Chapter 209
Ice-Cold Ceo, Crazy Love
Monica furrowed her brows, âWhat are you talking about? If it were Ben, then of course I wouldâ¦â
Mr. Lynn sensed something was off and pulled Monica aside, signaling her to stop talking.
âDad, what are you doing? I havenât finished speaking,â Monica protested.
Mr. Lynn clenched his teeth and asked directly, âThe person Yana stabbed⦠was it Ben?â
âHow could that be!â Monica exclaimed in a highâpitched voice.
Carl and Jane also paused, simultaneously turning to look at Ben and Susan, a flicker of unease crossing their faces.
This⦠couldnât be possible, could it?
If Yana had injured Ben, then their insistence on Susan helping Yana in front of Charlie and Benâ¦
Wouldnât that seem⦠ridiculous?
Under everyoneâs watchful eyes, Ben casually nodded, âIndeed, the person Yana stabbed was me. It was I who instructed Susan to call the police. If you think what I did was wrong, feel free to speak up.â
Monicaâs face froze.
After a moment, she stood up abruptly, glaring at Carl and Jane, âYour daughter dared to stab Ben!
Forget about serving three years. Even if she were sentenced to death, she would deserve it!â
Susan reminded her coolly, âMs. Lynn, you just said family is the most important. That person who didnât matter, even if they were killed, I should help Yana.â
1 âThat was before I knew, now that Iâm aware, of courseâ¦â Monica tried to backpedal with conviction.
Mr. Lynn, embarrassed, pulled her up, âMr. Landor, today we didnât understand the situation fully and ended up causing confusion. The ensuing matters are your familyâs business, and we wonât interfere.â
He began to pull Monica away.
But Monica was reluctant to leave, âDad, why are you pulling me away? I still have things to say. Ben, I truly didnât know she stabbed you, if I had known, I definitely would haveâ¦â
Mr. Lynn quickened his pace, dragging her away.
Monicaâs voice soon faded completely.
Only then did Old Mr. Landor fully understand the sequence of events..
He looked at Ben with a hint of concern, âYour wound?â
âItâs already healed,â Ben quickly assured him.
Old Mr. Landor nodded, recalling how Susan had been ushering Ben back to their room early these past days.
He had thought it was just the affection of a young couple, and it had warmed his heart.
But now, he realized Susan had been worried about Benâs injury all along!
Realizing that Ben had faced such a dangerous situation, anger surged within Old Mr. Landor.
He turned to Carl and Jane with a frosty glare, âNow, what do you two have to say for yourselves?â
How could Yana hurt Benâ¦.
Why did Yana on earth stab Ben?
Carl was starting to cower.
Jane pulled at him, her eyes full of unease, âCarl?â
No matter how grievous Yanaâs mistake was, she was still their only daughter.
Carl wavered, then finally, thickâfaced, he ventured, âMr. Landor, look, youâre alright now, and Yana, sheâs just young and naive. Maybe we couldâ¦â
âYou donât need to plead with Ben,â Susan cut him off sharply. âItâs me who insists on Yana being punished.ââ
âSusan, how can you be so heartless!â Carl exploded.
Susan was about to retort when Ben squeezed her hand, âSusan, they are still your parents. It wouldnât hurt to give a little.â
âBen!â Susan was confused.
Carl was suddenly elated, âMr. Landor is being reasonable.â
Ben spoke up calmly, âIâm willing to reach an outâofâcourt settlement with you. But, I have my conditions.â
âWhat conditions?â Carl asked eagerly.
Ben made a gesture.
âWhat does that mean?â Carl was perplexed.
Ben explained plainly, âTwenty million dollars. Iâll agree to the settlement, and I assure you, there will be no further retribution for this matter.â
âTwenty million?â Carlâs eyes widened dramatically.
âCarl!â Jane looked at him expectantly.
Carl struggled for a few minutes before nodding, âDeal!â
The Miller familyâs assets werenât abundant. Liquidating everything probably wouldnât amount to twenty million dollars.
But the circumstances had changed.
Timothy was gone. He had no parents.
Yana and the child she carried were his only heirs.
Now, Yana had inherited everything from him.
With Timothyâs wealth, coming up with twenty million dollars wasnât too difficult.
Thinking this way, Carl felt Benâs condition was not too hard to accept.
After Carl and Jane left, Susan turned to Ben, âWhy the sudden act of kindness?â
âKind?â Ben laughed, âNot really.â
Susan was puzzled.
Ben began to explain.
âYana is pregnant. Even though sheâs been sentenced to three years, my injuries werenât severe, so thereâs actually a good chance she could get probation. The situation isnât as dire as her parents imagined.â
Susan nodded, half understanding, âBut with Timothyâs inheritance, twenty million dollars isnât really a punishment, is it?â
Ben shook his head, his smile conveying a hint of irony. âTimothy didnât leave behind that much cash.â
FUGI Come?â Susan was puzzled.
