Chapter 282: You’re the One Who Took Advantage
Caspian Rhodes had just rushed back from out of town. After greeting Grandpa and Grandma Rhodes, he heard a snide question from nearby.
He turned toward the voice and saw it was a cousin from one of the branch families. Several of his uncles nearby remained silent, but they all turned to look his way, their eyes filled with the taunting and scheming of people eager for a show.
Caspian Rhodes cast a reassuring glance at a worried Mrs. Rhodes. "That’s right. But not many people know about it. You’re certainly well-informed, cousin."
"Well... that’s because you suddenly transferred a large sum of the company’s money. As a member of the family, is there anything wrong with being concerned about the company’s cash flow?"
The moment the cousin spoke, everyone looked at him as if he were an idiot. Caspian had baited him with a single line, and he’d revealed his hand completely. ’Concerned about cash flow?’ Wasn’t this just blatantly telling Caspian Rhodes that he had a spy in the company’s finance department?
’Trying to stir up trouble with an intellect like that? He was obviously just cannon fodder.’
But as much as they looked down on the cousin, it didn’t stop them from seizing the opportunity to challenge Caspian Rhodes.
"Caspian, it’s not that your uncle is being stingy, but that’s five hundred million, not five hundred dollars. Don’t you think spending it all on two little pendants is a bit much?"
"Exactly! What are those pendants made of, gold? Or are they blessed by the heavens? Asking five hundred million for two little trinkets—they must be insane. Our family might be rich, but we don’t squander money like that. Some people seem so shrewd, but let’s hope they haven’t been reeled in by a pretty face and played for a fool. If word of this gets out, won’t everyone laugh at the Rhodess for being so gullible?"
"He has a point. Caspian, do you think you were scammed? I honestly can’t imagine what kind of pendants could be worth five hundred million."
"Or is it possible, Uncle, that the only reason you can’t imagine it is due to your own ignorance?"
Caspian Rhodes hadn’t paid much attention to their pointed jabs at first, not until they turned the topic to Arabella Donovan, insinuating that his judgment was clouded by lust and that she had deliberately seduced him to cheat him out of his money.
Caspian’s expression darkened instantly, and he decisively aimed his retort at his second uncle—the one who was smiling pleasantly but had been manipulating the situation from behind the scenes.
The uncle’s smile froze for an instant before he quickly recovered, saying cheerfully, "Two pendants for five hundred million... I’ve truly never seen or heard of such a thing in all my years. Why don’t you bring them out, Caspian, and let us aunts and uncles see what they’re all about?"
"Enough!" Before Caspian could speak, Grandpa Rhodes, sitting in the seat of honor, rapped his cane on the floor and barked.
"Caspian bought those two pendants for me and my wife. As the saying goes, you can’t put a price on what the heart desires. We old folks happen to like these fancy, auspicious treasures, and for that, any price is worth it. Or are you suggesting that in your eyes, two old relics with one foot in the grave like us aren’t worthy of such things? That the money should all be left for you youngsters to spend on yourselves?"
At his words, the color drained from everyone’s faces.
The accusation was a heavy one. Even if it was exactly what they thought, they wouldn’t dare admit to a word of it.
Don’t be fooled by Grandpa Rhodes’s age. He might seem easygoing now, his sharp edges tempered by time.
But if they dared to agree with his statement, they’d be skinned alive. They’d probably disappear from the Rhodes Family entirely.
"Grandpa, please don’t misunderstand. My uncles didn’t mean that," a woman about Caspian’s age stepped forward at the perfect moment to mediate. "Everyone was just curious about what five-hundred-million-dollar pendants look like, enough to make Caspian spend such a fortune. But since it’s something you and Grandma like, then no price is too high."
"My sister’s right. Everyone’s just curious what the pendants look like. And since it’s the New Year and we’re all gathered here, everyone brought gifts for Grandpa and Grandma. I was just wondering if our cousin Caspian brought those two pendants along. Would it be possible to bring them out so everyone can have a look?"
With just a few sentences, this younger cousin had reframed the two pendants Caspian purchased as New Year’s gifts.
On the surface, he was just pressuring Caspian to show everyone the pendants, but his real aim was to make him lose face in front of the whole family.
If he could produce the pendants today, all would be well. But if he couldn’t, and whatever New Year’s gift he did have for the elders didn’t measure up, then these relatives would have a field day.
How could Caspian not see their ploy? Thinking of the gifts he had actually brought for his grandparents, a small smile played on his lips. He answered truthfully, "Those two pendants still require polishing and carving. The process takes too long, so they couldn’t be ready in time for the New Year."
"Oh, is that so? What a pity," Ian Rhodes said, a triumphant gleam in his eyes. "Then what New Year’s gifts *did* you bring for Grandpa and Grandma today, cousin?"
Caspian didn’t answer him. Instead, he handed a manila envelope he had prepared to Grandpa Rhodes. "Grandpa, this is your New Year’s gift. And Grandma, this one is for you."
"Wonderful, wonderful," Grandma Rhodes said, taking her envelope and beaming at him without even looking inside. "We always knew our Caspian was the most thoughtful. He never comes home without bringing us gifts."
Hearing her praise, the faces of the other relatives darkened. Some of the younger ones, not yet skilled at hiding their emotions, couldn’t help but grit their teeth. ’We’re all Rhodess,’ they thought, ’so how can those two play such obvious favorites?’
They conveniently forgot that Caspian’s immediate family were the direct descendants of Grandpa and Grandma Rhodes, while they were merely from branch families, a degree removed. Yet here they were, constantly scheming to get their hands on the main family’s assets while still expecting the elders to treat everyone equally—the height of greedy, arrogant hypocrisy.
The uncles who had been lording their seniority over Caspian just moments before now craned their necks, desperate to see what was in the envelopes. But they couldn’t make out a thing and could only wait, itching with curiosity, for the two elders to speak.
"Excellent! Excellent!" Grandpa Rhodes exclaimed. "You actually secured that plot of land! Whether it’s profitable or not, with this land, the Rhodes family’s footprint can finally expand."
"This is all thanks to Serena. If she weren’t so generous, didn’t know our family had a project in this area, and wasn’t grateful for the time I helped her with a loan, she never would have entrusted this matter entirely to me."
Grandpa Rhodes was old and sharp; he understood Caspian’s meaning immediately. He laughed heartily. "Not bad, not bad at all. A good lad who knows how to be grateful and has a good head on his shoulders. Your hundreds of millions weren’t spent for nothing—you’re the one who came out ahead on this."
"You’re right. And Serena helped me secure Grandma’s gift as well."
"Then I’d better have a good look," Grandpa Rhodes said, taking the other envelope from his wife. He opened it, and froze. "This is..."