After Sonia agreed to meet up for dinner later, Zane felt the disappointment in his heart finally dissipating into nothing.
Then, he seemed to recall something and asked, "By the way, on my way back today, I saw an article online stating that the president of your company was arrested. What happened?"
He hadn't had the time to inquire with the police regarding that incident. Neither did he have the chance to read the statement that Paradigm later released.
Therefore, all he knew about the incident was limited to the fact that Asher had been arrested this morning.
"It's like this... Asher has always been dissatisfied with the fact that Paradigm is under my control. As a result, he burned down the newly built factory in a fit of rage." Sonia gave a concise answer.
He clicked his tongue in displeasure. "He has gone insane. I can't believe he committed arson over something like that. There's definitely something wrong with his brain. Oh, right. Were any of your employees at the factory injured?"
Her eyes flashed slightly at the line of question. Still, she remained calm and answered, "No. It was not operating yet, so nobody was at the factory then."
"That's a relief. Do you need my help with Asher's sentence?" he suggested.
Zane had a career in law enforcement. After his return from his latest inspection in the countryside, he was bound to receive a promotion that would allow him to pull some strings in court.
To be honest, Sonia felt tempted when she heard those words. After all, she wanted Asher kept behind bars forever.
However, she eventually squashed that temptation like a bug and reluctantly rejected his offer. "No, thank you. I will let nature run its course."
She did not wish to owe him another favor.
When he heard her reply, he outwardly agreed with her but secretly decided to pull some strings in court anyway.
Besides, it would only take a few words from him.
"Okay, then," Zane replied with a nonchalant shrug.
She yawned. "Hey, Zane, I'm going to hang up now. I just arrived overseas and have been suffering from jetlag, so I'm exhausted right now. Let's chat again later."
He didn't think too deeply about her excuse and nodded in acceptance. "Okay. I won't disturb you any longer. Have a good rest. I will pick you up at the airport when you return."
"Sure," she replied with an awkward twitch of her lips.
After Sonia hung up, she placed her phone beside her pillow and adjusted the blankets around her for a nap.
Her body had yet to recover completely, and she had been awake for a long time. Coupled with her excessive mood swings earlier, she was absolutely dead tired.
Her statement earlier was not just an excuse to end the phone call with Zane.
She genuinely wanted to take a nap.
It was already nighttime when she woke up from her nap.
Needless to say, she could not see, so it was the nurse who told her the time.
The nurse also informed her that Tom had visited her around 6.00PM. She had been sleeping at the time, so he only stayed for a short while before he left to visit Toby instead. He left a message saying that he would visit her again once she was awake.
Sonia ate the food that the nurse brought for her and nodded slightly to indicate that the message was well-received.
After that, the nurse called Tom over.
Tom arrived shortly, and the first words that came out of his mouth as soon as he entered the room were words of concern for her health.
Once Sonia answered that she was feeling better than before, he finally got down to business. "Miss Reed, did the police tell you about Asher's current situation, criminal activities, and motive during the day?"
She nodded as she said lightly, "They did. I've understood the general situation."
"Then, I won't say more." He adjusted his glasses as he continued their discussion, "What I can tell you, Miss Reed, is the current situation at the factory."
"Tell me." She 'stared' at him.
It was only natural for her to wonder about the current condition of the factory.
She poured her blood, sweat, and tears into building that factory. Not only did she run around various places in the country and abroad, but she also waited for a long time before she finally managed to build it from the ground up.
It was not an exaggeration to say that the factory was her baby.
Everything in the factory had probably been destroyed in the fire.
Her mood fell at the thought.
Tom noticed the droop of her shoulders and quickly comforted her, "Don't worry, Miss Reed. The factory is fine."
"The factory is… fine?" Sonia was momentarily stunned, then she immediately became overjoyed. "Really?"
"I'm serious." He nodded. "As the factory was built from an almost all-metal structure during the initial construction, the fire did not spread into the factory. However, the external power lines and waterways were destroyed by the fire. The external metal walls of the building have also been burnt black. It will cost a fortune to clean up the damage. We might even need to replace the outer walls. Of course, we will only know the specific details once a professional architect has inspected the site."
