Chapter 236: What a Coincidence
Justin Donovan was well aware of this. "I’ll be fine. The company’s security is solid, and I’ve been taking bodyguards with me to and from work lately. It’s the rest of you I’m worried about, especially you, Hector..."
"Don’t worry about me. My agency assigned me a whole squad of bodyguards. They don’t do anything but watch me all day. I’m probably safer than you are right now, big bro."
Ever since the incident with Jacqueline Jennings, Hector Donovan’s agency had been terrified. They hired seven or eight bodyguards for him overnight. They were now his constant shadows, following him wherever he went, so close you’d think they wanted to sleep under his bed.
"You don’t need to worry about me, either. My cousin hired a bunch of bodyguards for me."
Zane Lynch’s original intention had been to prevent any of Cassandra Lynch’s suitors from getting any funny ideas and to avoid a repeat of what had happened on Eloise Donovan’s birthday. He had spent a fortune hiring bodyguards specifically to ensure Eloise’s personal safety, and now they were proving to be quite useful.
Justin Donovan was momentarily speechless. He turned his gaze to Mr. and Mrs. Donovan. "And you two, Mom, Dad..."
"We know, we know. We absolutely won’t be a burden during this crisis. We promise we’ll stay home and not set foot outside. You can rest assured."
Justin Donovan: "..." ’Are you sure you’re staying home to avoid danger, and not just as an excuse to be lazy?’
Having long seen through his parents’ little scheme, Justin Donovan sighed. "Actually, my main concern is Serena..."
"Serena has Grand-uncle protecting her over there. She should be fine, right?"
"That’s right. Besides, she’s in Imperia. It’s a crowded city with eyes everywhere. That Jacobs fellow can’t be so audacious as to try something there."
"It’s better to be safe than sorry. When some people snap, they don’t care who gets hurt. Justin, you should still call your grand-uncle in a bit and tell him what’s going on."
Mrs. Donovan’s words echoed Justin Donovan’s own concerns. There was also another, very important reason. "I suspect this Jacobs has someone else backing him up. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be acting with such impunity."
Hector Donovan and the others were taken aback for a moment. "So, you’re saying..."
"We might need to ask Grand-uncle for help."
After a moment of silence, Mr. Donovan couldn’t help but smile. "It can’t be helped. For Serena’s sake, your grand-uncle will agree."
In other words, when it came down to it, he was still riding his little sister’s coattails. Although it felt a bit awkward, Justin Donovan knew how to prioritize and didn’t dwell on it. He compiled a summary of the entire situation and promptly sent it to Desmond Donovan.
At that moment, Desmond Donovan was busy reviewing information from Beatrice Donovan. Upon learning that the person behind Victor Donovan and his son was connected to Vincent Vaughn, Desmond almost immediately deduced who the so-called mastermind was.
"So, it’s him!"
He looked closer. Beatrice Donovan had specifically mentioned that Vincent Vaughn had an overseas partner who was capable of any evil, and that this partner’s surname was very likely Jacobs...
’...’ ’What a coincidence!’
Desmond Donovan compared the two pieces of information. The more he looked, the more he believed it was highly probable they were the same person. He remarked wryly, "That family is truly fortunate to have met a good kid like Serena."
Even though they were keeping it from the little one, not wanting to worry her, it didn’t stop her from inadvertently providing them with remote support.
"They deserve it," Guinevere Preston said, patting his hand with an amused smile.
She had heard a little about Arabella Donovan’s family after being rescued, especially regarding Arabella and Eloise Donovan.
In her eyes, both girls were exceptionally good children. The Donovan Family had handled everything perfectly, from how they raised Eloise to how they treated Arabella after she was welcomed back.
This outcome was only possible because the Donovan Family had made no missteps in their treatment of the two girls, and because both girls were good-hearted themselves.
Otherwise, if any party involved had harbored ulterior motives, the two girls—and indeed, the entire family—could never have been so harmonious.
"Alright, stop being so sour. If it weren’t for that family, we wouldn’t have lucked into such a precious granddaughter. What do you plan to do about this? Even though this trouble isn’t because of us, we can’t just stand by and watch as their elders. Not to mention, this matter happens to be tied up with your own affairs."
"You don’t have to tell me; I understand. Setting aside the matter of the younger generation, and just looking at the bigger picture... these people dare to pull this kind of dirty business within our borders. Do they really think all of us old-timers are dead and gone?"
Arabella Donovan was oblivious to the storm brewing beneath the calm surface. She had no idea that she had, by a strange twist of fate, remotely assisted her eldest brother, crippling one of Jasper Jacobs’s biggest backers with just a few words.
The Kerr mother and son placed great importance on the bracelet Arabella Donovan intended to give Desmond Donovan and his wife as a gift for the couple. They rushed the production, with several artisans working in shifts, and finally completed it a day ahead of schedule.
When Ms. Kerr called Arabella Donovan, she was at the auction house with Caspian Rhodes’s legal and financial teams, handling the handover procedures.
The accounts covered many years, and the overall business was vast and complex. Even with the extensive experience of the experts from Caspian Rhodes’s firm, it still took them three to four days to sort through all the books.
"Based on the ledgers provided by Manager Vance, the auction house operated at a slight loss for the first five years after its initial investment. From year five to year ten, it broke even and then began to turn a profit until the initial investment was recouped. The period from ten years ago to the present has been the auction house’s true growth phase, where it began to generate significant profits."
The head of the financial team, a Mr. Goodman, was a man in his early fifties. He wore a black suit and gold-rimmed glasses, exuding the air of a refined, sophisticated villain.
His expert aura was on full display, especially when discussing the auction house’s finances. It made Arabella Donovan so envious she wanted to grab a shovel and poach him for her own team that very minute.
"Starting from that year, the auction house’s profits rose annually. Your personal assets have now accumulated to five billion..."
"Five... billion? Are you sure you didn’t add an extra zero?"
Mr. Goodman calmly adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose and nodded. "I’m certain. The Pavilion of Many Treasures is not only the largest auction house in Brynn, but also the largest in the country. This year alone, its overall profit has already surpassed ten billion."
"...I know that, but the company’s assets and my personal assets are two different things, right?"
"That is correct, but the lion’s share belongs to you. Besides, it’s only five billion or so. Spread over ten years, that averages out to just over five hundred million per year. Considering the current scale of the Pavilion of Many Treasures, that’s not a large amount at all. And that’s before factoring in the final figures from this year’s last auction. Otherwise, the number would be even higher."
Arabella Donovan: ’...’ ’How can you talk about five billion like it’s fifty dollars? Is this the kind of calm composure a seasoned financial expert from a major corporation is supposed to have? You’re making me sound like some country bumpkin who’s never seen real money. But that’s five billion! Five billion!’