Who Cares About Him When I'm Married to the Richest Man?-Chapter 162: Jacobs Corporation Receives Maximum Penalty

Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Jacobs Corporation Receives Maximum Penalty

A piercing screech of sudden braking sounded on the dark and empty road, like a thundercrack tearing through the night, releasing a monstrous beast.

Mason Jacobs gripped the steering wheel tightly, bringing the car to a stop by the roadside. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard, "The company was attacked? What’s the network security department doing, if not eating on the job!?"

Special Assistant Wood spoke in a panicked tone, "President Jacobs, the incident happened too suddenly, the network security department didn’t have time to react..."

After all, it’s late at night, even employees of the network security department need some rest.

Although two employees on duty noticed the problem in time, fixing the breach requires time.

Mason Jacobs understood all of this well. He had always prioritized the Jacobs Group’s network security, particularly the firewall, which he prided himself on, yet he never expected it to be breached so easily.

He took a deep breath, steadied his emotions and said, "Get all the employees back to work overtime, fix the breach as soon as possible, last month’s accounts..."

He paused for a moment, but couldn’t hold back his overwhelming anger, pounding the steering wheel violently before asking, "How much discrepancy are we dealing with?"

Special Assistant Wood replied, "Thirty million."

"Thirty million, not much." Mason Jacobs took a deep breath. "I’ll handle this matter. You go to the company immediately and oversee the network security department fixing the breach."

Special Assistant Wood said, "Understood."

After hanging up the phone, Mason Jacobs irritably threw his phone onto the passenger seat. Who on earth had nothing better to do than attack the Jacobs Group’s network?

He had always made the accounts look good. In these days, what business doesn’t have some shady dealings? Without them, how could one earn so much money? He had done tax evasion more than once. Since taking over the Jacobs Group, he had been manipulating the accounts every year.

But such matters, while privately acknowledged, couldn’t be exposed openly.

Fortunately, only last month’s accounts were unbalanced, and thirty million wasn’t a significant amount.

It should be solvable.

He calmed down for a moment, took out his phone, and made a call.

Unexpectedly, the call wasn’t answered.

Frowning deeply, he dialed again, still no answer.

He dialed again and again, eventually the other side finally answered. Before he could speak, the person on the other end chuckled bitterly, "President Jacobs, calling me won’t help. The matter has reached the city. A special task force has been formed overnight to begin an investigation. The accounts discrepancy at the Jacobs Group is too large this time, likely facing severe penalties, you should prepare yourself mentally."

Mason Jacobs paused, finding it hard to believe, "It’s been such a short time, and the city has already established a task force? How could this be possible?"

"I’m not sure, perhaps consider if you’ve offended anyone lately?" The voice sighed on the other end, "In any case, with this matter, I can’t help you. If your company’s accounts were well managed, that’d be fine, but if not, and past discrepancies are found, I might even be implicated due to you. We should all hope for the best."

After the conversation, the call was disconnected.

Mason Jacobs furrowed his brows tightly. Offended someone? Who had he offended?

But now wasn’t the time to be considering these things. The present situation was urgent, he had no time to delve into the reasons, hurriedly calling the Grayson family.

Ten minutes later, Mason Jacobs hung up the call, his face shadowed.

Fortunately, the Grayson family was willing to speak a few words on his behalf, so the task force would likely only scrutinize last month’s mismatched accounts.

However, the Grayson family also said that even with only last month’s tax issues, the penalties would be severe, and this penalty, the Grayson family couldn’t intervene.

The gap of thirty million might incur a penalty of around three hundred million, apart from that, all honorary titles would be revoked, and if luck was bad, some commercial activities might be partially restricted.

The Grayson family could only offer as much help as possible, but punishment was unavoidable.

Mason Jacobs took a deep breath; he knew this was already the best outcome.

At this critical juncture, there were few people left willing to bear the pressure and help him, especially those previously bribed, who wouldn’t jeopardize their careers, so were likely no longer dependable.

Unexpectedly, in the end, he had to rely on a sister-in-law’s family that hadn’t yet become in-laws.

Mason Jacobs, face remained stony, made several calls to summon the company’s financial staff and general manager to the company immediately, to review previous accounts before the task force arrived.

Next, he could only meet the situation with a static response.

