Chapter 248: Mortgage
「After 10 PM. The Summers family residence.」
Mika Summers sat on the sofa, her gaze fixed on Archie Summers, who was seated a short distance to her left. A sense of unease churned within her. She glanced down at the photo on her phone again, her brow tightening into a deep frown.
Earlier that day, when Eleanor Bishop had returned with Rory, Mika had asked if something was wrong. But Eleanor had only given her a two-word reply: "Nothing’s wrong." She refused to say anything more.
’How could I believe that nothing was wrong? The man in the car clearly said that the old man wanted to see his biological granddaughter. So... does that mean Rory isn’t Dad’s biological granddaughter?’
She pieced together everything that had happened over the years, thinking it all through carefully. Then there was the oil painting she had seen at the villa a few months ago, which served as further evidence...
’All of it pointed to one thing: maybe my brother... wasn’t really my biological brother.’
"Mika, what is it you wanted to tell me?" Archie Summers asked, setting down his teacup when Mika remained silent for a long while. His voice was heavy.
"Archie, are... are all of you hiding something from me?" She had a terrible suspicion that everyone knew except for her.
Archie’s chest tightened. His voice was low and hesitant as he asked, "Mika, why would you ask that?"
"Archie, when Rory was taken today, I was right there. I..."
Archie suddenly didn’t want to hear another word. His face went pale as he cut her off coldly, "Mika, I’m tired. I’m going to get some rest. We can talk about this another day."
"Archie..."
Mika started to say something else, but Archie cut her off, his voice sharp. "Mika, if you insist on getting to the bottom of this, it won’t do any of us any good. And things as they are now—our family getting along peacefully—that won’t be possible anymore."
Mika explained in a rush, "Archie, I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant."
Deep down, Archie didn’t want to speak to his sister that way. He walked over to Mika, placed his hands on her shoulders, and said patiently and gently, "Mika, you just need to know this: I will always be your brother. No matter what happens, we’re family."
"Okay, I understand." Mika’s eyes reddened, and her voice was slightly choked with emotion.
’He’s right. Why do I have to know the truth? Isn’t it good for us to get along as a family like this?’p>’So what if he isn’t my biological brother? He’s still the man I’ve called my brother for more than twenty years...’
Archie released her shoulders, his gaze complex. "All right," he said in a low, tired voice. "It’s late. Go get some rest."
"Okay." Mika nodded and headed for her room.
Watching Mika go back to her room, Archie’s expression darkened. He sank back onto the sofa, a troubled look on his face.
Just then, Howard Rhodes and Louise Jordan walked in.
Howard Rhodes was holding a laptop. He stood before Archie, brought up the file he needed to see, and placed the computer on the coffee table. "Boss, this is the financial investigation report you requested."
Archie sat up straight and flipped through a couple of pages. "Plug all of these funding gaps," he said coldly. He didn’t need to ask why his woman had made the mistake; he just had to clean up the mess himself, directly and without question.
"Boss, you used a massive amount of capital for the last LK Group stock acquisition. We can’t cover the full amount right away."
Hearing this, a grim expression settled on Archie’s face, and he frowned deeply. "How much can we cover?"
"Temporarily, we can only cover two-point-seven billion..." Louise Jordan calculated for a moment before answering firmly.
"Two-point-seven billion?" ’The shortfall is three-point-three billion, yet we can only cover two-point-seven?’ He suddenly understood what Mr. Lockwood had been alluding to.
’But how could I let him get that kind of leverage over me?’ At that thought, Archie’s gaze swept around the room. His voice was cold and heavy as he said, "Go to the bank. Mortgage this house."
"Yes..."