Chapter 390 - 249: The Stage is Set, the Players are in Position
Beatrice removed her hand from Elizabeth’s shoulder, her eyes scanning her from head to toe.
"Speaking of which, darling, you’ve done wonderfully for yourself lately, taking over Richard’s bridge fund—a full billion dollars," she said with a smile, her tone light. "That must be difficult to handle, right? After all, that’s no small sum. Are you managing okay?"
Elizabeth smiled, her expression unchanged. "It’s just some routine asset allocation. Uncle Richard and I discussed it several times. He trusts my team to handle things properly."
"That’s wonderful. Truly wonderful." Beatrice Mellon’s expression made it seem as if she were genuinely happy for Elizabeth from the bottom of her heart.
"You’ve really grown up. You’re far more competent than that idiot Charlie, who only knows how to screw things up," she praised lavishly. "Oh, by the way, since you arrived before me—"
She lowered her voice and asked, "Have you seen your grandfather? How is he? I heard from people at the foundation that he hasn’t made an appearance in a long time."
"I have no idea," Elizabeth said with a smile, gesturing to the maid at the foot of the stairs. "I’m in the same boat as you. I haven’t even been able to set foot on the second-floor landing. Perhaps Grandfather is just maintaining an air of mystery before the dinner."
Beatrice gave Elizabeth a long, hard look, as if assessing the truthfulness of her words.
After a moment, she let out a soft laugh and adjusted her turtleneck sweater.
"Well, since we’re all being kept out, I’ll go grab a drink to warm up. See you tonight, darling."
She also gave Li Wei a slight nod before walking away on her high heels toward the lounge on the other side of the hallway.
Watching Beatrice’s back disappear around the corner, Elizabeth dropped her fake smile and turned to stare at Li Wei.
"You know my aunt?" she asked, her eyes fixed on him. "What did she mean just now?"
"I met the governor of Florida during a competition in Miami, and Beatrice Mellon is just one of his aides," Li Wei explained. "She gave me a subtle hint that there might be some problems with Charles Mellon’s Manhattan Art Center project."
"And then what?" Elizabeth asked, stunned. The words tumbled out. "Were you the one who leaked the ledger?"
"No, that wasn’t me. The Italian supplier leaked Onyx’s double-entry ledgers themselves," Li Wei said without a blush, hiding his own role in the affair. "After I saw the news, I just gave it a little push. I asked a few friends in the media and some PR firms to help build up the hype, that’s all."
"That’s it?" Elizabeth stared intently at Li Wei’s face.
Although his story was logical and perfectly explained why Charlie’s scandal had blown up so quickly, Elizabeth’s intuition told her that Li Wei’s role was far more significant than just "fanning the flames."
Still, he had clearly helped her immensely with this, yet he hadn’t said a word about it at the time. The thought moved her even more.
Her lips parted, but she didn’t say anything more, instead steering the conversation back on topic.
"Uncle Richard went over the details with me. We signed a 15-year long-term agreement," she said, pulling Li Wei over to a quiet floor-to-ceiling window in the foyer. "He’s only asking for a guaranteed fixed return of 5%, and as long as I meet that, I get a 1% management fee—"
Before she could say more, the heavy, double oak doors of the foyer were pushed open again.
A middle-aged man Li Wei had never seen before strode into the foyer. He was dressed in an exquisitely tailored custom suit, complete with a double-breasted jacket and wide lapels that screamed power.
If not for his age and position, Li Wei might have mistaken him for Alexander Mellon based on his attire alone.
Following behind him was a young man who had lost a significant amount of weight, his eyes sunken.
It was none other than Charles Mellon, whom he hadn’t seen in weeks.
After entering, the middle-aged man scanned the empty foyer. His gaze lingered for a moment on Elizabeth and Li Wei’s faces before moving on.
"What is everyone just standing around for?" he boomed, barking orders at the nearby waiters and at Alister, who happened to be walking over. "Are Beatrice and Phoenix here?"
"Beatrice is next door, eavesdropping on me and my companion getting intimate," Alister said with a shrug. "No idea about Phoenix. Probably holed up somewhere researching something."
"What’s this?" Beatrice’s voice came as she walked out. "Timothy, are you going to start ordering us around the second you arrive?"
"Perfect timing," Timothy Mellon said, ignoring Beatrice’s sarcastic remark. He turned to Elizabeth. "Since Phoenix isn’t here, Liz, you come over. I need to hold a closed-door meeting with you all before the dinner starts."
Elizabeth glanced at Li Wei, who gave her a slight, reassuring nod.
The much thinner Charles Mellon saw where Elizabeth and Li Wei were standing. He clenched his jaw but remained silent.
Timothy pushed open the door to a conference room at the end of the first-floor hall.
Alister shrugged, patted Amanda on the butt, and told her to go get a drink at the bar before sauntering inside.
Beatrice followed close behind on her high heels.
Elizabeth gave Li Wei a reassuring look and also stepped into the conference room.
As for Charles Mellon, he started to follow his father inside but was frozen in place by a cold glare from Timothy.