After handling everything, Mason Jacobs glanced at the nearby old apartment building, hesitated for a moment, then drove inside.

He arrived later than scheduled; Cecilia Quincy had long been impatiently waiting. Hearing the knock, she quickly went to open the door.

As the door opened, Mason Jacobs was momentarily stunned, because standing before him, Cecilia Quincy wore a long white dress, cinched at the waist, highlighting her slender form. Her long black hair cascaded, accessorized with a casual checkered barrette. Her face was devoid of makeup, yet exuded a pure aura.

This sight caused Mason to fleetingly recall the first time he saw her years ago in school.

But it was just a fleeting moment. When he remembered that Cecilia Quincy, now was played by so many people, her body was filthy and tainted, even spread around in videos, any semblance of nostalgia turned into sheer disgust.

Staring at Cecilia Quincy, his face remained emotionless as he asked, "Where’s Jasmine?"

"The child just finished her homework and was tired, so I let her sleep." Cecilia Quincy said with some embarrassment, "Why don’t you come in first and I’ll call her."

Mason Jacobs nodded lightly, following Cecilia Quincy inside.

The apartment was small, only a few dozen square meters, very sparsely furnished, looking rather desolate. Cecilia Quincy said awkwardly, "Please sit, I’ve just settled in these past days, I don’t have tea to offer guests, have a glass of plain water instead."

She handed the glass of water to him, Mason Jacobs casually reached to accept it, Cecilia’s hand inadvertently brushed against his, she swiftly pulled back, awkwardly saying, "...Sorry, I didn’t mean to."

Mason Jacobs originally thought that Cecilia Quincy would strive to approach him during this visit, after all, she was reluctant about the divorce.

Unexpectedly, she maintained a certain distance, even the accidental touch of hands was treated so politely.

Mason Jacobs didn’t understand why, despite his distaste for Cecilia Quincy, her reactions still somewhat displeased him.

Cecilia Quincy smiled at him lightly, turned and went into the bedroom to call for Jasmine.

Watching her graceful silhouette, Mason Jacobs’s expression was, for a moment, indiscernible.

Soon, Cecilia Quincy returned, looking apologetic, "Jasmine is sleeping too soundly, I really can’t bear to wake her. As you know, her school’s studies are quite intense, she’s usually very tired from learning, it’s rare for her to rest now. How about you pick her up tomorrow instead?"

She thought for a moment and added, "How about after school tomorrow afternoon? We’ll meet at the school gate and discuss everything clearly. I don’t want the child to think I’m abandoning her by letting her go with you."

Her words hit a soft spot in Mason Jacobs’s heart, he paused slightly, then said, "Alright."

He stood up and headed out.

Cecilia Quincy escorted him to the door, courteously bidding him farewell, "Thank you for coming over, goodbye."

With that, she prepared to close the door.

Mason Jacobs suddenly raised his hand, blocking her from closing the door.

Cecilia Quincy felt a flash of joy in her heart, but she displayed a surprised expression on her face and asked, "What’s wrong? Anything else?"

Mason Jacobs frowned at her, "What are you up to?"

Cecilia Quincy asked blankly, "What?"

Mason Jacobs gazed deeply at her and said, "You better not be plotting anything."

Saying that, he turned around and left.

Cecilia Quincy’s voice drifted from behind him, "Brother Mason, who do you think I am? Since we’ve already divorced, I know my place. Don’t worry, I won’t bother you anymore. Tomorrow you can take Jasmine away, and we won’t have to see each other again."

Mason Jacobs paused for a moment, then entered the elevator.

Cecilia Quincy curled her lips, closed the door, and went back inside.

She knew Mason Jacobs well; he didn’t cherish what he had, always restless about what he couldn’t get. She used to be too proactive, which made him tired of her, just like Elara Hale two years ago.

Now she’s making the same choice as Elara Hale, ignoring him, and indeed, he’s changed.

No rush; she can take it slow. After all, with Jasmine in her grasp, she’s in control for as long as she wants.

With that thought, she couldn’t help but feel some resentment. Although Mason Jacobs had regained some interest in her, distant water can’t quench immediate thirst. She was too short of money, and Zayne Warner refused to show up.

She was unwilling to give up, gritted her teeth, returned to her room, and sent an anonymous email to Zayne Warner’s office.

