Chapter 8 Because He Is A General

• Back at the Murrays' factory, Frank just finished his pep rally. He was even influenced by his own words and was completely fired up. It was as though he had reached the peak of his life.
• Back at the office, only Cindy, Julianna, and Christopher were left. Seeing how happy her father was, Julianna asked tentatively, “Christopher did a pretty good thing this time, Dad. How about you give him a position in the factory? This way, he can train-”
• “Are you crazy, Julianna? We're working with Santos Corporation now. If we want to make this work, we need to hire university students. How can we trust someone like him, who doesn't have any academic background or experience to do the job? Besides, he's a retired soldier. What can he do? The captain of the security guards? If people in the factory learn how useless my son-in-law is, they'll make fun of me!” Frank retorted.
• When she heard that, her expression darkened.
• “Your father is right. It's all about managing the business now. What can someone without any work experience or academic background like him do?” Cindy also looked down on her son-in-law.
• “Dad, Mom, you-” Julianna wanted to say something else, but Christopher stopped her. He was sneering in his mind. I don't even want a job in this awful factory. I have way more important things waiting for me to do.
• “There's no need for that. I won't understand what to do anyway,” he replied plainly.
• “Hmph! At least you know your limit,” Frank muttered.
• Just as he was looking through the proposal giddily and prepared to work, a deplorable voice suddenly entered his ear.
• “Uncle Frank, Aunt Cindy, I'm here to congratulate you two! I heard you just signed a contract with Santos Corporation!” After that sentence concluded, Fabio's wretched figure was seen walking in from the outside. Initially, Frank was stunned when he saw his nephew. Then, he realized his brother must have caught wind of the situation and wanted a piece of that juicy pie from Santos Corporation. He thought Fabian sent Fabio to butter him up because his brother didn't want to do it himself.
• Despite that, Frank felt pretty good. To think this day would come for you too, Fabian.
• When Julianna saw Fabio, her eyebrows furrowed. She knew what kind of person Fabio was, and he was someone who indulged himself in escapades of hedonism and decadence. In the past, he even tried to force her to marry Jared, so she was certain his visit spelled bad news.
• She asked coldly, “Why are you here, Fabio?”
• “You mustn't talk to your cousin like that, Julianna!” Frank scolded her before smiling at Fabio. “Since you already know about the news, I assume Fabian knows about it, too.”
• When he finished, the expression on his face became even smugger. It was a scene he had dreamed of seeing for so long. His only regret was that Fabian was not there.
• That made him a little upset.
• Cindy smiled smugly too and added, “Oh, it's not something major. After all, we only just signed a contract with Mr. Santos from Santos Corporation. There's no need for you to pay us a visit personally.”
• Christopher was a little suspicious. From what he saw in the Murray residence's living room yesterday, he knew Fabian wasn't a good person. There must be a reason for Fabio to be here.
• “Haha, it's because we're family, Uncle Frank, and Aunt Cindy. In any case, my dad has sent me here to discuss a collaboration with you, Uncle Frank.” Fabio smiled.
• Frank sneered in his mind. Fabian humiliated me when I tried to borrow money from him; yet, he has the guts to discuss a collaboration with me?
• “Well, you see, I wanted to borrow money from your dad yesterday, and he scolded me. You know our factory isn't doing that well, so I don't want to drag your dad down!” He smiled.
• “That's where you're wrong, Uncle Frank. My father allowed you to use this factory. Technically, this factory still belongs to my family. Also, the right to use this land and the land's deed are still in my father's hands. My father wanted to work with you, Uncle Frank. However, since you don't want to, I'll have to take the factory back on behalf of my father,” Fabio informed plainly as he smiled wickedly.
• The smugness on Frank's face immediately disappeared when he heard that. In fact, his face instantly turned pale. He had never thought that his older brother would pull a trick like that on him. He wanted to argue with Fabio, but when he thought about Fabian's scary face, he wavered. “Y-You can't do this!”
• Cindy was instantly enraged as she roared, “You and your father are bullies, Fabio! The moment Old Mr. Murray passed, your dad gave us a factory that was on the verge of bankruptcy and chased us away! Now that we've finally secured a big contract, you're here to snatch it away from us! No, I won't accept this. Let me talk to your father!”
• “There's no need for that. This is what my dad wants. He also doesn't wish for this matter to get too messy. Otherwise, it'll damage the relationship between the two families. Besides, you know what my dad is like.” Fabio was feeling pretty giddy when he saw Frank's defeated look.
