Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 541-550

“Is that so?” Anastasia frowned slightly as a scheming look began to form in her eyes. She said, “Mr. Lewinsky, go back to Tillman Constructions with your men first. I’m gonna hand the finance department over to Alex. I’ve got to devote myself to looking after my dad.”

Gregory was startled for a moment before he nodded. “Okay.”

After the meeting ended, Anastasia asked Gregory to stay. She said to him, “Mr. Lewinsky, please help me keep a close eye on the accounts.”

Gregory understood what she meant. “I got it, Miss Tillman.”

After the subordinates left, Anastasia picked up her phone and dialed Alex’s number.

“Hey, Anastasia. Is there anything?” Alex sounded somewhat excited.

“Well, I have to devote myself to taking care of my dad, so I may not have time to care about the company’s finances anymore. I’m gonna hand the company’s finances back to you.”

“Dad’s condition matters more than anything else. Anastasia, you can leave the company to me with peace of mind. I’ll definitely save the company from its hopeless situation.”

“Alright. You can rehire your former subordinates into the finance department. My people are gonna leave the department.”

Alex replied, “No problem. Thank you so much, Anastasia.” Inwardly, though, he was overjoyed. Now that Anastasia was going to keep her hands off Tillman Constructions, the whole company would fall under his complete control.

“Oh, by the way, the Silverstar Enterprise still owes us 30 million, so take note of it.” Anastasia reminded him.

“30 million?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright! What a timely help it is. As it happens, the company needs the money to stay afloat.”
“Is that so?” Anastasia frowned slightly as a scheming look began to form in her eyes. She said, “Mr. Lewinsky, go back to Tillman Constructions with your men first. I’m gonna hand the finance department over to Alex. I’ve got to devote myself to looking after my dad.”

“Alright, that’s all,” Anastasia said before hanging up.

Alex clenched his fists excitedly in his office. Not only was the finance department back in his hands, but the company was going to receive a huge sum of payment. To him, this would really solve the urgent situation.

However, after he was happy for a few seconds, his eyes suddenly darkened. If he could take the 30 million away, the money would be enough for him to start his own business. And besides, could Tillman Constructions still be saved? There was no way the few small projects could sustain the company for long, so it wouldn’t take long before the company went bankrupt. In other words, the 30 million would only go down the drain if it was invested into the company. So, why don’t I keep the 30 million in my hands instead? This will be a real cash flow!

Alex had long been impatient to abandon his position as Tillman Constructions’ president. Whoever wants to be president can take up the position. Luckily, he had a secret trick up his sleeve last time. The agreement to transfer Naomi’s shares included an additional clause added by him whereby he could give up his rights to the shares anytime. In the end, Erica would be the only person who had to bear the consequences of Tillman Constructions’ bankruptcy. By then, he would divorce her and live in another city with Hayley and the money. Now that’s an enjoyment.

He took everything into account as reality forced him into doing so. It had only been less than two weeks since his appointment as president, but he had learned how difficult it was to run a company. He was already mentally and physically exhausted thanks to all kinds of troubles. If he were to keep on working as the company’s president, he might end up suffering from heart disease. For the sake of his health, he decided to quit.

Meanwhile, Anastasia was standing next to Francis’ sickbed in the hospital. She sincerely hoped that he could wake up immediately and see the looks and ambitions of those around him. “Dad, I’ll make them pay the price,” she whispered softly to him.

That very afternoon, Alex summoned his former subordinates back. Silverstar Enterprise promised to credit the money into Tillman Constructions’ bank account by 10:00 AM tomorrow, but to Alex’s surprise, they credited the money before the off-work hours.

Sitting before his laptop, Alex looked at the 30 million in Tillman Constructions’ bank account with his eyes full of greed. With his capabilities, it wouldn’t be difficult to extract the 30 million. After all, Tillman Constructions needed money for everything right now. As long as he cooked the books a little bit, it would be easy for him to extract the money. Moreover, he was experienced in this.

Meanwhile, Erica was also on pins and needles at home. She couldn’t share the matter with anyone other than Naomi; she dared not even tell Alex about it.

There was no other way but to kill Mrs. Garner to bury the secret forever.

It was obvious at a glance that her biological father had a plebeian mentality. As long as she gave him a little money, he would promise to keep the secret forever. Mrs. Garner was different, though. Even if she took the money, there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t tell Anastasia the secret after she finished spending all the money in the future.

