Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Nathan and Penny came to the amusement park on the ninth floor to find Queenie playing at the slides and having a jolly good time.

Benson, on the other end, looked pensive and appeared to be deep in thought.

Anxiously, Benson and Leah inquired about the matter when Nathan and Penny showed up at the park.

“I have chased them away.” Nathan replied with a subtle grin, “I’ve told them to get Samuel here to plead the both of you if he wants to get that pill for Sean.”

“Well done, Nathan!” Leah was extremely pleased.

She then turned and reminded Benson, who was still in a pensive mood, “Let me warn you again, Benson. This is no ordinary pill, as it costs a whopping ten million for it. Don’t you dare give it away to Samuel as if it doesn’t cost a dime. Think of how he had bullied us all this time. Don’t expect I’ll let you off easily if you dare to go against my words.”

Benson opened his mouth, fumbling for an answer, but all he could give was a muted whine.

Time passed quickly when they were having fun watching Queenie enjoying herself at the playground. Half an hour passed when a group of men dressed impeccably in suits came up to them.

Leading the pack was none other than Samuel Smith, the de facto leader at the helm of the Smith family’s empire.

Samuel was not his usual arrogant self, as he was beaming with friendliness when he walked over in quick steps. “Hello, my dear Benson and Leah, I’m so glad to see all of you here!” he greeted them with feigned affection.

“Since when have we become so dearly close to you, Samuel?” Leah seemed unimpressed.

“Hello, Samuel.” Benson reciprocated tensely.

“I know that dad and I have been too hard on both of you over the years, my dear brother and my sister-in-law.” Samuel explained apologetically, “It made me feel really sorry for that. Let me offer my sincerest apology to the both of you.”

With that being said, Samuel looked like he was about to kneel in hopes of their forgiveness. Nonetheless, Benson rushed over to hold him back from kneeling. “No, Samuel. Please don’t...”

“Huh!” Leah huffed at his fakery, “What’s made him turned humble and kind to us all of a sudden? There must be something he’s wanted from us.”

“Come on, Leah. Since Samuel has already apologized to us, can’t you just stop picking on him?” Benson found himself on the horns of a dilemma, as he tried to placate his wife.

It only made Leah see red, “Are you finding me picky and pushy? So that you can play the saint while I’m the villain?” She wrung her hands and shouted at him, “Fine, I’ll wash my hands off this matter and let you do whatever you wish!”

Leah turned and stormed away towards Queenie, staying with her at the playground.

Leah’s petulant behavior left Benson feeling awkward in front of Samuel, who was quick to offer him his sympathy. “You can’t blame her, Benson. It was our own making that had caused her to loathe and resent us. I know Dad, Paul, and myself included, have been too harsh on you and your family in the past.”

His words would only elicit the empathy of Benson, who had always been a soft-hearted creature. “Don’t be mad at her, Samuel.

Leah might look like a sourpuss, but deep inside she has a very tender and kind heart.” Benson tried to speak up for his wife.

“Oh, of course, I understand that. How could I be mad at Leah?” Samuel said in an understanding tone, “We are all family, right?

We are brothers of the same blood and flesh, our bond is unbreakable. Don’t you just agree with what I’ve said?”

Benson nodded diligently, “Yes, I agree.”

“That goes the same with our dad, Benson.” Samuel pressed on when he saw that Benson was getting sentimental, “Even though he had been unkind to you, he’s still our dad.”

“It was supposed to be such a joyous day for him to celebrate his seventieth birthday. But he took a sip too much and landed in the hospital with a stroke. The doctor has warned us that his life is under threat.”

“Notwithstanding his shortcomings, he is still our father who’s brought us to this world. Do you want to be haunted with shame for the rest of your life for watching our father suffer in pain and not doing a thing about it?”

“I beg you to give me the pill, Benson. Can’t you see our dad’s life is hanging by a thread and he needs the pill badly?”

His words tugged at the heartstrings of Benson, who had always been a sentimental and good-natured person. His love for his father overshadowed all the unpleasant memories of how they had mistreated him and his family in the past. Tears began streaming down his cheeks.

“No, you don’t have to beg me, Samuel. He’s my dad and I will do all I can to save him.” He clutched Samuel’s hand and cried plaintively, “I’ll ask Nathan for the pill and we’ll give it to dad at the hospital.”

A gloating expression gleamed across his eyes as Samuel nodded eagerly, “Sure, sure!”

Nathan watched with his cold, steady eyes the pretentious act put up by Samuel, who had wickedly exploited Benson’s soft-

hearted nature with all those mawkish and sentimental talks. He was a sly and shameless monster, in Nathan’s opinion.

Benson finally wiped away his tears and walked towards Nathan and Penny. “I need a favor from both of you, Nathan, Penny...”

he began diffidently.

“Sure, Benson. I know what you are asking for. I’ll do anything you want me to.” Nathan intervened, “It’s nothing but a pill.”

Nathan knew perfectly well that Samuel was only putting up a show to trick Benson into giving him the pill. Yet he could not ignore the consequences should Benson refuse to give him the pill. It would only make Benson looked callous and selfish, and everyone in Channing would ridicule him as one unfilial son who had refused to save his dying father by letting him have the pill.