Ben stroked Susanâs hair and said without any reservation, âHe was my rival in love. I investigated him thoroughly. About half a year ago, he set up a foundation and poured most of his income into charity.
My estimate is that the cash he left behind is, at most, around two million dollars.â
Charity?
7 Susan was stunned.
Ben raised an eyebrow. âI think he was just too bored with life, filled with too much regret, and found something to pass the time. I thought he was a decent man because of his charity work, and I let my guard down a bit. I never expected him to do something like this in the end.â
Recalling the incident, Ben couldnât help but snort coldly.
Susan fell silent for a while.
The line between good and evil in a person is indeed hard to draw based on a single action.
For the millions who benefited from Timothyâs help, he was a great man.
But his final act was indeed too outrageous.
Of course, it wasnât Susanâs place to judge Timothyâs moral character.
Butâ¦
Now, the interesting part arrived.
If Timothyâs inheritance was really just that little, how would Carl and Jane come up with such a large sum of money?
Susan suddenly felt a bit eager to see what would happen next.
Carl and Jane rushed out of the Landor family and straight to the police station, spurred on by Benâs earlier call.
This was the first time they saw their daughter since Yana had been detained.
With limited time, Carl quickly explained Benâs conditions to Yana and then had her write a power of attorney for them to receive the inheritance.
Yana, driven mad by her confinement, agreed without hesitation.
Once they had the power of attorney, Timothyâs lawyer arrived.
Carl and Jane were dumbfounded.
Jane couldnât help but ask, âIs⦠is there some mistake? Is this all of Timothyâs estate?â
According to the lawyerâs disclosure, besides the house he was currently living in, Timothy had sold off all his other real estate not long ago. As for his wealth, he had donated it all to the foundation, leaving himself with less than 2 million dollars in cash.
âMr. and Mrs. Miller, Mr. Leen is a noble person.â The lawyer said seriously, âHe told me that 2 million dollars is enough to guarantee a higher efficiency. As for the rest, he doesnât need it, but more people need it.
Although the foundation under his name has only been established for half a year, it is now a super foundation second only to the Landor Group in private. You should be proud of him.â
Carl v was stupefied. All that money, and Timothy had given it all to charity? Had he lost his mind?
âNo, weâre not dealing with this foundation business anymore. Get the foundationâs money back for me, now,â Carl demanded brashly.
The lawyer shook his head and then showed him a document, âMr. Leen made it clear that only the foundation has access to its funds. Even he himself couldnât use the money at will.â
Carlâs face darkened as he read the clear print.
He had thought that with Timothyâs inheritance, gathering twenty million dollars would be simple.
But Timothy was a fool.
How could he only leave behind so little money? How were they supposed to come up with twenty million dollars now?
But if they couldnât come up with twenty million dollars, Yana, being locked up, would probably not last much longer.
âHoneyâ¦â Jane looked at Carl apprehensively.
Carl was livid, âDonât look at me! Even if you sold me, it wouldnât add up to twenty million dollars.â
âNo, there are the shares of Space Technologies, arenât there?â Jane tentatively reminded him.
Timothyâs inheritance wasnât just about cash; it was mostly about shares.
He personally held 30% of the shares of Space Technologies.
Recently, due to Timothyâs unexpected death, the stock had plummeted.
But this 30% was still roughly worth two hundred million dollars.
âSelling now would be a huge loss,â Carl flatly refused. âOnce the company stabilizes, these shares could multiply in value.â
âBut Yana canât wait,â Jane couldnât help but cry. âMoreover, these shares are actually Yanaâs. Using them for her own benefit is only natural.â
Carlâs gaze flickered.
Indeed, the heir to the shares was Yana.
A d M Now she trusted him, willing to let him manage it.
But if he wasnât even willing to use this money, would Yana still trust him?
Carl clenched his teeth, âSave her!â
With a heavy heart, Carl sold a portion of the shares at the lowest price, gathered twenty million dollars, and obtained Benâs withdrawal from the lawsuit.
Yana could finally go home.
After a few days in detention, she seemed somewhat dazed.
âYana, why on earth did you stab Ben?â Although Jane was heartbroken for her daughter, she couldnât help but ask.
Yana stared blankly at Jane for a moment and then let out a cold laugh.
âFrom now on, donât do anything foolish,â Jane continued to advise.
Yana nodded emotionlessly.
Donât do anything foolish again.
Yes, she couldnât afford to act so rashly anymore.
To seek revenge, she needed to plan more carefully.
Susan, Ben.
These two people had caused the death of Timothy.
Even if it took her whole life, she would get justice for Timothy