Chapter 396 - 252: I Object
"Count me out."
Phoenix, who had been sitting in the corner the entire time, suddenly spoke. "I’m sick of these meaningless fights and disgusting money games. I will abstain from tomorrow’s vote. I’m not taking sides with any of you."
As soon as he spoke, the atmosphere in the cigar room froze.
When Beatrice and Alister saw Phoenix abstain outright, they exchanged a glance. Their resolve wavered, and they remained silent.
A three-to-two vote looked like a strong advantage, but in reality...
The siblings had grown up in an environment of constant competition, always trying to sabotage one another. If just one of the three caved to Alexander’s pressure and voted yes tomorrow, a living nightmare would await the other two.
Seeing the two of them start to back down, Timothy grew desperate.
’He was already fifty-four, and still just a vice president. Alexander is eighty and wants to keep working for several more years. Am I supposed to wait until I’m sixty to take over?’
’Besides, Alexander wants to consolidate everyone’s assets now. Once the Free Port project gets underway, my losses will be the greatest.’
"Alister! I’ll add another hundred million! Three hundred million USD to plug your hole!" Timothy said. "Beatrice! Fifty percent! Once I take over the foundation, half of the family’s political contributions for the next three years are all yours! Just vote no tomorrow!"
"Hold on!" Alister raised a hand. "Even if we vote no tomorrow, you won’t take over the foundation. Aren’t we discussing the Free Port project tomorrow?"
"I’ll cover it myself," Timothy practically forced the words out. "Beatrice, you too. But I can’t give it to you all at once. You’ll have to wait until I can free up the cash."
Alister and Beatrice exchanged another look and gave a reluctant nod.
The meeting concluded abruptly in a tense atmosphere.
As everyone dispersed, Elizabeth and Phoenix were the last to leave, walking down the hallway.
Phoenix gazed at the blizzard raging outside, his eyes filled with a deep weariness.
He turned to look at his daughter, who had grown into a poised and graceful young woman. "Liz, give it up," he said. "Don’t get mixed up in this filthy quagmire any longer."
"Give up?" Elizabeth was stunned. She seemed to have never imagined her father would think that way.
"Come live with me in the United Kingdom," Phoenix sighed. "It’s free there. No one knows us, and we won’t have to scheme against each other or deal with this nonsense of family turning on family."
Elizabeth had known since she was a child that her father was an idealistic, romantic man.
He had grown up in the lap of luxury, wanting for nothing, so he had little regard for money and fame. He even hated that he had been born rich, otherwise he never would have filmed a documentary about the factories of capitalists.
"I won’t," Elizabeth said, shaking her head.
Phoenix froze, clearly not expecting his daughter to say such a thing.
"You ran away from Grandfather’s tyranny and your family responsibilities. You made excuses to go settle in the United Kingdom and study antiques, while Mom and I were marginalized by the family for all those years," Elizabeth said through gritted teeth, unleashing her resentment without restraint. "The moment I turned eighteen, I had to manage the foundation by myself, juggling school and the art gallery. All of this was supposed to be *your* responsibility!"
"Because I knew that if I didn’t hold up the foundation and the art gallery, they would be snatched away." She stared into Phoenix’s somewhat avoidant eyes. "Dad, when I was little, all my classmates called me the daughter of the Mellon Family’s traitor."
Her tone was light, as if she were talking about someone else.
Phoenix fell silent, not saying a word.
"At the vote tomorrow morning, sit next to me and vote no, Dad," she said. "I haven’t asked you for a single thing since I started middle school."
With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Phoenix standing there alone.
Phoenix Mellon stood at the window.
Outside, the Long Island blizzard raged like an angry beast, clawing furiously at the manor’s bulletproof glass with a deafening RATTLING.
’The traitor’s daughter...’
He chewed on the two words.
"Liz rarely mentions you, Mr. Phoenix."
Li Wei emerged unhurriedly from the shadows at the corner of the hallway.
"Sorry, just passing through," he said, raising the cup in his hand. "I just came to find something to drink. You know... I didn’t dare eat much tonight."
"Are you close with Liz?" Phoenix asked suddenly. "Are you two dating?"
"No, sir," Li Wei said. "We’re just very good friends for now."
"Can you tell me about Liz?" Phoenix asked suddenly. "How has she been?"
"Of course, sir." Li Wei shrugged. "She’s had a very hard time."
"When her peers were out socializing and partying, she was working," he said. "When they were dating, she was navigating a world of wealth and power, dealing with old foxes twice her age."
"I remember her prom," Li Wei said, holding his cup. "She had to work at the art gallery right before the dance. She’d been in high heels since four in the morning, and then she had to rush to prom without even having time to change her shoes. Her heels were rubbed raw. It wasn’t until blood started seeping through her stockings that she finally gave in, found a corner to cry in secret, and put a bandage on herself."
Li Wei stared at the silent Phoenix. After a long moment, a faint smile touched his lips.