"Senior Warner, your sudden disappearance makes me so uneasy. I know you don’t want to contact me anymore, but I just want to ask one thing. Did the child I lost really just fade into the past?"

After sending the email, she shut down the computer.

She had used email to contact Zayne Warner before, but he was like a turtle in its shell, never answering.

Cecilia Quincy pondered that the office email address probably wouldn’t change on a whim; he mostly saw it but didn’t reply. So this time, she used heavy tactics.

She didn’t believe Zayne Warner would continue ignoring her after seeing that.

And as she expected, the next day, Zayne Warner came to the office and froze upon seeing that email.

His gaze fixed on the word "child," his hand clenched tightly, veins bulging. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

After a long while, tears glimmered in his eyes, and he slowly picked up his phone, walked into the break room, and made a call.

On the other end was the voice that haunted him, "Senior Warner..."

Zayne Warner choked up, and after a moment, managed a "hmm," forcing a smile, "Cece."

Elara Hale learned about the incident at Jacobs Group three days later.

The Northgarde news focused on the Jacobs Group case, treating it as a typical case to investigate, imposing a fine of three hundred million, and reducing most of its business cooperation with the government.

Jacobs Group was almost overnight cut down by a third, which was a huge blow to the company.

Elara Hale watched the news expressionless and then swiped to the next story.

It seemed like the incident at Jacobs Group was just a trivial matter to her.

Zion Fitzwilliam used the opportunity of handing her the milk from the microwave to sneak a peek at her phone screen and, seeing no change in her expression, felt somewhat delighted.

It seemed she no longer harbored any illusions about the Jacobs Family, truly having let go.

After watching the news, Elara Hale said to Zion Fitzwilliam, "Zion, since you’re home today, there’s something I want to discuss."

Zion Fitzwilliam’s heart skipped a beat.

He’d been leaving early and returning late the past few days to avoid this conversation, only because he couldn’t resist seeing her today. Unexpectedly, she was going to bring it up.

But facing Elara Hale’s gentle gaze, his heart softened, and he could only ask, "What is it?"

Elara Hale smiled at him and then said, "We got married out of mutual need; now both of us have resolved our issues. You have a marriage to report to your family, and I’ve gotten through my crisis, so I’m planning to move out. I’ve already found an apartment and scheduled movers; I’ll be gone tonight after work."

Zion Fitzwilliam opened his mouth, usually so eloquent in business, but now rendered speechless.

Not only was she moving out, but she was doing it urgently.

She planned to move out tonight.

He didn’t even dare ask, what about our marriage?

For fear she might smilingly suggest, let’s get a divorce this weekend.

He tried to make it seem less strange, only asking, "Why so suddenly?"

Elara Hale responded with a smile, "I’ve been planning this for a while, and now seems a good time."

Though she was smiling, her heart felt like it was being cut by a knife, no better than when she divorced Mason Jacobs.

Luckily, she had the experience; it was just about enduring. Time heals all wounds.

Zion Fitzwilliam cleared his throat, saying, "Actually, there’s something I’d like your help with."

Elara Hale quickly replied, "What is it? No matter, I can still help even after moving; we’re still friends."

Zion Fitzwilliam looked at her, "My mom and Grandma Fitzwilliam will be visiting us in a few days. They’ve brought gifts for you. I was hoping Joanne could squeeze in with us, letting them sleep in the small bedroom. But since you’re moving out..."

He gave a bitter smile, "I can’t force you to do anything. I’ll just tell them when they arrive that we’ve had relationship issues, laying the groundwork for our eventual divorce."

Elara Hale felt a twinge of compassion, "Grandma Fitzwilliam is quite elderly; isn’t revealing this now too cruel? I thought you could gradually introduce the idea, letting her prepare mentally before we proceed with the divorce."

Zion Fitzwilliam sighed, "That can’t be helped. You’ve made up your mind; I can’t hold you back."

Elara Hale hesitated momentarily, showing signs of struggle, "When are they coming?"

Zion Fitzwilliam immediately answered, "Thursday, two days from now."

Elara Hale thought for a moment, saying, "How about I wait until they’ve gone before moving? Two days don’t make a difference; their visit was sudden, and you might fumble things. I’m afraid you’ll slip up."

Zion Fitzwilliam relaxed, cracking a smile, "Alright."