Chapter 48
Chapter 48
Of course, what captivated Aurora the most was the one–apartment–per–floor design–no neighbors, and the people going up and down the stairs wouldn’t be able to see her. The more she looked around the apartment, the more she liked it, and right then and there, she decided to buy it.
Upon hearing her, the manager grinned from ear to ear. “This house totals four million dollars, Ms. Crawford. Will you be paying in full or taking out a mortgage?” Either way, he’d be making a nice commission.
“In full,” Aurora replied, pulling out her bank card. The manager eagerly accepted it with both hands, pulling the purchase contract and a POS machine from his briefcase. In less than 20 minutes, everything was wrapped up.
The manager smiled, “Ms. Crawford, from this moment on, the house is officially yours. When would you be available? You’ll need to come with me to the property registration office to finalize the transfer.” Property transfers had to be booked in advance, and while their agency could schedule it, the buyer still had to be there in person for the rest.
Aurora nodded and gave him a phone number. “Call this number when it’s time.
The manager saved the number carefully, tactfully turning to leave. Before walking out, he even deleted his fingerprints off the smart lock thorough service and enthusiastic to boot.
Margaret, however, had something to say, “Rory, this is only the first place you’ve seen. How could you decide so quickly? Don’t you want to see a few more?”
With that, she huffed and flopped down on the sofa, wondering, ‘Rory wrapped this up so fast. Is she trying to kick me out already?‘
Seeing that, Aurora simply pulled a cake out of the bag and easily coaxed Margaret into a better mood.
“Alright. I forgive you,” Margaret said, affectionately linking favorite.”
arm with Aurora’s, her smile sincere. “How could I stay mad at you, Rory? You’re my
Aurora had never met anyone so easygoing before. Just one little cake and Margaret was already pacified. Watching Margaret wolf down the entire thing in two bites, Aurora couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Okay. I’ll tidy this place up later and invite you back over to hang out,” Aurora said, leading Margaret out. They then took the elevator downstairs and made their way to the property management office.
The system was linked to the network, so the staff at the office immediately knew the house had been sold. One of them said, “Ms. Crawford, rest assured, we’ll clean the entire house, inside and out, just as you’ve requested.”
Aurora discussed the renovations she wanted and then paid for five years‘ worth of property management fees in one go. Once all was done, the property manager personally escorted her to the door.
Not long after leaving the property management office, she saw a pregnant woman struggling to walk down the road, pushing a cart piled high with bags and packages. It looked like she was moving.
It was afternoon, and the pavement, baked all day by the sun, was scorching. The pregnant woman’s face was covered in sweat, and there were dark rings of sweat stains around her neck.
The real estate agent had mentioned that this neighborhood was very strict about letting outsiders in. Only residents or those escorted by a resident were allowed entry.
Thinking back to her own experience at the property management office and then looking at the woman in front of her, Aurora furrowed her brows.
VELION
“Let me help you with this.” Aurora stepped forward, taking the cart from the pregnant woman’s hands and guiding her to sit on a bench in the shade.
The pregnant woman wiped her sweat, carefully cradling her aching belly as she sat down, and gave Aurora a grateful smile. “Thank you so much.”
Margaret, who was a little slower to react, pulled out a water bottle from her shoulder bag and offered, “Here, have a drink.” The pregnant woman wanted to refuse at first, but her stomach was bothering her too much, so with a flushed face, she took it.
After a while, once the heat had mostly left the woman’s face, Aurora asked, “Why are you moving all this stuff by yourself? Where’s your husband?” Now that Aurora was closer, she could see that the woman’s belly was quite large–seven or eight months along, maybe. It seemed irresponsible for her husband to let her do such heavy work at this stage.
‘What kind of husband would allow this?‘ Aurora wondered as her expression turned sour.
The pregnant woman, Irene Hansen, realized they had misunderstood and quickly waved her hand, explaining, “No, no, it’s not like that. My husband’s very good to me. It’s just that he recently offended someone, and they falsely accused him of botching a big company project.
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“We lost all our savings, and then his boss fired him without offering compensation. Now, he’s gone to try and get our money back. If he were here, he’d never let me do this alone.”
Aurora’s expression softened a little, but she asked again, “Aren’t you a resident here? Why not ask the property staff to help?”
She figured that anyone who could afford a place in a high–end neighborhood like this wouldn’t be short on cash. Plus, it wasn’t a big deal to have the property staff lend a hand with a few things.
Irene sighed heavily and spoke with a bitter expression. “Like I said, my husband offended someone. The house we’re staying in was originally provided by the company. Now that he’s been fired, they won’t let us stay here anymore.
Two hours ago, the company had called and given her a final ultimatum. They said if she didn’t move out today, they’d call security to throw them
out.
With her due date just two weeks away, Irene was anxious that the company might really send someone to kick them out. If she got scared and anything happened to the baby she had been waiting for so long, they’d both be filled with regret. Left with no other choice, they began packing up and left.
Margaret stomped her foot in frustration, her cheeks flushed red, and her chubby little hands balled into fists as she grumbled, “That company is so terrible. All of them are bad people!”
Irene couldn’t help but laugh at Margaret’s reaction. With her maternal instincts in full swing due to her pregnancy, she immediately saw that Margaret was still quite innocent. So, Irene played along and agreed that the company was indeed made up of bad people.
Once Irene had rested enough, she got up and started walking toward the entrance of the neighborhood, with Aurora pushing a cart beside her. Margaret was still caught up in their earlier conversation and curiously asked, “What’s the name of that company?”
Irene had no intention of covering for them. After all, if they dared to do what they did, why shouldn’t she call them out? If it weren’t for her being pregnant and low on energy, she would’ve torn apart their fake public image and exposed them online.
“Sunrise Pharmaceuticals,” she replied. “My husband works there as the production department manager.”
Sunrise Pharmaceuticals focused on synthesizing alternative medicine and was quite a powerhouse in Mereida. If someone could land a job there, it was the kind of position people thought of as a major stepping stone in a big company- one that would guarantee success.
Aurora’s eyes narrowed in thought. She recalled that in her previous life, there had been a period when Sunrise Pharmaceuticals gained a lot of attention–nationwide attention, actually.
But of course, it wasn’t for good reasons. Word spread that the company’s general manager had covered up for his nephew, who had embezzled company funds to donate to a live–streamer. To protect his nephew, the general manager shifted the blame onto a production manager named Giles Hansen.
Giles not only lost everything but was also fired. Enraged, he repeatedly went to the company to demand answers but was thrown out each time. Tragedy struck when his pregnant wife was moving to a new place on her own and had an accident. By the time she got to the hospital, it was too late. She and the baby both passed away.
A few years later, when the scandal finally broke, Sunrise Pharmace hundreds of millions of dollars.
cals‘ stock price plummeted the moment the market opened, wiping out
Aurora silently calculated the timeline in her head, her heart filled with uncertainty as she wondered, ‘Could that pregnant woman right in front of me be her?’
She remembered that when the scandal first surfaced, Sunrise Pharmaceuticals did everything they could to delete posts and bar accounts. Still, it seemed Giles had agreed to some conditions with one of Sunrise Pharmaceuticals‘ rival companies.
With the help of this rival, the scandal was used to ultimately bring down Sunrise Pharmaceuticals, and eventually, their biggest shareholder took the company back into private hands.
