Chapter 249


    Chapter 249 Desperate Measures


    “That’s the spirit, honey. You can’t just let anyone take thepany away from you! You have to pull


    through this no matter what,” said Naomi as she encouraged him with renewed fervor.


    Anastasia interjected, “Dad, do you know who the acquiring party is?”


    Francis was seething with rage, and his eyes were bloodshot red as he snapped angrily, “He’s an old


    rival of mine. He’s despicable and disgustingly ruthless, and I can’t believe he’d resort to such


    underhanded ways to whittle me down!”


    Upon hearing this, Anastasia’s heart dropped to her stomach. If the acquiring party was Francis’ old rival,


    she couldn’t possibly expect her father to go through with the acquisition without putting up a fight. Even


    if he did, he would resent and grow angry over this for the rest of his life.


    Naomi was beside herself with panic as well. Her continued life of luxury depended on her husband’s


    company, and if he were to call it a day and let the acquisition go through, it would be the end of her


    privileged lifestyle. A look of horror colored her face as she turned to Francis and urged, “In that case,


    what should we do? Honey, you have to think of a way to save thepany, and you must be quick! We


    can’t just let someone snatch thepany away!”


    “That’s right, Dad! You have to do something!” Erica chimed nervously.


    “My hands are tied,” Francis admitted a little tiredly. “The acquiring party now holds thirty percent of the


    shares in thepany, giving them enough leverage. More to the point, the business hasn’t been doing


    great for thest two years, and I’ve had to sell ten percent of my own shares to anotherpany to


    help tide things over. Now, thatpany has decided to join forces with the acquiring party. As things


    are, I’m left with a forty-percent share in thepany, and if they were to persuade the other


    shareholders to jump on their bandwagon, my words will not carry any more weight.”


    Francis was devastated. Never did he think that hispany would fall victim to such a hostile takeover.


    “Dad, why don’t you just buy those shares back?” Erica suggested.


    Alex, who had been standing to the side all this while, knew thepany’s financial troubles well


    enough. He pointed out emotionlessly, “Buying back those shares isn’t as easy as it sounds. Our


    company hasn’t been profiting for thest two years, and we’re making just enough to keep the business


    afloat.”


    “If you’d known that this would happen, maybe you wouldn’t buy that house,” Naomi said begrudgingly


    as she implicitly med her husband for buying Anastasia the apartment.


    Francis was already annoyed to begin with, so he red at Naomi and snapped, “Keep quiet, will you?”


    “I’m right, aren’t I? You should’ve tightened your belt and stopped spending money so frivolously if you


    knew thepany was struggling,” Naomi argued, rubbing salt in his wound.


    Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org.


    Anastasia knew that she was using her of being a liability to Francis, and she wished she could


    shove Naomi and Erica out of the room. All they were doing was aggravating Francis instead of helping


    hime up with feasible solutions.


    “Is there no one who can save Dad’spany?” Erica whined.


    Just then, a lightbulb went off in Naomi’s head when she heard this. “Wait, there is! I can’t believe we


    didn’t think about this before. Anastasia, you know Elliot, don’t you? Why don’t you get him to save our


    company since he’s such a bigshot?”


    Anastasia had been trying to avoid bringing up Elliot’s name, and she was flustered to hear Naomi even


    suggest this. She maintained her indifference as she retorted, “Why should he help us?”


    “Why not? Your mother died protecting him! This is the least he can do for our family,” Naomi argued like


    she was only stating a matter of fact.


    Our family? When were we ever a family? Anastasia didn’t bother entertaining the woman’s crazy idea


    and fell silent instead.


    Erica was supportive of her mother as well. “Mom’s right. Elliot is a mogul and a billionaire. If he


    intervenes, I’m sure Dad’s old rival would be so intimidated that he’d back out of the acquisition


    altogether!”


    There was an unreadable look in Francis’ eyes. He had stayed quiet throughout this, but he did sneak a


    nce at Anastasia, and she did not miss the pleading look on his face. Desperate times called for


    desperate measures, and he was very much desperate.


    Suddenly, he said, “Naomi, go home and take Erica with you. Alex, could you drop them off at the


    house?”


    Alex was stunned at first, but he quickly nodded and replied, “Very well. Mrs. Tillman, Miss Erica, I’ll be


    dropping the both of you home now.”


    “I have to stay and take care of you, Francis!” Naomi insisted, refusing to leave.


    “I’ll be fine, and I have Anastasia here to take care of me. Besides, having all of you here is aggravating.


    Go home,” he said firmly, his patience for both Naomi and Erica wearing thin.


    Upon seeing that her husband was determined to have her leave the room, Naomi said to Erica, “Come


    on, let’s go back.”


    Meanwhile, Erica was filled with bitter jealousy as she glowered at Anastasia. Why does she get to stay?


    Is it because Dad likes her more?