Chapter 351: A Bunch Of Good-For-Nothings

When James was preparing for his wedding ceremony, she meddled in and accumulated a large sum of sponsorship in the name of the Taylors, and she promised the sponsors to feature product placement for them at the ceremony.

There was a contract on it.

But the wedding flopped.

And according to the contract, she’d have to compensate for the losses, which was also not a small amount.

Grace grimaced at this and cast a furious look at her two brothers.

"Are you mute or something? At least you can make an excuse. That’s what your department of public relations does, isn’t it?" Grace vented them.

Both the two brothers shuddered with fear.

"But the PR department said the sponsors signed the contract with you in secret, and they haven’t got a clue about it," the junior brother ventured.

Grace turned exasperated, thinking to herself, "A bunch of good-for-nothings, they literally know nothing else except to take the money. Is there anybody who knows how to cope with an emergency?"

"All right, I see. You may go back first."

As soon as the two brothers left, Brant White came in with a briefcase in hand.

Seeing her eldest brother returning, Grace rushed up to meet him.

"It’s been a while, Brant."

Brant looked stern as he put the briefcase on the table, "It’s reckless of you to arrange Yvonne’s wedding in such a hurry, Grace. You should have waited until I return."

Grace realized he had learnt about it. She intended to make this ceremony a surprise for him, (true, it was a surprise, but in a different way), but in the end, she made a mess of it.

She replied, "Brant, I didn’t want this coming, either."

"You do? Yvonne is your niece, Grace, remember? You can’t just bend on the benefits of White Enterprise and sacrifice her, and a wedding is nothing to be sacrificed for any girl," Brant retorted angrily.

Grace feigned apologetic Ness, "It’s my fault, Brant. I admit it. But don’t overreact; the wedding didn’t get started, after all."

Brant refrained from going mad at her and said, "There is one thing to cheer at: at least Yvonne is now officially a Taylor."

Grace was taken aback, "You mean... Yvonne and Mr. Tylor are husband and wife

now?"

Brant nodded.

As if she had found a new world, Grace congratulated herself in her heart.

She felt sort of guilty asking James for the balance the last time when she called him, for she knew she failed to make their wedding a success, and she called only to take a chance.

Now things were different since they had obtained the marriage certificate.

Grace opened her mouth to say something, but Brant pre -empted, "Although Yvonne has been married already, the customs and rites can’t be skipped, and we’re offering her the best dowry."

His words rendered Grace shocked, and she turned to him in disbelief, "I’m afraid we have to skip it, Brant. You have no idea how bad the White Enterprise’s bank balance is."

Brant began to feel the pinch. He never bothered about the financial status of White Enterprise, yet he knew crystal how it was.

He said, "I know that White Enterprise is in financial straits, but Yvonne’s dowry must be given. Now go to my study and find the antiques on the shelf, sell them and get the dowry ready."

Grace was all the more startled to hear that.

...

It was clear to her there were several antiques there, but Brant never allowed anyone, including the cleaner, to lay a finger on them.

And now he wanted her to sell them.

"But, Brant..."

Grace showed reluctance.

"That’s the final decision, Grace. Just go ahead and get it done. Now I’m going to take a rest."

With that, he walked upstairs carrying his briefcase.

Staring at his disappearing figure, Grace gritted her teeth and turned around.

Three days later, Yvonne and James returned to the Whites’ residence as requested by Brant.

While Yvonne didn’t know why her father had to hurry them back, she went there readily.

Upon arrival, they found the living room was packed with people.

To Yvonne’s surprise, present were several elders of the White family who seldom made public appearances except on festive occasions.

She wondered what her father was planning to do next.

Brant saw them coming and rose to his feet, "Welcome home, James, Yvonne."

Yvonne responded with a nod of the head.

James gave him a smile.

"What happened, dad? Why are there so many people?" Yvonne asked.

Brant answered, "Nothing serious. I gather these people here to bear witness to the transition of your dowry."

"A dowry?"

Yvonne found it a little bit funny, for when she talked about a dowry with her father she was just joking.

Yet she couldn’t help wondering what a dowry her father had prepared for her. She looked around and asked, "Where is it?"

