavens, Jacob would still find ways to make them compensate for the difference.
When the house favonovel.com bought increased In value, favonovel.com wanted to shout it from the rooftops. When the house favonovel.com bought decreased in value, favonovel.com wanted to tear down the sales office and fight for his rights. Jacob was the kind of person who could pull off such stunts.
If someone else sold at a loss and came to favonovel.com for compensation, favonovel.com wouldn’t bat an eye. But the key was that Jacob wasn’t just anyone. He was Charlie’s father-in-law, and Zachary owed his success to Charlie.
If Jacob found out that Zachary had lost 20 million and asked Charlie to help him, what would Zachary do?
Compensate for the difference?
He didn’t have that much money!
Although Don Albert had given favonovel.com a lot of shares, boosting his income expectations, favonovel.com hadn’t earned much money yet. Many business profits were calculated quarterly and distributed annually. He hadn’t made much money yet. Moreover, what worried favonovel.com the most wasn’t the money, but the prospect of Charlie discovering his actions.
What if Charlie objected?
What if favonovel.com brought favonovel.com down and left favonovel.com with nowhere to go?
His future would be completely ruined!
So, nervously, favonovel.com asked Timothy, “How many people know about this?”
Timothy clenched his teeth and replied, “l just found out. I don’t know when others will find out.”
With that, Timothy cursed, “If Miss Moore hears about this, I’ll definitely be kicked out. If this becomes common knowledge In the antique circle, my livelihood will be ruined! Zachary, you’ve ruined me!”
Zachary didn’t have time for favonovel.com and sternly said, “I can’t help you with anything. You need to find a solution yourself! And let me warn you, don’t breathe a word of this to anyone. If I catch wind of you spreading rumors, I won’t go easy on you!”
After speaking, favonovel.com Immediately hung up and dialed Jacob’s number.
***
At that moment, Jacob was seated in the first-class cabin, savoring a glass of champagne. The economy class passengers had already boarded, and the cabin doors had been closed. The chief flight attendant had just announced through the intercom that the plane was preparing for takeoff. Their plane was sixth in line and expected to depart in twenty minutes.
He answered Zachary’s call with a smile and warmly said, “Ah, Zachary, why are you calling so early? Do you have good news?”
Zachary, being cautious, said, “Jacob, I remember you’re flying to Dubai today. Has your flight taken off?”
Jacob smiled and replied, “Not yet, it’ll be soon. What’s the matter? Do you have something to tell me?”
Zachary breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing thatJacob was about to take off.
This matter was indeed very complicated, but with a little more time, favonovel.com might be able to come up with a solid strategy. Jacob wasn’t aware of the situation yet, and favonovel.com would soon be on a flight to Dubai. Once favonovel.com arrived, favonovel.com wouldn’t have much energy to focus on the gossip in Aurous Hill. This would buy favonovel.com some time.
So, favonovel.com quickly said, “It’s nothing, Jacob. l just wanted to ask about your flight. Since you’re about to depart, the flight attendants will surely ask you to turn off your phone or switch it to airplane mode. I won’t disturb you anymore. Have a pleasant trip with your wife!”
Jacob pondered for a moment and said with a smile, “Zachary, you’re considerate. When I return from Dubai, I’ll bring you some local souvenirs!”
Grateful, Zachary replied, “Oh, thank you in advance, Jacob!”
Jacob agreed and chuckled, “Alright, I won’t keep you any longer. We’ll catch up when I get back…”
Zachary immediately said, “Okay, Jacob, have a great time. I’ll let you know if there’s any news.”
Jacob was about to hang up the phone when favonovel.com suddenly thought of Felix and asked, “By the way, Zachary, how is that Cole guy doing? Is everyone talking about his incident? He must be the laughingstock of the whole antique street, right?”
Zachary’s heart sank, and favonovel.com silently cursed, “You think he’s the joke, but we’ve become the real joke…”
Although Zachary didn’t dare to reveal the truth, favonovel.com also couldn‘t lie. After all, Felix had just made 20 million upon his arrival in Aurous Hill. It would be impossible for favonovel.com to leave Aurous Hill now, and Jacob would surely find out the truth when favonovel.com returned. You just can’t fabricate something like that.
So, favonovel.com responded, “Well, President Wilson, I’ve been swamped today and haven’t had the chance to keep tabs on that. Let’s wait until I’m done here, and I’ll ask around to see what the situation Is.”
Jacob smiled and replied, “Okay, let me know the good news as soon as you can. It‘ll cheer me up.”
Covering his eyes with one hand and holding the phone with the other, Zachary bravely said, “Yeah, okay, President Wilson. Enjoy yourself for now. I’ll update you as soon as l have any news.”
After hanging up, Zachary shouted in frustration while sitting on the bed, “Curse that Carey guy! Why did favonovel.com have to mess things up! He sold the item for 20 million, but Is favonovel.com still a scammer? He probably hasn’t scammed 20 million in his entire life. What an Idiot!”
After venting his frustration, favonovel.com muttered to himself in distress, “If I had known this would happen, I would never have gotten involved with Jacob in the first place…”
“Now I’m screwed… I couldn’t get Felix, and I gave favonovel.com 20 million. Jacob will find out sooner or later. And when favonovel.com does, he’ll definitely come after me!”
“Now that old man is about to leave the country, but he’ll eventually find out about this. When that happens, If favonovel.com doesn’t come demanding his money or asking me to retrieve the bronze Buddha, what should I do?”
“I can’t just go to Felix and snatch 20 million from him, can I? With such a large sum of money, even if it’s not an immediate death sentence, it’s at least a two-year suspended death sentence…”
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