Chapter 1424


    After Tom left, Sonia began eating with the nurse and Rita''s help.


    The brunch the nurse bought for her was nd to the degree that it was only a little salty andcked


    other interesting tastes. After all, she had topromise with limited food options since her current


    condition forbade her to eat nothing but nd food.


    She did not have anyints about the tasteless food. She was well aware of the importance of


    following the doctor''s advice and taking care of her body for the time being.


    She could go to Toby''s side and take care of him as soon as possible, but only if she recovered sooner.


    Sonia needed him. Indeed, she would not deny the fact that she needed him instead of the other way


    around.


    Toby could have avoided the pain and misfortune if it had not been for Sonia implicating him.


    She had to see for herself that he was recovering. Or else, she could never forgive herself. That was


    the reason why she needed him.


    "Yikes! I can''t believe I forgot to ask Tom how Asher got arrested in the first ce." In the middle of


    brunch, she pped her thigh hard suddenly as realization btedly dawned on her.


    However, Tom had left a while ago.


    Rita found Sonia''s behavior amusing. "President Reed, don''t fret. He''ll be visitingter and you can ask


    him then. Besides, Asher was only arrested not long ago. The police are still interrogating him on his


    methods and motives. By that time, he could brief you on the results in one go, and you could avoid


    wasting your time."


    "You''re right." Sonia nodded, agreeing with Rita''s words. Thus, she put the thought aside and


    continued having her food.


    Asher was apprehended and he couldn''t get out of jail for the time being, anyway. She could always


    ask about his situation sometimeter.


    It turned out she had the right guess.


    Just when she finished brunch, the representative of the police approached her. It was the civilian


    police officer fromst night.


    Learning from Tom that Sonia was awake, the officer visited her to record her statement. After all, she


    was the victim. ording to their procedure, the police were bound to ask her a few questions.


    "Good afternoon, Miss Reed," the officer greeted her before taking a seat next to her bed.


    She cast a slight nod in his direction. "Good afternoon to you too."


    "How are you doing, Miss Reed?" he expressed his concerns about her health.


    She smiled. "My lungs still hurt, and I''m suffering from a vision problem. Apart from that, I''m doing just


    fine."


    "Get well soon, Miss Reed," the officer said.


    Sonia hummed a response. "Thank you. Are you here for Asher?"


    "Yes." He flipped open the notebook that he always carried and twisted open his fountain pen to record


    her statement. "First of all, Miss Reed, is there any animosity between you and Asher Dafoe?"


    She shook and nodded at the question. "We aren''t enemies, but he''s holding a grudge against me."


    "Can you borate on that?"


    "He''s about my father''s age. My father is the founder of Paradigm. Indeed, my father worked with a few


    people including Asher at the beginning of its establishment. He''s even considered one of the founding


    members. However, he didn''t invest in the start-up funds when thepany was building its foundation


    nor was he good in management and technology. Therefore, my father gave him a small number of


    shares for his hard work even though hecked contribution to thepany. Asher has always deeply


    resented my father since he thought he was credited with founding thepany and had made many


    contributions as he affirmed that he deserved more shares. Thus, he had been against my father over


    the decades back when my father was the president. My father never took any action to get rid of him


    as he saw Asher as apanion who had been through highs and lows with him."


    "What happened next?" the officer inquired.


    "Asher always desired more shares and full control of thepany. However, his efforts had always


    been unsessful when my father was alive. Things took a turn for the worse after my father passed


    away. People bought out the shares, and Asher eventually became thergest shareholder, followed by


    obtaining thepany''s full control. Even though he had no real skills, he held Paradigm in one piece


    for another six years. Thus, I''ve always been grateful to him. Based on the same reason, I didn''t oust


    him from thepany after I took the role of the president."


    Pausing her story, she took a deep breath. "I regret it now. I should''ve chased him out of thepany


    and Seafield. Then, Toby and I could''ve avoided what happened to usst night."


    The man cleared his throat. Are you sure it''s wise to dere that you want to get rid of him right before


    me?


    Even so, he eventually decided not to say anything. After all, the woman in front of him barely made it


    out alivest night. He could understand that her words were mostly a whine after being caught in a


    life-and-death situation.


    As soon as the words left her, Sonia realized her words were inappropriate and cast him an apologetic


    smile. "Pardon me. Where are my manners?"


    "No big deal. Just be careful next time."


    "All right," she promised. After that, she continued, "Over thest six years, he had imposed his rules


    on thepany. Even though there were many shareholders, theycked the interest to manage the


    company considering its condition. Thus, Asher had been doing as he pleased. Therefore, he


    prioritized power and Paradigm''s management over other things and refused to let it go. If he had


    enough money in the first ce, he would''ve bought out the shares from other shareholders and


    obtained absolute control, then he could finally be the president."


    What Sonia meant by absolute control was when a shareholder held more than fifty percent of shares


    in totalpared to the other shareholders.


    What Sonia meant by absolute control was when a shareholder held more than fifty percent of shares


    in totalpared to the other shareholders.


    "However, Asher didn''t buy back the shares my father sold a few years ago. Instead, my grandfather, a


    friend, and Charles, the president of Lane Corporation, were buying back the shares in secret on my


    behalf. Half a year ago, I returned to thepany with an absolute majority."


    The officer nodded. The police knew the story well enough. Before they visited Sonia, they had


    investigated her background.


    "I returned to thepany at the same time while he was away on a business trip abroad. Otherwise, I


    couldn''t have made it back to thepany without any obstacles because he would''ve taken


    advantage of myck of professional knowledge and stopped me frompeting with him for power,


    even though I had absolute control. However, I wasn''t aware of his ambition at that time. Even more, I


    felt bad returning as his superior after he worked hard to sustain thepany for years. After all, he


    was a senior and contributed much to thepany''s survival. Therefore, I temporarily chose the


    position of the vice president out of respect and waited for his return so we could proceed with a


    discussion about the change of position."


    "He didn''t agree with your offer?" he asked.


    She nodded. "That''s right. He had shown me nothing but animosity once he came back. Even more, he


    asked me to hand over the authority, but I refused. However, he had many supporters in thepany


    during that time. I eventually handed over half of my power to avoid fighting them head-on. At the same


    time, I took the president''s position without discussion. It brought his dissatisfaction with me to a whole


    new degree and aggravated our conflict. After that, he had been caught in an unfavorable position all


    the time when we had different opinions. Thus, he resented me more, which I guess he could no longer


    tolerate my presence and attempted to get rid of me."


    The officer wrote down his story before shutting his notebook. "That''s all I need to know."


    "Toby has nothing against Asher. He''s only there because I implicated him." Sonia emphasized while


    looking in his direction. "If anything, Toby lent me a hand when I waspeting with Asher for the


    company. Thus, I think Asher holds some grudge against Toby."


    Asher told the same thing to the police before.


    The officer rose to his feet. "All right. Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Reed. I won''t keep you any


    longer. I''m heading back to the station to present your statement to my colleagues."


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    "Wait." She stopped him from leaving.