Brant chuckled, "Take your time. Let’s take it step by step. First you’ll have to bow to the elders of us White family."

Yvonne snorted and cast a glance at James, "What do you think of it?"

James thought for a moment and said, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

On hearing that, Yvonne nodded, "Alright, I’ll bow."

She, together with James, began to bow one by one to the elders of the White family under the guidance of Uncle Yancy.

Everyone received their formality except Grace, who could just watch indignantly as they received the blessings of the elders.

She was not eligible, as required of by the family rules, to receive their bows.

Yvonne noticed her resentful expression and secretly cheered: "Thank god I don’t have to bow to her, or god knows what I’ll do to her."

And Grace also owed her thanks to the rules.

She looked away from Grace’s smoldering eyes and returned where they had been.

Seeing the rite was over, Brant got the dowry carried out by a couple of men.

The customs in Tomaville required a dowry to be as decent as possible, even for an ordinary household.

Needless to say, a large family like the Whites would only offer one that was much more luxurious.

As Yvonne was looking at the boxes, a faint sneer of irony crossed her face.

"Seriously? What’s the use of the old-fashioned formalities?" she thought to herself.

As a matter of fact, she didn’t in the slightest care about what was inside. What mattered to her was what she meant to her father.

When the boxes were opened, however, she was surprised.

...

A bunch of bargains.

She had anticipated it.

It seemed that she meant little to her father.

Brant also pulled a long face, and he cast a glance at Grace when the boxes opened.

The antiques in his study were worth at least five hundred thousand dollars, which was more than enough for a decent dowry.

True, the White family was now on the wane, but Yvonne being his only daughter, how could he be resigned to such a mean dowry?

"What’s wrong, Grace?" he asked.

Grace affected innocence, "Brant, you know we’re having a difficult time now. It’s the best we can offer. Besides, as wealthy as the Taylors, they certainly don’t count on us offering a mint. What do you say, Mr. Taylor?"

She cast a look of deep significance at James, who chuckled but didn’t say a word.

Grace was right about it: he didn’t care how much the dowry was worth, or whether there was one or not, at all

And as an outsider, he decided it was better to reserve his judgment.

Not least because Yvonne hadn’t aired her opinions first.

Yvonne was aware what was in his mind and said, "I don’t think so. As I recall, the Taylors offered a ten-million-dollar bride price to you, Aunt Grace, isn’t it? So, I wonder whether these bargains are worth that much or perhaps Aunt Graced has got cheated by somebody."

These words immediately rendered the audience shocked and they started to gossip.

"Ten million dollars? You mean the Taylors paid a ten-million-dollar bride price?" the third son of the White family raised his question.

Grace nodded. "That’s correct."

"Then why haven’t we got a clue about it?" he wondered.

"That’s true, we haven’t even heard of it," his younger brother chimed in.

"Grace, what exactly is going on?" Brant questioned her.

Grace maintained her composure.

"What’s there to make a fuss about? We married our family member to the Taylors, and they offered us a bride price, isn’t it normal?"

"But the key is: where the hell is the money?!" someone voiced his doubts.

"Yes, it’s ten million bucks after all, and we haven’t caught a glimpse of it."

Grace, nevertheless, remained mute, even though there kept popping up voices of doubts.

James was surprised at how calm she remained even before the flood of suspicionà ¢Â€Â"perhaps these years of experience of being in power at the White family had taught her how to endure.

He scoffed, "The answer is simple enough: the money was transferred to Miss White’s personal bank account."

His voice was like a pebble thrown into the still waters of a lake.

"Grace, how could you? You are a White, remember? How could you just pocket Yvonne’s bride price?"

"Yes, yes. That sum of money doesn’t belong to you. Brant is more eligible for that."

Anger of the audience boiled over.

Brant said to her, "You owe us an explanation, Grace."

Little did she expect James would expose this in public.

But as sophisticated as Grace, she had long ago figured out how to deal with this.

And she said in a slow and deliberate way: "Take easy, Brant. I did this for tax avoidance, and it’s not that much." Then she turned to James, "I bet it’s time to pay us the balance due, isn’t it, Mr. Taylor?"