Chapter 105: Rock Bottom
"I’m surprised you wanted to meet me at my house," Lillian said, nodding politely to the maid who held the door open for them.
Only one maid left, Anna noted silently, returning the woman’s nod with a polite smile. I suppose it makes sense since she lives here alone. But the Adler estate is enormous... One maid must spend every day dusting and polishing in an endless loop just to keep it all pristine.
"I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable with such an arrangement," Anna said aloud, offering her aunt a warm, slightly astonished smile as she let her gaze wander across the grand foyer.
"I’ve grown tired of the same supposedly chic restaurants and sterile lounge rooms. Besides," she added, lowering her voice slightly, "what I need to discuss with you is something I’d rather keep private."
And I also need to find a way to ask for my father’s ashes, she reminded herself silently.
"Oh, not at all!" Lillian exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "I’m absolutely thrilled to hear more about this investment plan of yours!"
She led Anna into an elegantly decorated living room, instructing the maid to bring coffee and some light refreshments. Wasting no time, Anna slipped a slim plastic folder from her bag and placed it on the coffee table, sliding it gently toward Lillian as an unspoken invitation to take a look.
"This is a business proposal for a startup project," Anna began smoothly. "I’m currently leading the investment group overseeing it. It’s a multidimensional product designed to cover various development sectors, and according to our insight team, it has strong potential to surpass the current market leader in its field."
Anna paused, offering Lillian a polished, professional smile. She had deliberately peppered her little speech with an array of impressive-sounding but ultimately meaningless jargon, carefully crafting it to sound convincing to an untrained ear.
She knew full well that her aunt didn’t have the faintest idea about business—let alone anything remotely related to software development. Anna could have fed her almost any story, and Lillian would eagerly swallow it whole, as long as the conversation kept circling back to the promise of money.
A phone security app? Lillian’s eyebrows arched slightly as her gaze fell on the product’s name printed at the top of the page. Wasn’t this the same niche Robert Hyde’s company specialized in? Is she suggesting that once this launches, it’ll overtake Robert’s company and push him out of the market?