Novel Square
Chapter 387
Chapter 387
Chapter 387 Always the Big Winner
[In recent mornings, the ongoing Rose Community project under the Arte Company has been exposed for its use of inferior building materials. It is reported that the selling price per square foot at Rose Community reaches as high as four thousand dollars, but according to reporters’ understanding, even the steel used there is of the cheapest quality. Despite attempts to contact Anthony, the chairman of the Arte Company, regarding this matter, no response has been received.]
The moment this news broke, it immediately garnered great attention.
The incident involving Vivi’s disfigurement, on the other hand, was completely forgotten by everyone.
After all, gossip about Vivi was merely a way to pass the time, whereas Rose Community was directly linked to people’s lives.
Given that the Arte Company and the Scott Company were the most prestigious local conglomerates, their properties sold very well in Japera City.
The Scott Company had been developing high-end properties for the past couple of years, rarely venturing into the mid-range market, focusing mostly on luxury real estate.
Homes that cost millions of dollars were not affordable for ordinary people after all.
The Arte Company’s Rose Community, on the other hand, followed a low-end and affordable approach, which attracted many netizens to buy houses there.
They trusted the Arte Company’s reputable brand and invested their money.
Little did they know that the construction materials used in their houses were even worse than those of small real estate developers selling for less than a few thousand dollars.
This was simply an outrageous deception!
Netizens were filled with anger, and the Arte Company continued to trend.
“Are they all trash? Can’t they suppress this trending topic? Can’t even handle such a small matter?”
In the top-level executive office of the Arte Company, Anthony was raging with anger.
Several executives in suits stood before him, helplessly smiling. “Mr. Arte, this issue has become too big. Even if we manage to suppress the trending topic, there are still spontaneous netizens who go and buy headlines, causing the topic to resurface.”
Another executive chimed in, “Yes, Mr. Arte, that infuriating reporter from Japera City Urban TV has used his influence to do a live broadcast and promised to follow up on this matter. He’s currently waiting downstairs!”
“What?” Anthony exclaimed in shock, quickly walking to the window to have a look. Indeed, there was a man standing below, holding a camera.
Enraged, he shouted, “What’s the name of that reporter? Does he not want to live anymore? Go and tell the security to get him out of here!”
“Mr. Arte, the whole internet is watching his live broadcast. If we chase him away, it will likely only further provoke public anger.”
“So, are you suggesting we let him blabber down there?” Anthony grabbed the nearby ashtray and threw it.
The executives quickly dodged, and with a loud thud, the ashtray shattered on the ground.
Anthony was furious and even more agitated. “Blame it all on Wade! It was he who provided the poor- quality building materials! What does it have to do with us? Go and handle this PR disaster immediately!”
The executives didn’t want to stay and endure his wrath any longer, so they rushed out one after another.
Once they were gone, Anthony made a call to Darlene. “Come to the company!”
Darlene had just finished participating in Love 101 and had returned home late at night, exhausted, and slept until the afternoon.
When she woke up, she saw the news, and her mind went blank.
Upon receiving Anthony’s call, she didn’t dare to delay and appeared at the Arte Group headquarters half an hour later.
She timidly pushed open the door to the CEO’s office, her heart pounding. “Dad?”
“Come in!” Anthony barked, causing her legs to tremble.
Darlene entered and whispered, “I just saw the news…” Content rights belong to NôvelDrama.Org.
Anthony slapped her across the face, and as she cried out in pain, he kicked her again.
He angrily berated her, “I thought you had finally accomplished something this time, only to bring more trouble! How did you assure me that you would bring down the Lewis family, and yet the Lewis family remains intact while our Arte family is on the verge of collapse? With your incompetence, how can I trust you to handle the Arte Company?”
It was always like this.
She couldn’t make mistakes, couldn’t afford to fail, or else she would be subjected to insults and beatings.
All these years of hard work just to earn his recognition and secure her position as the Chairperson of the Arte Company, hoping to put an end to these painful days.
Why, after all her efforts, was life still so challenging?
Darlene clenched her teeth in frustration. “Dad, I’m sorry. I will handle this matter.”
“You better handle it to my satisfaction!”
Darlene covered her face and returned to her office, overwhelmed with a mix of
resentment, sadness, and anger, causing her whole body to tremble.
She wanted to curse Sean. Just as she picked up the phone, police officers barged in. “Miss Arte, as the person in charge of the Rose Garden project, since the contract was signed by you and Wade, we need your cooperation for the investigation. Come with us.”
Darlene was taken to the police station.
Only then did she realize that Wade was also there.
He insisted that he had delivered the goods as specified in the contract, even providing proof of receipt by the Arte Company.
Following his lead, Darlene firmly claimed that she had received high-quality construction materials and had no idea how they had turned into the lowest-grade ones.
The dispute between the two parties continued, and the police had no choice but to proceed with their investigation.
Two days later, it was discovered that the quality of the construction materials had been tampered with by a subordinate in charge of the Rose Garden project at the Arte Company.
He sold off the premium building materials and replaced them with inferior ones, making a net profit of 12 million dollars. Just before the incident, he fled abroad with the money.
“Here’s how things stand,” the police informed both of them once the investigation was complete, “Both of you are innocent, but the Arte Company is responsible for the current losses. This is a dire outcome caused by poor personnel management within your organization. Next, there are several things you need to do.
“First, hold a press conference to explain the entire situation to the public and restore the company’s image.
“Second, settle the payment owed to Wade.
“Third, the Rose Garden project must not be abandoned. You need to repurchase the construction materials. The citizens of Japera City are keeping a close eye on this, and it’s in your best interest to do so.”
After hearing this, Darlene felt like fainting.
If her father found out, he would definitely be furious.
Why were they so unlucky?
Despite not receiving good-quality materials, they were now required to pay a whopping 20 million dollars as the final payment.
Moreover, they would need to spend almost double that amount to repurchase the materials.
Previously, they had offended Ziana, and the Scott family had instantly wiped out half of their market value. And now, they were facing such a significant loss.
Darlene already had a sense of what awaited her.
And sure enough, when she returned home from the police station, Anthony began beating her once again. In the end, with no other option, she reluctantly agreed to follow the police’s instructions,
Otherwise, the losses would only increase.
“The Lewis family! The Lewis family!” Anthony gritted his teeth in anger. “We must take down the Lewis family to recover our losses! How is your plan progressing? How much longer until we can deal with Boris? The Lewis family has been doing well in recent years. If we can swallow them up, we can compensate for all our losses in the past six months!”
“Dad, there won’t be any problem this time!” Darlene endured the pain and said, “Boris. has no idea who’s plotting against him, and we’ve already planned out what to do next…”
She leaned in and whispered in Anthony’s ear for over ten minutes.
Anthony’s smile grew wider, and his eyes showed approval.
Slapping Darlene on the shoulder, he said, “Great! In a month’s time, I’ll be eagerly awaiting the acquisition of the Lewis family shares. You’re truly capable! Far more useful than your brother. He is still lying useless in the hospital!”
Speaking of Danile Arte, Darlene’s brother, Anthony spewed venomous words, “Look at what he’s become, all because of Boris. When Boris falls into your hands, you must torment him and make him suffer as your brother did and then let him die in agony!”
“Alright,” Darlene promised with determination, “Dad, you can count on me.
At that moment, Boris was unaware of Darlene and Anthony’s conversation.
He received a message on his phone indicating that a whopping 12 million dollars had been transferred from abroad just a minute ago.