• “Don't push your luck, Fabio,” Julianna promptly said when she heard that.
• “Let me give you a word of advice, Julianna. No one can escape Mr. Cordrington if he has his eyes on them. I suggest you agree to his proposal as soon as possible,” Fabio sneered.
• Christopher retorted coldly, “What if we disagree?”
• When Fabio heard that, he turned and noticed it was Christopher who was speaking. Then he snorted as a mocking look filled in his eyes. “This doesn't have anything to do with you. Do you think you're a hero just because you served in the military before? Let me tell you, this is a matter of the Murray family. You don't have the right to speak here. Get lost. Who the hell do you think you are?”
• “It's not up to you to judge who I am. I heard what Julianna said before. Her grandfather promised to give our family a share of the Murrays' inheritance. We deserve it. If you disagree, we'll take this matter to court. If we do, we'll at least be able to claim everything that belongs to us rightfully,” Christopher stated coldly.
• “Yes, that's right. If we take this to court, we may win and get what Uncle Fabian promised to give us,” Julianna hurriedly added.
• Frank and Cindy nodded, too. Fabio smiled. “Yes, my dad did promise to give your family a share of the inheritance. What you'll be getting is a couple of acres of worthless land that has been abandoned for years. There's also an abandoned pond there. It's about time you people go there to farm and rear fish. It's all written in black and white here. I brought the right to use and the deed of that land with me. Also, Christopher, someone like you isn't suited to run a business. You should live in the countryside and do farming!”
• When Christopher heard that, a brilliant light flashed across his eyes. He immediately agreed, “Sure, we'll take that. Give it to me.”
• Without hesitation, he grabbed the papers in Fabio's hand. Fabio laughed in his heart. Did he spend his time in the military farming? I can't believe a piece of worthless land and pond is enough to satisfy him!
• “What are you doing, Christopher? Who told you to agree to that? Oh, my god! Y-You're a useless piece of crap. Give it back to him now!”
• Frank didn't expect Christopher to agree to the deal so easily.
• His face was flushed red with anger. Since he didn't have the guts to shout at Fabio, he took his anger out on Christopher instead.
• “Do you think anything will change if Christopher didn't take it, Uncle Frank? Do you really think you can go against my dad and me? Aren't you afraid of him?” Fabio knew what kind of person Frank was, so he was able to push the older man's button easily.
• “That... That...” Frank panicked.
• “Why am I so unlucky to meet you two useless men!” Cindy exclaimed with gritted teeth. Julianna stared at Christopher in shock because she didn't understand why he agreed to the deal so hastily.
• “Well, my business here is done. I'll be going home now,” Fabio sneered. This is too easy. Now everything is in our control.
• Frank was in full panic mode as he pleaded, “What Christopher said earlier doesn't count, Fabio. Please tell your father that we can work together. We can split it fifty-fifty. Wait, no, we can do sixty-forty. Your family takes sixty percent, we take forty percent.”
• “That's impossible, Uncle Frank. Just give up and take the land and pond!” Fabio spoke smugly.
• “Stop begging, Dad, Mom. Uncle Fabian will never change his decision.” Julianna sighed. Ever since she was a kid, she knew Fabian would always get what he wanted from Frank.
• There was no way Fabian would change his mind, no matter how much they begged.
• “You're no different from Uncle Frank, Julianna. There's no way you're getting the family's inheritance. Just surrender and marry Mr. Cordrington. It's your only way out.” Fabio's giddy smile remained.
• “You!” She was so mad that she wanted to throw things at him, but Christopher stopped her.
• He smiled and said, “Don't get too happy now, Fabio. Tell your father that if he personally comes here to apologize to us before sunset, things may end well. Otherwise, the consequences will be dire.”
• “Hahaha! Who do you think you are, Christopher? Maybe you can tell my dad to come and apologize personally if you're a commander or platoon leader. However, you're just a soldier of the lowest rank! A retired soldier like you has no right to act so arrogantly!” Fabio was practically laughing from anger. A retired soldier with no money and no power has the guts to threaten my dad? My dad's currently the head of the Murray family! Is he crazy? Hell, my dad doesn't even need to do anything. I can take care of him!
• What Fabio didn't know was that everyone in the military would show their respect whenever they saw Christopher, because he was a general!