By then, she would be able to get a sum of money from Anastasia.

Mrs. Garner was such a greedy person that Erica would only put her mind at rest if the former vanished completely from the face of the earth. Now that Naomi wasn’t by her side, she had to make all the decisions on her own. Moreover, she inherited Naomi’s ruthless side. She had no other way out; she had to snuff out the secret. If her parentage were to come to light, she would lose all the glory that belonged to her.

Just then, it occurred to her that she hadn’t been intimate with Alex for a long time. The thought made her crave his company tonight, so she dialed his number, wanting to have dinner with him in the evening.

Alex agreed; he would do his best at playing the part of her husband before the 30 million fell into his hands. What gave him the nerve to target the 30 million now was the current lack of oversight on Tillman Constructions. Anastasia was putting her heart and soul into saving Francis, who couldn’t regain consciousness, whereas Erica knew nothing about business. This was a great opportunity for him.

Just then, Erica said, “Alex, I’m afraid that it’s gonna be difficult for my mom to be removed from suspicion. Anastasia refuses to let her off, whereas my dad’s still comatose. So, you’ve got to stay by my side and help me, okay?” She dared not look down on Alex anymore now that she had to depend on him.

“I’ll help you through everything, of course. Now that you’ve given me the power to run the company, I’m not gonna let you down,” Alex replied.
By then, she would be able to get a sum of money from Anastasia.

Erica raised her wine glass. “I love you, Alex.”

“I love you too.” Alex clinked glasses with her.

That night, Alex stayed at Erica’s place. She grabbed his cell phone and wanted to take a look at its messages, only to find that it was locked with a passcode. They were already husband and wife, but Alex didn’t give her open access to his phone. “Alex, what’s your phone’s passcode? I wanna check something,” she asked him.

Alex stretched out his hand and took his phone from her, asking, “What do you want to check? Let me help you.”

Seeing that the phone was back in his hands, Erica couldn’t help but pout her lips. “Alex, why don’t you just tell me the passcode?”

Alex held her for a moment with a smile. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you the passcode. It’s just that my phone contains a lot of stuff about the company, so I’m afraid that you might delete them by accident. Trust me; you’re the only woman I love the most.”

Erica was inwardly speechless for a moment. Like hell I’ll believe you, she thought. Alex was merely married to her, but the woman he loved the most was Anastasia. It was just that he couldn’t get his hands on the latter.

The night passed, and Alex went to work in the morning.

Early in the morning, Erica got a phone call from Mrs. Garner, who asked her if she had prepared the money. When Erica heard this, a hint of a sneer flickered across her eyes. “Mrs. Garner, I borrowed the money, but my friend asked us to go somewhere to get it. Let me fetch you and take you there.”

“Just transfer the money into my bank account!”

Erica replied, “I don’t have that much money on my debit card. I had my friend prepare 200,000 in cash at a place where you have to go and get the money yourself. I’ll transfer the money on my card into your bank account once we get there.”

Mrs. Garner wasn’t a highly-educated person, after all. Hearing that the money was ready, she naturally believed it. “Alright then, come and fetch me.”

Erica left home by car and found a well-hidden place. It was a beach she once visited. There was hardly a soul on the beach, but it had a very high cliff, making it the best place for her to strike. She picked Mrs. Garner up, looking as though she dared not offend the latter. “Here, have some water, Mrs. Garner. It’ll be quite a journey.”

Mrs. Garner asked warily, “Why do we have to go so far away?”

“That friend of mine runs a hotel by the sea. I have to go to her hotel to get the money.”

Knowing that Erica had many friends, Mrs. Garner didn’t doubt her words. Thinking that she could enjoy the scenery at the seaside, she was in a good mood. “Miss Erica, where is your mom, actually?” she asked curiously. Naomi was taken away by the police at the hospital, but Erica had never told Mrs. Garner that the former had been arrested, so Mrs. Garner was still unaware that Naomi was now in prison.

“My mom is taking care of my dad.”

“Oh. In that case, how is your dad—oh, I mean Mr. Tillman?” Mrs. Garner hurriedly corrected herself.

“He’s still unconscious,” Erica said indifferently.

With that, Mrs. Garner stopped talking.