"So, you're saying that only the external power lines, waterways, and outer metal walls suffered heavy damages? There were no damages to the factory's interior, including the machinery, I hope? None of that was damaged, right?" She clenched her fists tightly in agitation.
He nodded and gave an affirmative response, "That's right."
"That's wonderful!" Sonia was ecstatic. "I thought that everything was gone for good! What an unexpected stroke of luck! I can't believe that only external power lines, waterways, and outer metal walls were affected!"
What was the most important thing inside the factory?
The answer was the heavy equipment and machinery stored inside the factory.
Compared to the equipment and machinery, the external power lines, waterways, and outer metal walls were not worth mentioning at all.
She would only need to hire professional plumbing and electrical experts for the external power lines and waterways to reconnect the pathways. The same was true for the outer walls. She would only need to hire a professional construction team to replace them. For her, these were minor issues. The only problem was that the repairs would cost her a pretty penny.
In comparison, she would face far more problems than just the repair costs if the fire had destroyed the machinery. Not only would she need to travel overseas to re-order and purchase these machines again, but she would also be placed on the waiting list if the supplier had too many orders to fulfill.
The shortest waiting period would be several months, but if she was unlucky, she might even have to wait as long as a year or two.
The shortest waiting period would be several months, but if she was unlucky, she might even have to wait as long as a year or two.
In short, the destruction of the machinery would cost her more than just money. It would also cost her precious time.
Therefore, she was extremely thankful that she had chosen to construct the factory with an all-metal structure. Her current losses would not have been so minimal otherwise.
"Miss Reed, do you need my help to arrange for the professional plumber, electrician, and construction team to start making repairs on the factory?" Tom inquired.
Sonia shook her head. "No need, Mr. Brown. I can just leave these matters to Rita. These matters are not difficult, so there's no need for you to take action. With Toby in his current condition, I assume that the affairs of the entire Fuller Group are weighing down on your shoulders. You're already exhausted or on your way there, so I won't trouble you with such trivial matters."
"Okay." He nodded and didn't insist on it, as it was true that he was swamped with paperwork.
She pursed her red lips and asked, "Has Toby's condition improved?"
Frankly, she knew that her question was stupid. Only a few short hours had passed; how could Toby's condition improve?
Nevertheless, she couldn't stop herself from asking and hoping for a miracle.
She simply wanted reassurance.
Of course, Tom knew what was on her mind, so he followed her lead and answered. "President Fuller's condition has improved slightly. Furthermore, the results of his electrocardiogram show that his condition has stabilized. It is no longer fluctuating as wildly as it was during the day."
"Good. That's good." She nodded. "You didn't inform Grandma about Toby's condition, right?"
"I did not inform Old Mrs. Fuller." He shook his head.
"Good. It's better not to tell her about this matter. Grandma's health has been declining recently. It might be a debilitating blow to her if we told her the truth," Sonia sighed wearily.
She did not wish to hear about Rose's demise just when Toby's condition finally turned for the better.
That would be too cruel.
"Don't worry, Miss Reed. I made sure to conceal that you and President Fuller were involved in an accident. Old Mrs. Fuller has poor stamina nowadays and generally lives in seclusion at the old manor. She will not inquire about news regarding you and President Fuller from outsiders, so it is not hard to conceal the truth from her."
As for Jean...
There was no need to bother about her.
As a stepmother, she could not constantly inquire about her stepson's situation. That would only cause her to be criticized by others.
It was not like she did not understand such subtleties, so it was not hard to conceal these matters from her either.
"It's good that we can conceal the truth for now, but when will the heart arrive?" Sonia asked anxiously while worrying her lip.
That was what concerned her the most at this moment.
She wanted Toby to complete his surgery and recover his health as soon as possible.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Boss, Your Wife's Asking For A Divorce, Again
Same story i read about Jarred and Amber Reed...