Chapter 92 Lincoln's Giving Out His Shares
Morga, the French designer, was well-known throughout the world. Everyone in the high society had heard of her reputation.
Her designer clothing could sell for millions of dollars.
Last year, she did a fabric puzzle of the Milky Way. It was only half the size of Caitlin's puzzle, however, it sold for an exorbitant price of 110 million dollars.
Although this fabric puzzle was done by her disciple, which meant that it was not as valuable as Morga's work, it was still worth millions of dollars.
Caitlin was just a future granddaughter-in-law who had not yet entered the Scott Family officially. The audience marvelled at her lavish generosity and impeccable taste.
Lincoln smiled and said, "Thank you. I like it very much!"
Caitlin replied graciously, "It's my pleasure."
Then she sat down with a smug look on her face, waiting for the show to begin.
She gave Lucas a pointed look, hinting that he must execute the plan perfectly and not let her efforts be in vain.
Wilson noticed the interaction between Lucas and Caitlin. When he saw Caitlin showing off the fabric puzzle embroidered by the disciple of Morga, Wilson sneered in response. If it weren't for his grandfather, he would have exposed their attention-seeking behaviour publicly. However, he didn't want to make his grandfather unhappy on his birthday.
Soon, Wilson's gift was opened.
It was a book handwritten by Giana Levine, a famous doctor from the ancient times. No one knew its value so they could only guess.
Wilson said to his grandfather, "Grandfather, this book would be of practical use to you. I hope you would find it useful."
"Brilliant!" Lincoln was obviously happier than when he received other gifts.
This caused some dissatisfaction in the crowd.
Caitlin gnashed her teeth and cursed silently, "Useless old man, we prepared expensive gifts and paid so much for them, but your reaction was so lacklustre. Conversely, you complimented Wilson when he gave you a dirty old book? How could you be so partial? B*stard!"
Alina's name was soon announced.
When Alina heard the housekeeper call her name, her body trembled.
Alina was so nervous that she almost suffocated.
Just by looking at the gifts that were revealed, she felt so ashamed that she could sink through the floor. How could her jigsaw puzzle, which was made of wood, even compare to their gifts? Furthermore, Caitlin's puzzle was made of real silk and embroidered by the disciple of a master.
She felt her scalp prickle with fear.
Wilson said softly, "Grandfather, Alina gave you a jade ornament. She knew that I was going to give you Giana's book, so she chose this especially for you. I hope that you will like it."
"Good, good! Thank you!" Lincoln was overjoyed when he heard Wilson's words. It was the kind of happiness that came from the heart.
He knew that he didn't misjudge Alina.
Although the little jade ornament was not valuable, it was practical.
Seeing Lincoln's expression of satisfaction, of course, many people were enraged.
Rainee was the first to interrupt. "Dad, that's too much of you! What's good about the jade ornament? It's only worth ten thousand dollars. How could Alina give you such a tacky gift? What an embarrassment!" "Rainee!" Lincoln warned her in a cold voice.
Rainee ignored him and continued, "Dad, as an elder, you should treat all the younger ones equally. Caitlin gave you the fabric puzzle that was so pleasing to the eye, yet you did not praise her. Besides, Selma presented a landscape painting that was worth over 10 million dollars! We could have bought cheap jade ornaments like that in bulk."
Originally, she didn't want to have a conflict with Lincoln. No matter how dissatisfied she was, Lincoln still had 30% of the Scott Group's shares in his name. If he took offence, he might not leave anything for George in his will. Wouldn't it be a big loss for them?
Therefore, over the years, no matter how resentful they were, they tried their best to please Lincoln.
However, today's situation was different. No matter what, they had to make a big deal out of this and humiliate Alina.
Once she was disgraced, the stock price of Scott Group would drop. Then, they would have a chance to buy in and make a profit.
Lincoln was about to lose his temper when Wilson spoke up. "Aunt, I thought that the most important aspect of giving was out of sincerity, especially for a rich and powerful family like us. The members of the Scott Family were never lacking in money, but genuine sincerity."
"Wilson, what do you mean by that?" Hearing Wilson's words, Rainee was immediately angered and stood up from her chair.
Even if Wilson was the president of the Scott Group, he was still younger than her. How could he talk to her in such an arrogant manner?
Sophie couldn't hold herself back when she saw Rainee yelling at her precious son. With a glare, she slammed her fork on the table, stood up, and challenged Rainee in a cold voice, "Rainee, Dad is still here. Do you have the right to cut him off?"
It seemed like the daughters-in-law were about to fight.
Lincoln thundered, "Both of you, sit down!"
Rainee and Sophie stared at each other with anger burning in their eyes as they sat down, fuming.
Wilson ignored the heated atmosphere at the table and said nonchalantly, "Grandfather, Alina had prepared another gift for you."
Hearing this, the housekeeper chimed in immediately, "Mr. Scott, Miss Alina gave you a jigsaw puzzle. I've asked the servants to bring it down and you can see it very soon."
"Alright." Lincoln felt slightly better when he heard that Alina brought him another jigsaw puzzle. He knew that Lina was a bright and intelligent girl. Lincoln found himself looking forward to her gift.
