章節 3: 003 Past Events
For a moment, they forget about their task at hand, and White Palmer's temper flares up again because of his nickname. "White Palmer, White Palmer, I'm White Palmer, not Little White!"
Norton Jarvis and Josh Levs are speechless: that's not the point, right?
"Little White, what's up?" The man's deep voice comes through the phone, sounding as enchanting as a cello.
"How much longer do you have to stay in France?" White Palmer finally stops obsessing over his name and asks.
"Hmmm, about a month longer."
"It's already been two months, why still another month?" As White Palmer speaks, there's a mischievous gleam in his beautiful, phoenix-like eyes, and his tone couldn't be more ambiguous, "Are you physically struggling? Do you need me to come and help you out?"
There is a pause from the man on the other end of the line, and he imagines White's wicked expression. Indifferently, he replies, "There's a problem with the mines in South Africa, and I wouldn't mind if you helped."
South Africa! White Palmer wouldn't dream of going to that desolate, cannibal-infested place, so after saying "hello" three times, he raises his voice, "Hello, can you speak up? It's too noisy here, I can't hear you clearly, hello, hello, hello..."
Because of the deafening music on the stage and the craziness of the crowd, White Palmer had found a quiet place to make the call. Norton Jarvis and Josh Levs followed closely at his side.
When White Palmer purposefully says that he "can't hear clearly," it's simply because he doesn't want to go to South Africa.
Fearing that the man on the other end of the phone will eventually coerce or entice him into going to South Africa, White Palmer yells "hello" a few more times before tossing the phone into Norton Jarvis's arms without any hesitation: "The signal's bad; I can't hear clearly."
Norton Jarvis rolls his eyes at White Palmer, takes the phone, and says, "Gem."
The man on the other end of the phone is indeed Gem Atkinson. He knows all about White Palmer's tricks and doesn't find it strange. He asks, "Norton Jarvis! Where are you and White Palmer messing around again?"
Instead of answering, Norton Jarvis asks, "Will it really take another month for the French matter?"
"Yeah."
"What about after a month? Will you go to South Africa instead?" Norton Jarvis has known about the mining issue with the Atkinson Group's investment in South Africa for some time now, but it's not a big problem.
Gem Atkinson hesitates for a moment, then says, "I'm considering it."
There's no need for CEO Atkinson to personally resolve such a trivial matter, so Norton Jarvis suggests, "Send someone else instead."
"What's wrong?"
"Take care of the French matter as quickly as possible, and you'll find out when you come back." As soon as he finishes speaking, Norton Jarvis hangs up the phone, fearing that his loose tongue will cause unnecessary trouble.
At this time, it's daytime in France. Gem Atkinson is sitting in a wicker chair, looking at the suddenly darkened screen on his phone in his hand. After muttering "what's wrong," he raises his eyes to look at the lush vineyard in the distance, deep in thought.
He has a pair of dark, ink-black eyes, sharply angled cheeks like they were sculpted from flawless marble, and an icy aura unique to him. The black shirt and black trousers make him appear imposing even while sitting.
After a while, he drains his glass of red wine and walks into the vineyard.
This vineyard has a history of more than a century, which he acquired half a year ago. Inside the vineyard, there are castles, villas, wineries, and a small horse-riding track that combines entertainment and accommodations. He has stayed in France for these two months to manage it.
In another month, the first batch of wine he personally made will be ready...
So, even if there's a huge crisis in River State, he doesn't intend to return to China.
Meanwhile, after hanging up with Gem Atkinson, White Palmer, Norton Jarvis, and Josh Levs stare blankly at the night view outside the floor-to-ceiling window.
Norton Jarvis's slender fingers tap lightly on the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window from time to time, making a "knock knock knock" sound.
The crisp sound seems to strike their hearts as past events flash before their eyes...
Eight years ago, on the day Gem Atkinson and Norma Ruby got married, Forsythia Brown kidnapped Norma and forced her to marry him. Afterwards, Gem sent Norma abroad to study.
Five years ago, Norma returned to China, completely changed from her gentle and good-natured past, to forcibly insert herself into Gem and Forsythia's marriage.
Forsythia, who had been spoiled by Gem since childhood, couldn't bear even a grain of sand in her eyes and called Norma to talk.
Norma happily agreed.
Unexpectedly, at the meeting, both Forsythia and Norma were kidnapped together.
Forsythia managed to escape, but Norma was brutally gang-raped.
That day, when Gem arrived at the dilapidated warehouse to rescue them, all he saw were scattered pieces of torn clothing and Norma, covered in bruises, lying in a pool of blood.
Only Forsythia and Norma knew the location of the meeting, and with Norma suffering such a tragic fate, Forsythia was unharmed. Thus, Norma angrily accused Forsythia of orchestrating the kidnapping.
Forsythia firmly denied the accusation.
At the time, Mrs. Atkinson testified that she had heard Forsythia's phone call with Norma. With her mother-in-law, Mrs. Atkinson, accusing her own daughter-in-law, it was obvious that even she couldn't bear Norma's suffering.
But Forsythia still insisted she wasn't involved in the kidnapping.
Due to Forsythia's firm stance, a heartbroken Norma sued her in court.
In court, Forsythia was adamant that she hadn't done anything wrong. Additionally, with no witnesses and the kidnappers dead, Forsythia was acquitted due to insufficient evidence and released on the spot.
Unsatisfied with the verdict, Norma appealed, and the case went to a second trial.
Just before the second trial, an accident occurred – Forsythia's car collided with her father-in-law's (Gem's father) car.
At the time, Mr. Atkinson was in the car with Gem's mother, who was a witness who testified against Forsythia.
Everyone concluded that Forsythia, angry with her mother-in-law for siding with Norma, had malicious intentions and intended to commit murder.
In the car accident, Mrs. Atkinson only injured her left leg, but Mr. Atkinson (Gem's father) suffered the most: although he survived the crash, he has been in the hospital ever since, living like a vegetable.
Even though Norma was violated, Mr. Atkinson was hit, and Mrs. Atkinson testified against Forsythia, Gem still had the means to clear Forsythia's name and ensure her safety and freedom without going to prison.
However, perhaps due to the strain from consecutive trials, Forsythia and Gem began arguing endlessly. Finally, Forsythia threw a paper from an abortion procedure in Gem's face.
That was the first child Gem and she would have had. It was discovered during a body examination after the car accident and was something Gem had managed to save with great difficulty by ordering a team of doctors to do so.
From that moment on, Gem hated Forsythia and wanted to eat her flesh and drink her blood. He stopped taking care of Forsythia's matters and even personally instructed the court to impose a heavier sentence while filing for divorce.
As for Forsythia, after denying any wrongdoing in the first trial, she confessed to all crimes in the second trial. Consequently, she was charged with both the crime of intentional kidnapping and assault and the crime of attempted murder. The two crimes were combined, and she was sentenced to eight years in prison.
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