True Heiress Returns to Her Unemployed Rich Family (Arabella) novel Chapter 402

Chapter 402 A Project Collapses

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Harper shook her head. “That’s okay. Your mom clearly has something important to talk to you about. I don’t want to hold you up. I’ll just see myself out.”

She turned to Sarah with a practiced look of understanding. “Sarah, I won’t take up any more of your time. I’ll head home now.”

“Alright,” Sarah replied flatly, clearly not interested in small talk.

Harper felt a sting at Sarah’s cool dismissal, but she kept her composure. The last thing she wanted was to seem difficult.

Once Harper was gone, Sarah let out a frustrated sigh. “If your hand wasn’t the way it is, given how far the Macdonald family has fallen, that engagement of yours would’ve been called off a long time ago.”

She wasn’t happy about the Macdonalds‘ current situation.

With Harper’s family background now, how could she possibly be a suitable match for her son?

But the reality was, with Dylan’s disability, finding someone from a truly prominent family wasn’t exactly easy.

“Mom, I actually care about Harper. I don’t want to hear you talk like that,” Dylan said, tired of being reminded of his injury. He shifted the subject. “So why’d you drag me home, anyway? And why couldn’t Harper be here for it?”

“Because your father’s project hit a wall. The Johnstons have our own mess to deal with now–we can’t exactly bail out the Clarks. I called you back to let you know there might actually be some changes coming with your engagement to Harper,” Sarah explained.

Dylan’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”

How could one messed–up project possibly affect his marriage plans?

“I’m saying might, as in it’s a possibility. I’m just giving you a heads–up,” Sarah said, a hint of disdain creeping into her voice. “And if there is a change, it won’t be coming from our end–it’ll be the Clarks.”

“What do you mean?” Dylan asked, confused.

“If we can’t help them out and we’re dealing with our own problems, you really think Freya’s gonna hand Harper over to you? She’s too shrewd for that. I called you back because I wanted to talk this through–see what you think we should do,” Sarah said.

“I don’t care what she thinks. I’m marrying Harper,” Dylan said flatly.

“You’re being stubborn,” Sarah sighed. “It’s not about me saying no. It’s about them not wanting you.”

“That’s not true,” Dylan insisted.

Seeing how dead set he was, Sarah just shook her head.

“Alright, let’s drop it for now. Your father will be home soon. We’ll see what he has to say.”

Just then, Zack walked in, looking drained.

“Zack, how’d it go?” Sarah asked, worry creeping into her voice.

Zack just shook his head with a heavy sigh.

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9:52 am Pppp

Chapter 402 A Project Collapses

“Don’t just stand there shaking your head–say something!” Sarah snapped, her patience wearing thin.

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“It’s bad. The funding’s dried up. The board’s a complete mess. The ones pushing to secure more financing and the ones who want to pull the plug are at a total standoff. No one’s budging,” Zack explained, rubbing his temples.

“So what do we do?” Sarah pressed, frustration clear.

Zack sighed again. “We wait. For now.”

“Wait for what?” Sarah asked, confused. Shouldn’t they be acting decisively?

“I asked Jason to dig into it,” Zack said, his brow furrowed. “Something about this doesn’t sit right. It happened too fast.”

Sarah’s expression shifted. “You think someone’s behind this?”

“That’s what I’m starting to think,” Zack said gravely.

Otherwise, a solid project wouldn’t just fall apart overnight.

“Then we wait,” Sarah agreed. If someone was orchestrating this, they needed to be smart about their next move.

“Mom, Dad–can someone tell me what’s going on?” Dylan cut in, annoyed. “What does any of this have to do with me marrying Harper?”

“Honestly? Right now, this isn’t your concern. We don’t have the bandwidth to deal with that,” Zack said bluntly.

“Dylan, why don’t you head upstairs and get some rest,” Sarah suggested gently.

“No. I’m going to see Harper. She left upset because you basically asked her to leave,” Dylan said, already heading for the door.

“Don’t mention anything about what’s going on with us,” Sarah called after him.

Dylan didn’t respond, just walked out.

Sarah turned to Zack, her expression shifting. “There’s more you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”

She’d wanted Dylan out of the room earlier, which was why she hadn’t pushed back when he left.

Zack’s face went pale. “I have a feeling this has something to do with Mr. Stewart.”

“You can’t be serious?!” Sarah felt a chill run down her spine.

If Matthew was involved, the Johnston family was as good as finished.

“Let’s wait for Jason to get back to us,” Zack said quietly, hoping he was wrong.

The living room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.

Every minute felt like an hour…

At the pharmaceutical company, Arabella walked back into the office after lunch.

2/3

952 am P PPP.

Chapter 402 A Project Collapses

“Chide, can you set up a meeting for tomorrow? We’ve got clients coming in,” Arabella sad.

“Got it,” Chloe replied.

Arabella added, “And pull together whatever you can find on Derek Shane and his company.”

She wanted to be prepared–knowing the competition was half the battle.

“On it,” Chloe said, heading out

Arabella’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen and picked up.

“It’s done,” Colton said, his voice dripping with satisfaction. “That ought to keep the Johnstons tied up for a while?

“Yeah, I figured,” Arabella replied calmly.

Colton paused. “Wait, how’d you know?”