Chapter 169 They Are Too Ruthless
The car drove into the estate and stopped at the entrance to the Marshall Residence, where everyone got out of the car.
Freya walked quickly. It had been long since she had seen her mother, and she missed her a lot.
Braxton chuckled beside her. “Be careful. You’re pregnant.”
In the living room, Freya saw her mother sitting with her grandmother, both of them holding tablets and discussing something.
“Oh, Freya has arrived!” Sarah immediately stood up, pleasantly surprised.
“Granny- Freya ran over, acting spoiled, and hugged Sarah, followed by tilting her face to kiss her grandmother.
Sarah smiled indulgently. “My dear granddaughter, I missed you.”
A while later, Braxton followed Freya and greeted his grandmother respectfully. “Granny.”
Freya released Sarah and walked over to Sylvia, hugging her arm and acting spoiled. “Mom, did you miss
me?
Smiling, Sylvia stroked Freya’s long hair. “How could I not miss you?”
As she spoke, her gaze fell on Freya’s belly, and she seemed surprised. “My, your baby bump has gotten so large.
“Of course. Don’t you know how long it’s been since you last returned to Caltun?” Freya whispered.
Meanwhile, Braxton chatted with Sarah, bending over slightly so that she could pat his head while smiling brightly.
Sylvia sneered softly. “I was planning to return a while ago, but you had a plan to lure the people intending to hurt you out from the dark and told me not to worry or come back to Caltun. Have you forgotten that?”
Hearing that, Freya coughed lightly. She forgot about that.
She looked up and saw Noah Marshall and Ashley coming through the door.
The Marshalls had many relatives, but Freya’s grandmother, uncle, and mother were the remaining main members of the family. The rest were Freya and the others from her generation.
After everyone sat down, Sarah smiled happily. “With Braxton and Freya’s return today, the house has become livelier. It will be even more lively when Ryan and Mel return tomorrow.”
They chatted for a while, and Noah asked about Freya’s attack from a while ago.
“Have you caught the person?”
Since Freya didn’t want to worry her grandmother and uncle, she smiled and explained, “We did catch the culprit and handed them over to the police.”
Noah’s face showed a hint of anger. “Who was it?”
Freya hesitated. If she said it was Danna, her uncle might retaliate against the Monaghan Group’s subsidiary company in Vroria.
When she divorced Radley, the Marshalls had already put a lot of pressure on the Monaghan Group’s subsidiary company. She didn’t want her own problems to affect her grandmother’s family.
Therefore, she smiled and said. “I don’t know them, and I don’t know why they held a grudge against me, The police are still investigating.”
Braxton glanced at her silently.
Freya was afraid her uncle would ask more questions as she hadn’t thought about how to complete her
lies.
After answering, she leaned against Sarah and acted coquettishly with Ashley beside her. “Aunt Ashley, is lunch ready?”
Ashley asked the butler and smiled. “It will be ready in ten minutes. Just hold on a bit longer. I’ll have the maid bring you some snacks.”
Next, Freya stayed by her grandmother’s side and listened to Noah and Braxton talk about the company.
“The Kaufmann Group has been increasing the number of business cooperations with the Hood Group recently, and we’ve even heard about it here in Vroria. Did you choose to cooperate because of your personal relationship with Matthew Hood?” Noah asked.
Braxton shook his head. “I always separate work and personal relationships. Matthew manages the Hood Group well. If it weren’t for his parents constantly holding him back, the Hood Group would have risen to a higher level under his management.”
The casual chat lasted until lunchtime, and they moved to the dining room.
All the dishes served were Freya and Braxton’s favorites, and the Marshalls didn’t have a rule that forbade speaking while eating their food.
Sarah beckoned Freya to her side and occasionally served her food.
Meanwhile, Noah and Braxton chatted while Sylvia sat on Freya’s other side, also serving her food.
Soon, Freya’s bowl was piled high with food, and she laughed. “Grandma, Mom, stop serving me. I can’t finish it all.”
Noah, sitting across from her, looked over and laughed. “You should eat more to nourish your body. I think you’ve lost a lot of weight since the last time you came back—”
However, Noah’s words were interrupted by the ringing of his phone.
“Hello, what’s the matter?”
After listening to what was said, Noah suddenly turned serious. “I’ll be right there!”
Freya looked at Sylvia and whispered, “Mom, what’s going on?”
“It might be the Porter Group again.”
Looking around the table, she noticed even her grandmother and aunt seemed worried.
Once Noah got off the phone, he got up and was about to leave.
“Mom, Ashley, you guys continue eating. I need to deal with some matters.”
Then, Ashley quickly rose to her feet. “I’ll come with you.”
After watching the two leave, Freya frowned and looked toward her worried grandmother.
“Granny, is there something going on with our family?
Sarah sighed. “It’s probably Porter Group.”
The Porter Group was a large conglomerate in Vroria and had always had several cooperating projects with the Marshall Group and the Holland Group.
Freya furrowed her brows.
Meanwhile, Braxton also looked worried. “What’s going on with Porter Group? Did they suddenly terminate the contract?”
“It would be fine if they only terminated the contract.” Sarah’s face darkened. The Marshalls and the Porters have always been close since your grandfather’s time. When it came to your uncle’s generation, the two families gradually increased the number of business collaborations. But now, the Porters have turned against us for their own interests,”
Sarah explained the situation in detail.
In short, the Marshalls had spent a lot of money to buy a large piece of mountain land from the Porters.
The reason behind that was the information given by the Porters, saying that the government had selected the land to build a university city nearby.
It was until they bought the land did they find out that the news was false.
The cost of acquiring the land was too high for the Marshalls, and they were now having trouble with their cash flow. If this investment failed to bring returns, the entire Marshall Group would be in jeopardy.
Sarah’s face fell. “Your uncle originally wanted to admit defeat and build a large amusement park on that land. Since it’s located in the mountains, they could also build some estates to sell and perhaps help offset some of the losses.”
Freya furrowed her brows.
Sarah sighed. “But the Porters know that they have tricked us and are afraid that we’ll resolve this trouble and retaliate. So they’ve been causing trouble at the amusement park’s construction site and sabotaging it!”
With a sneer, Braxton commented, “They did this to make sure the Marshall Group can’t recover from this blow. That way, they can rest assured at night!”
After sighing, Sarah added. “The Porters’ tricks are too ruthless. Your uncle always prioritizes safety in these projects, but last month, five workers fell off a cliff while building a road, and the authorities ordered a halt to the construction for inspection. We just resolved that issue, and now it seems that something else has happened. Our families have been friends for two generations. They have gone overboard with this!”
Braxton’s face turned cold. “Since they could deceive our family for money, it means they never cherished our friendship.”