At such an old age, why would he care about whether the gift was expensive or not? What he cared about was the intention of the person who sent the gift. However, his immediate family couldn't understand his wishes.
Soon, a large puzzle was carried in by some servants.
In the picture, the lifelike cranes were surrounded by green pine trees. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful jigsaw puzzle.
Alina was very nervous and drenched in cold sweat.
The jade ornament wasn't chosen by her at all, but Wilson was the one who prepared it. The members of the Scott Family quarrelled over her gift, which made her upset.
When she saw the Pines and Cranes puzzle, she felt ashamed.
She didn't complete this puzzle on her own.
Wilson spoke up, "Grandfather, Alina did this puzzle..."
At that moment, Alina raised up her head and interrupted Wilson's speech. "Grandfather, Wilson and I did this puzzle for you!"
She knew that if she didn't tell the truth, Wilson would definitely say that the puzzle was completed by her alone. She didn't want to lie.
Since Lincoln was already so old, she really did not want to lie to him.
Wilson tilted his head in her direction. "Didn't we agree to not let others know about that?" His perplexed eyes seemed to say as he looked at Alina.
Alina shook her head slightly at Wilson, her gaze determined.
Then, she said to Lincoln, "Grandfather, Wilson and I completed this puzzle together. Every piece of the puzzle contains blessings from us to you. We wish for you to have good health and longevity. Furthermore, we hope for you to live each day with happiness!
"I know that the jade ornament and the puzzle are not worth much money. To be honest, I wished that my family had the financial ability to give you valuable gifts, however, the reality doesn't mirror my desires. Therefore, I can only gift you something that is within my means, accompanied with my blessings, and out of the sincerity of my heart!
"I wish that you would enjoy happiness, peace, and relaxation for the rest of your days. Lastly, I hope that every year, we could spend your birthday together as a family."
Wilson was moved. He held Alina's hand tightly. She could touch his heartstrings with her words so easily. It had nothing to do with her money, talent, or appearance. It was because of her pure and genuine heart.
Lincoln was also moved by Alina's speech.
How long had it been since someone had treated him so sincerely?
At this age, he could easily see through the ulterior motives of others.
Lincoln knew that even though his grandchildren appeared to be filial by greeting him daily and spending time with him every day, their motives weren't genuine. They were aiming to get the shares under his
name.
They all wanted to please him and curry favour with him so that he would distribute his shares to them.
Lincoln suddenly came to a decision as he looked into Alina's sincere eyes.
He said, "Thank you, Lina. I appreciate your sincerity and I will cherish the birthday presents that you prepared for me."
After that, he turned to the housekeeper. "Mr. Kyree, did Bennett come today?"
Mr. Kyree immediately replied, "Yes, Mr. Bennett is having his meal with Mr. Louis in the main courtyard."
"Okay, go and ask him to come over!"
Hearing that Lincoln asked for Bennett to come over, the relatives seated in the private courtyard became restless.
Most of them could guess what Lincoln was going to do next.
Rainee said angrily, "Dad, you shouldn't make irrational decisions merely from a speech or a cheap present!"
"Yes, Father!" George, who was usually silent, spoke up in a hurry.
All of them anticipated that Lincoln was going to give Alina, an outsider who didn't have any status or background, some shares of the Scott Group. How could this happen? Nancy was also anxious. She stamped her feet and said, "Grandfather, didn't you say that when we get married and have children, you will distribute the shares to us?"
Rainee added, "Dad, if you gave the shares to an outsider, what would become of your great-grandchildren in the future? What would be left for them?"
Selma tugged on Colton's sleeve for him to say something. Colton cut in immediately, "Grandfather, you can't be biased. If you plan to give Alina a share of Scott Group, Selma should have an equal share. Her status is much higher than Miss Alina's."
"Yes!" Rainee echoed.
Listening to the racket, Sophie frowned. She was hesitant as she didn't know which side she should stand on.
Inwardly, she did not approve of Lincoln giving a share of the Scott Group to an outsider like Alina.
However, right now, Alina was Wilson's girlfriend. If she obtained shares of the Scott Group, at the very least, it wouldn't cause Wilson any harm.
Therefore, she decided to stay silent.
At any rate, after Alina received the shares from Lincoln, Sophie could force her to transfer the shares to Wilson.
"Dad, you can't be so hasty. It's only Miss Alina's second time meeting the Scott Family. Dad, you don't know her very well, do you?" Rainee said in desperation.
George added, "That's right, Dad."
Looking at George, Rainee rolled her eyes. He was really a coward. He could only chime in with useless words like yes, that's right, and of course! What a hopeless man!
Fortunately, she had two competent sons and a daughter. In terms of numbers, her family was larger than Ethan's family.
Nancy glared at Alina with resentment. "Who couldn't string a pretty sentence together? Grandfather, you know that I'm an actress. However, I never acted or put on a show in front of you. Grandfather, please be logical. You can't just give out your shares so easily to a fraudster!" ☐☐☐☐☐☐