Invincible Heir

Chapter 17 Humiliation and spite

Feet catching, Henry stumbled and collapsed into the sofa, dazed.

“Don’t panic, Granddad. There has to be some misunderstanding here. The contract was printed just

this morning. The ink’s not even dry. How exactly are we violating the contract?” Phillip said hurriedly.

An iota of liveliness returned to Henry’s pupils, and he perked up. “That’s right. We couldn’t have. Did

they mention which term of the contract we supposedly broke?”

Phillip shook his head. “All they’re saying is that we violated the agreement and would have to pay

fitting reparation, or else they’re liable to sue.”

“What?”

Henry’s budding hopes dashed themselves to pieces. “Call up everyone for a meeting!”

“Granddad, I...”

Henry shouted any questions Phillip might have had back down his throat. “I want everyone in the

meeting room in ten minutes.”

Ten minutes later, in the penthouse meeting room.

“Granddad, everyone’s here except for Tracy,” Phillip reported.

Henry’s brow twitched. “No need to wait, then. Phillip - explain.”

Phillip nodded and proceeded to explain everything about the phone call from the beginning.

Everyone on the scene wore the same expression of shock as he finished.

“Mr. Chairman, how is this possible?”

“Right? We secured that contract in the morning; the day’s not even over yet and they’re accusing us of

breaking terms?”

“It’s a plot hatched by Tracy and the Brone company. They have it in for us!”

The attendees’ collective surprise had boiled over into self-righteous indignation.

“Enough yammering!”

Henry slapped the desk, quieting the mob with a roar.

“You weren’t called up here to start a witch hunt, but to think of a way out of this mess – this is the

Brone Group we’re dealing with; they can crush us like ants! So think, all of you!”

His words brought a chill to the room, cooling fiery tempers in an instant.

“Chairman, sir, there’s clearly something else going on here. If we take into account the status of the

Brone Group, they shouldn’t be coming down on us this hard. Have we made enemies of someone?” It

looked as if someone was actually thinking for a change.

Henry considered it for a moment. It certainly was a possibility. Looking up, his icy glare once again

swept the room. “Keeping it within today, has anyone here given anyone else any grief at all?”

Everyone shook their heads. The family members on the scene were all of the direct Perry bloodline –

in other words, parasites who either spent their days browsing videos in their offices or using their work

as an excuse to go out and party.

“We haven’t given anyone any cause for grief. So what is it then?”

Out of ideas, Henry looked to Phillip. “You’re the Chairman. Any thoughts? How do we deal with this?”

Phillip thought for a moment in silence and spoke. “Granddad, the contract was secured by Tracy. Now

that things have gone south, she’s not even showing her face – which means she’s definitely involved.

In other words, she’s the key to all this.”

Henry’s own ideas began to spark. “Go on.”

“I’d been hung up about it since this morning. Why would the general manager of a Brone company

branch come all the way personally to deliver a contract? Now that I’m thinking about it, it all makes

sense.”

Knowingly, Phillip continued, “Tracy caught Camel’s eye, you see, but the man’s too embarrassed to

admit it. That’s why he came up here saying he was moved by her sincerity and all that rot. So we

signed the contract, but he’s still not getting anywhere with Tracy. Out of anger, he has his legal

department give us trouble over violating terms, which we did not. It’s an excuse, meant to prod us.”

If only Camel knew what they were thinking, he would have likely lost his bladder. Unlike everyone

else, he was privy to Baron’s identity. Even if he had a hundred times the courage he had now, he

wasn't nearly brave enough to covet his superior’s wife!

Meanwhile, everyone else in question nodded as if they understood the whole thing. Even Henry

graced Phillip with a pleased grin. “For someone like Camel to come to us in person, the reason has to

be something he desires for his person as well. At the end of the day, it all comes down to riches,

power, and lust. We can’t do anything about the first two, but we have in our hands the most beautiful

maiden of all Cona – Tracy.”

“That’s what I’m saying, Granddad. If we produce Tracy, we solve our problem just like that,” Phillip

grinned right back.

“Send word right now and have her meet me in the office,” Henry commanded.

The Perry courtyard.

Ever since she’d come home from the office, Tracy had been sequestered in her room for an entire

day.

With her daughter ignoring her questions, Sherry only managed to glean the facts after asking around.

“How many times have I told you to divorce that piece of trash? You never listened, and look where

that’s got you! The company you built up all on your own, reduced to someone else’s dowry!