As Erica turned to look at her, disgust flashed through her eyes. Finally, she drove into a seaside path surrounded by reeds.

At this sight, Mrs. Garner commented in surprise, “Your friend owns a hotel here?”

“No, we made an appointment to meet here. With so much money, she has to find a hidden place to give it to me or it’ll be bad if someone steals it from us,” Erica explained while deliberately dialing her phone. But in fact, there would be no answer as she called her other phone which she usually left in her house.

“Oh no! My friend isn’t answering. Let’s go over and see if she has arrived,” Erica suggested pretentiously.

words and believed her. Hence, they drove all the way into a hill with the sea in the

money? Why did you leave it there? Okay, I get it. I’ll take it myself then.” Once Erica finished speaking and hung up the phone, she said, “Mrs. Garner, my friend left the money somewhere, so let’s go and

the way to the edge of the

that, Mrs.

pointed to a stone and said, “My friend left the money behind that stone. Let’s go over and see whether it’s

her, but Erica took out a card and suddenly threw it beside the bush. “Oh no! Mrs. Garner, my card has been blown away.

moment of distraction to cruelly shove her to the bottom of the cliff two meters

Then, she finally breathed a sigh of

impossible for the person involved to float, let alone survive. Even if Mrs. Garner was discovered

happened and continued to eat, drink, and

a negotiation with a dummy company, then send the money over to that company

which greatly inconvenienced her life. After she got up early this morning, she went to the mirror and admired her beauty before moving onto a detailed skin care routine. Suddenly, she felt a few bumps on her forehead with a hint of bruises.

hand and covered her forehead, not daring to take a closer look all of a sudden. As she previously had a flat forehead,

it, the angrier she became, and she even felt a little frightened. Were the side effects starting to appear? No,

care of her face, she would have even more problems in the future. At the beginning, she spent nearly two million on plastic surgery, and some of these procedures required follow-up appointments after three months. Back then, she had Elliot’s black card that she could spend as much

the mirror, feeling hatred and adoration for her face at the same time. She became even more jealous of Anastasia’s natural beauty, while she had to always be frightened and afraid that she would lose hers at any

the morning, Anastasia received a call from the police as Naomi’s lawyer wanted to see her. However, she didn’t really want to meet them as Naomi’s matter was not over yet. The reason why she delayed her father’s resuscitation and the pills found in his mouth were all related to Naomi. Before collecting all necessary evidence, she wouldn’t accuse her yet. She wouldn’t be merciful this time either. Even if Naomi

afternoon, Naomi’s lawyer contacted Erica, and she directly took the lawyer to the hospital to meet Anastasia. Erica

room, the lawyer talked to Anastasia on behalf

you were a child…” The lawyer began, intending to persuade Anastasia in a

should ask how my stepmother treated me when I was younger. Otherwise, it’ll be

of her mother, Erica became meek all of a sudden. “Anastasia, I know my mother was not a good person, but can you let her out in consideration of her taking care of Dad

out of my house by her when I was young?

mother would end up in such a predicament, or she would’ve

According to Ms. Lowell, she only hoped to

hands. The hospital has the identification certificate which can determine if those drugs were meant to save a person or end their life. If you have any questions, I can tell you

she listened to their conversation, Erica broke into a cold sweat. Although Anastasia was never an easy target in the task, she

I apologize to you on behalf of my mother. As long as you let her go, we’ll definitely return the favor in the future.” Erica had already let go of all her pride.

Erica got on her knees and begged her. She said coldly, “I’m busy. I have to take care of Dad. You

Erica stretched out her hand to pull her back, but Anastasia

touch me,”

Erica, and she didn’t dare to touch her anymore. As she looked at Anastasia,

give them a chance, Elias felt that this was a tricky case as well. As he sorted

Yale, you must help my mom and find a way to save her. I

soon as possible and ask him to come forward to

changed his will and divided his company’s equity, and with the evidence that her mother was harming him, what if he didn’t let

so let’s forget about this. You should come up with

his face. Even though she had been raised by him for more than 20 years, she did not feel any trace of gratitude toward him at all. From the fact that she dared to deal with Mrs. Garner, it was clear that she had already lost all affection for him. “Anastasia…” Erica stretched out her hand to pull her back, but Anastasia raised

was doing, as Alex had told her that things were getting better. When she walked

like you’re busy,

down and lifted his head

expect her to be so determined to put Mom in jail.