If he gave the pill to Sean, Nathan was aware that it would be in Benson’s interest by sparring him from being attacked by such criticisms.

Besides, it could help rebuild the relationship between Benson and Sean, enabling him to get back into Sean’s good books by offering him the pill. It all seemed like a good bargain in Nathan’s eyes.

Even though the pill came with a jaw-dropping ten million price tag, it meant nothing to Nathan.

Benson was quivering with inexplicable gratitude when he took the pill from Nathan. “What a good-hearted fellow, my dear son-

in-law!” he gushed.

Penny’s face was flushed red to her scalp as she stole a sidelong glance at Nathan. This guy seems full of tricks, she mumbled to herself, look how he has easily won over my dad!

With the pill, Benson took Nathan and Penny along with him, as they followed Samuel to the hospital.

It angered Leah to discover that her husband had given away the pill to save his dad. It filled her with such burning rage that she had refused to go with them to the hospital. She took Queenie home with her instead.

At the First Hospital in Channing, Benson handed the pill over to the attending doctor of Sean Smith.

With the help of the nurses, the attending doctor gave the pill to Sean for immediate consumption, for he was well aware of its miraculous effects.

Samuel, Paul, Benson, Penny, and the others were pacing outside the ICU room, waiting impatiently for the doctor to update them on Sean’s condition.

The doors of the ICU swung open.

“How was it, doctor? Did the pill work for my dad?” Samuel and the rest waited for his reply with bated breaths.

“It’s a miracle, it’s simply miraculous!” The doctor announced excitedly, “Sean’s condition improved drastically after he had taken the pill. Though it is unrealistic to expect instant recovery after taking the pill, it would still require some time for him to recover from a critical illness such as stroke.”

“Don’t get too worried about it, I estimate that it would only take about ten to fourteen days for Sean to see a full recovery.”

“The patient is still in a state of delirium, and he needs to recuperate after taking the pill. I’d advise you guys to leave him alone and let him have a good rest,” advised the doctor.

They thanked the doctor and took note of his advice.

“We owe it to you, Benson,” Samuel explained with a pretentious grin after the doctor left them and returned to his office.

“That’s alright, Samuel. As long as Dad is fine.” Benson was genuinely happy that Sean had made it through.

“But there must be some reward in return for your help.” Samuel insisted.

“Speaking of which, didn’t Penny graduate with a civil engineering degree? Wouldn’t it be such a pity to make her work in Diva, that subsidiary company of ours? I know that she has been asking for a transfer to Grande Group in the past few years.”

“How about this? Since I’m the CEO of Grande Group, I’ll approve for Penny to be transferred to Grande Group to be our General Manager. How does that sound?”

Both Benson and Penny could not be more surprised and delighted with his suggestion.

Getting into Grande Group was the only way to have access to the central core of the power of the Smith Family empire.

“Are you sure about this, Uncle Samuel?” Penny shrilled with delight until her voice cracked.

“Do I sound like I’m lying, silly girl?” Samuel guffawed, “Though dad is still the President of the company and I’m just the CEO, it’s well within my authority to appoint a general manager.”

Benson and Penny were both over the moon when they heard his proposal, except for different reasons.

With Penny now belonging as part of the central core of power, Benson read it as a recognition of their status within the Smith dynasty.

From Penny’s perspective, it was the opportunity that she had been waiting for to showcase her talent and skills.

Benson was still on cloud nine when he left the hospital with Nathan and Penny. It all seemed so surreal to him as they were simply too good to be true. “Don’t you find Samuel such a nice guy?” he quipped as they made their way home.

Back in the hospital, the few of them, including Miles and May, gathered around Samuel with a concerned look in their eyes.

“How could you do this to me, Dad?” Miles raised his voice in anger, “It’s bad enough that you’d let Penny join our company. But how could you let her take over my post? What do you expect me to do now?”

“He’s right, Dad.” May jumped in, “How could you let that b**** hold the important position of general manager?”

“Penny has brought such great shame to our family. Don’t you think that it would only cause us more embarrassment to make her the general manager of Grande Group?” Paul resented.

“That’s exactly what I intend to do, guys.” Samuel responded to their complaints with a sardonic smirk, “Let her make a fool out of herself!”

Everyone gazed at Samuel puzzledly, as if he was speaking Greek.

“I have gotten the script ready, so let’s just put up a good show.” Samuel explained his sinister plan, “Wait till dad comes round, we’ll simply tell him that Benson had used the pill to threaten us into giving Penny the post of general manager of Grande Group, or he would refuse to give us the pill to save Dad.”

“Left with no choice, we had to swallow the bitter pill and give in to his outrageous demand to allow Penny to become the general manager of Grande Group.”

His vicious plan was music to their ears, which caused them to gloat with wicked grins.

“This is such an ingenious idea, Dad.” approached Miles, “I’m sure that it will make Grandpa loathe them even more.”

Samuel gave him a pat on the shoulder and flashed a gratifying grin, “Just be patient and let the b**** warm your seat for a few days, Miles. Soon we will boot her out of the company when your grandpa comes around. It would take him just one word to kick her out of Grande Group.”

“I’m afraid that he wouldn’t the matter rest so easily, given Grandpa’s fiery temper.” Miles chuckled, “Not only he would kick her out of the company, but he’ll kick her entire family out as well.”