“Tracy, you’re really going to have to divorce him this time. So long as you’re married to Joker, the

Perry Clan won't be able to do anything to keep you down anymore.”

Sherry had repeated those lines for the umpteenth time, but Tracy simply refused to answer.

Then, a telephone suddenly began to ring from Tracy’s room.

Only now could Tracy’s voice be heard - “All right, I’ve got it!”

Soon after, Tracy left her room, eyes rimmed with red.

“Have you heard a word of what I said?”

Now that Tracy was finally outside, Sherry hurried to grab her by the elbow.

“Mom, if there’s something else, can it wait until I get back? Granddad needs to see me right away.”

Sherry released her grip the moment she heard that Henry had called for Tracy. She wasn’t about to

start trouble with Mr. Perry himself before her daughter could marry into the Warner family.

Twenty minutes later, Chairman’s office.

Henry sat before his desk, a severe expression on his face. He’d just finished relaying the news of the

Brone Group cancelling their collaboration to Tracy.

“Granddad. You called me all the way out here just to tell me this?”

Tracy’s eyes were puffed up with disappointment. “Phillip’s the Chairman. If the company’s going

through something this huge, shouldn’t you be turning to him instead?”

“Tracy, I know you have your complaints about my decision this morning, but you have to understand.

Your household scandal brought the clan a lot of trouble.”

Nestling comfortably into the moral high ground, Henry continued, “You refuse to marry into the Warner

Clan. Your garbage husband beat up a Johnson family man. Do you really think the others are just

going to sit idly by if I just hand you the Chairman’s seat?”

Her disappointment in her grandfather growing, Tracy rebuffed, “I was just another victim five years

ago, Granddad. Even if I brought the company trouble, the company was mine, and said trouble mine

to deal with.

“Now that I have a husband, why should I marry someone else? Yes, my husband gave that Connor a

beating, but if he hadn’t done anything, it would have been my sister and my daughter taking a beating

instead. Am I the only one who has to sacrifice everything for the clan to gain a smidgen of approval?”

Henry’s expression grew ugly. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the facts. But to him, Tracy would

forever remain just that – a sacrifice for the clan.

“No matter how you put it, you established the Samho Group yourself. Are you really going to just stand

there and watch its destruction?” Henry growled with barely suppressed fury.

Tracy took a deep breath, then stepped forth with her face set. “Promise me one thing, Granddad, and

I’ll go to Camel myself.”

“Name it,” Henry frowned.

“If I manage to get Camel to collaborate with the Perry Clan, I want control of Samho returned to me,”

Tracy said, utterly serious.

Upon hearing her demand, Phillip backed out immediately, raging, “Don’t overstep your boundaries,

Tracy!”

“I created Samho myself. How is taking back what I own overstepping my boundaries?” Tracy shot

back, irritated.

A tongue-tied Phillip found himself scrambling for Henry’s support. “Look, Granddad, the woman’s just

pressing a desperate situation at this point. She’s got no regard for you at all. You give her an inch

here, she’ll come back to take a mile.”

“I want the Samho Group,” Tracy said coldly.

Henry remained silent, and Phillip was left to panic. He’d just ascended, and hadn’t even warmed the

Chairman’s seat yet. How was he supposed to give it up so soon?

Chancing upon an idea, Phillip put on a show of revelation, then dropped his accusation like a grenade.

“You were planning to take the Chairman’s seat from the beginning, weren’t you? Are you planning to

take that position, then usurp Granddad as head of the Clan with the same strategy?”

Henry’s expression began to darken.

“I’m not!” Tracy rebuked, knowing full well Phillip was provoking her on purpose.

Phillip’s face contorted as he mocked, “And that Granddad, is her guilty conscience showing itself. I

suspect she’s in bed with Camel, and that they planned this out to take the Chairman’s seat. After all, a

company as big as the Brone Group? Countless elite families have tried and failed to sign contracts

with them, but a lone woman warrants a personal visit from the general manager?”

“Enough of your nonsense!” Tracy cried, flushing angrily.

“You know full well this isn’t nonsense.”

Phillip sneered, “If it hadn’t been for the contract signed this morning, why would we be accused of Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

violating terms? They didn’t even wait a day, and you still say you didn’t plan this out?”

“How was I supposed to know?” Tracy was on the verge of tears.

“Shut up, both of you!”

Henry finally exploded. Turning his unleashed fury on Tracy, he thundered, “Three days. If collaboration

with the Brone Group isn’t restored in three days, I'm invoking my formal authority as head of the clan

and exiling your entire family!”