blame so that he and Erica could live a comfortable life. “Erica, Anastasia has evidence of Mom’s crime with her. We can’t save her. If you have the opportunity to see her, you should ask her not to worry and stay there for a

my mom to stay in jail for

gentle wasn’t working, Alex could only speak harshly. “What else? If your mom doesn’t take the blame for this crime, it’ll be

She truly envied Anastasia for being able to make a man like Elliot do anything for her. On the other hand, why was the

one of the culprits of the murder. At most, I’m a foil, not the mastermind. But when your father fell into a coma, the mastermind had to be either you or your mom, so if your mom doesn’t go to jail, it would be you. You’re still so young. Can you stand

Mom…” Erica was about to rebuke when Alex

sorry for you. You’re only 24 years old. You have a lot of time left instead of wasting your life away in that dark cell. If

didn’t want to go to jail, to the point where she’d rather take her own life. After all, it would drive her

meeting Mom tomorrow. I… I’ll talk to her then.” In the end, Erica only

her. Hence,

was a little afraid of spending the night alone as she had just pushed Mrs. Garner into the sea

to have dinner with Hayley ten minutes ago and sleep over

stay with me tonight?” Erica embraced

was in the restroom, Alex sent a message to Hayley saying that

her romantic night with Alex. Now that he was not coming, her mood was ruined. Is Erica pestering him? Mockery flashed in her eyes at that thought. Is she trying to pick a fight with me? She continued to bombard Alex with messages, telling him

be troublesome if Erica refused to leave him after he got his hands on the money.

an opportunity to lead her into making a mistake. He had a relatively young assistant from the finance department

that he had to meet a client and might only be able to come back

I’ll go

an urgent matter. I wouldn’t have time to stay with you even

“But…”

night,

him, Alex had already

she watched the sun set in the distance, she began to feel a chill down her spine as her mind filled with Mrs. Garner’s horrified expression as she fell into the water. Her grip tightened around her clothes in fear as she got into her car and wondered, Who should

contact with her. With that, she instantly reached for her phone and dialed Hayley’s number. “Hello? Hayley, are you free tonight? I want to invite you to come and spend a

though. I’m going

friend? Is it important? Can you cancel your plans and meet with me? I’ll treat you to a feast and we can go to a

sorry, Erica. Have fun at the bar!” Hayley made it clear that she wouldn’t be able to come.

herself tremble. She could only drive aimlessly around the city, but as it started to get late, she called Alex, who was by Hayley’s side at the same time. He comforted her before telling her that one of his employees was going

I’ll ask my assistant to chat with you first. If

could only contact his assistant. It was then that she heard an attractive and young

felt her heart skip a beat. This assistant’s voice sounds so pleasing! And he seems

almost home. What

on my

then I’ll wait

the door for the suited young man with documents in hand. The appearance of this young

the night with her as she was afraid of the traces of Mrs. Garner in the house that would make her feel as though Mrs. Garner

here. Since

your name?” Erica stopped

“My name is Oscar.”

nice name, Oscar! I happen to be slightly bored now, so how about

bring the documents to Erica as Alex had promised him a hundred thousand for him to seduce Erica and to hand him evidence of this affair. To

of this matter if Erica was the one who

asked, “Miss Tillman, wouldn’t it be inappropriate for me to

us keep our mouths shut, it wouldn’t be an inappropriate matter.” Saying that, Erica stood up and poured

on my way

“Nope!”

Alex, Oscar was much more pleasing to the eyes. She had been feeling lonely as Alex had been treating her coldly recently.

Erica as well. To him, she was the daughter of Francis Tillman, which meant that she was

“I’m feeling a little hot right now. I’ll go upstairs

minutes later, she came back downstairs in sexy lingerie. Oscar, on the other hand, had set

“Miss Tillman… You’re…”

sat on the sofa with her eyes

you’re very pretty,”

up with hints of joy

Tillman, what would I be doing?”

the man in her embrace. “I need you, Oscar. Tonight, I am all

don’t think this

me,” she asked

We

first thing the next morning,” Erica said domineeringly

as he needed to act as an unwilling

her shamelessly

give the video of the affair, which had been edited to only show Erica’s face, to Alex. After Alex had paid Oscar posthaste,

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