The Billionaire Heir Called Me a Freeloader-I’d Bankrolled His Family for 600 Years Chapter 08

The fallout from the plunging share price came faster than they’d expected.

In less than twenty-four hours, the group lost almost half its market value.

Banks demanded additional collateral and repayment of loans that had come due. Suppliers crowded outside the building, holding unpaid invoices. Some raised signs demanding payment.

Employees began submitting resignation emails in droves.

Nathan still hadn’t given up.

For thirty years, he’d been used to having his judgment praised. He believed that if he could find just one area beyond my influence, he could restore the company’s former size and standing.

When his business tactics failed, he found someone willing to bypass normal procedures for him.

The next evening, I sat drinking tea at my newly purchased estate.

Dozens of vehicles with flashing police lights suddenly surrounded the entrance.

Nathan stepped out of one, accompanied by an overweight precinct commander in uniform.

“That’s her.” Nathan pointed at me.

“Inspector Wallace, she forged land registration documents and used overseas companies to commit financial fraud. You can arrest her right now.

Wallace motioned for the officers behind him to follow and headed straight toward me.

“Claire Bennett? We’ve received a complaint about you. We need you to-”

His phone rang.

He frowned and answered. A few sentences into the call, he stopped walking.

“Yes, Deputy Commissioner.”

He looked at Nathan, a muscle twitching in his face.

“Understood. We have no arrest warrant, and the facts don’t justify an arrest here. I’ll stop the

operation immediately.”

The person on the other end kept speaking. He lowered his head, sweat beading on his

forehead.

“I know. I’ll submit the deployment logs, the grounds for dispatch, and the bodycam footage.”

He ended the call.

Nathan kept urging him on.

“What are you waiting for? Put her in handcuffs.”

Wallace turned and slapped Nathan hard across the face.

Nathan staggered half a step.

Two officers beside him stopped. That wasn’t an act of law enforcement. Wallace had lost

control after realizing he’d been dragged into trouble.

“Shut up.” Wallace lowered his voice and continued through gritted teeth.

“You said the evidence had been verified. You guaranteed there were problems with the legal documents. Now you expect me to take the fall for your corporate vendetta?”

Without listening to Nathan’s explanation, he hurried over to me and stopped a few paces

away.

“Ms. Bennett, I’m sorry. We have no grounds to enter your home or arrest you. I acted on

unverified claims, and this deployment will be reviewed. We’re withdrawing now.”

I set down my teacup.

“Then make sure the report is complete. And refer the Whitmore Building’s fire safety issues,

along with the group’s tax and financial issues, to the appropriate departments. Don’t ignore the records just because you know someone involved.

“I won’t cover for them, and I won’t obstruct a lawful investigation.”

Wallace nodded at once.

“Understood. I’ll contact the fire department and the financial investigators. I’ll hand over the

materials and let them follow their own procedures.”

Nathan stayed where he was, holding his cheek.

He watched the inspector who’d just promised to solve his problem. Wallace was no longer

defending him. Instead, he was admitting his own part in what had happened.

“Impossible.”

His knees slowly bent until he sank to the ground, where he sat with his head in his hands.

“How many people do you know? How long have you been alive?”

I looked at him without answering directly.

“Six hundred years ago, your ancestor Thomas was freezing to death in an abandoned chapel. I

gave him a piece of bread.”

I stood and walked up to him.

“Today, I’ve taken that piece of bread back.”

I turned and walked back inside, signaling to security.

“Please ask them to leave.”

That night, Wallace and his team helped carry out the relevant inspections and investigative measures that had already been approved. Fire officials closed areas that failed safety requirements, while financial investigators lawfully obtained and sealed the ledgers and

computers.

Headquarters shut down.

Tax and financial problems surfaced one after another. With its funding gone,

no longer operate.

the

group could

The company had been run by twelve generations of Whitmores. That night, it began losing its established business and partnerships.

At the Whitmore mansion, Richard had just returned from the hospital.

After hearing that the company was under investigation, he’d suffered a heart attack and been Tushed in for emergency treatment. He was only just out of immediate danger.

He pointed at his son on the sofa, his voice trembling.

“Twelve generations built that company, and you destroyed it in days. The biggest mistake of my life was thinking you were fit to take over. If I’d known this would happen, I’d rather never have had you as a son.”

Nathan sat motionless, his hair disheveled and his eyes bloodshot.

Vivian sat back on her heels on the carpet, her phone lying beside her knees. She was crying too hard to get a full sentence out.

Half an hour earlier, her father had called. He’d made it clear he was cutting off all support.

“What have you done? All the Reed family’s financing has been cut off, and our partners are canceling contracts one after another. Tell me, who did you cross?

“From now on, you don’t negotiate any deals in the family’s name. Don’t come home, either. Your living expenses and legal bills are your responsibility.”

After the call ended, Vivian clutched Nathan’s pant leg.

“Nathan, make a few calls for me. You said you knew plenty of investors in Silicon Valley. You

said you could start over, even without this company.”

Nathan looked down at her with nothing but annoyance.

He lifted his leg and kicked her away.

“Let go. Would any of this have happened if you hadn’t kept telling me she was worthless and provoking her over and over? Now you expect me to fix these problems for you?”

Vivian lunged back at him. They shoved and pulled at each other in the living room, each trying

to blame the other.

They couldn’t even pretend to be on the same side anymore.