Divorce Me Before Death Takes Me, CEO

Chapter 399

Rachel's POV

Everyone in the hallway glared at Blake for interrupting, with Rebecca looking particularly pissed off.

| bit my lip, wondering why he’d cut William off at such a crucial moment.

God, I'm just as anxious as Rebecca about William's inheritance announcement. When he decided to leave

everything to Audrey, | was still in my coma. Laurel cto my hospital bed afterward and bitched about it for

hours.

Now Audrey’s gone, but William thinks I'm her. The old man might actually leave everything to me. If | got my

hands on all that money... my mother and stepfather wouldn't dare look down on me.

The Rose and Hayes families would have to treatlike their precious little princess - exactly how they treated

Laurel. Hell, it would be the one good thing Audrey ever did for me.

| couldn’t stop a small smile from forming.

Thalia snapped at Blake, “Seriously? Grandfather's about to say something important and you interrupt?

Whatever you have to say can wait.”

Blake checked his phone before explaining, “A verbal will announcement or livestream isn’t legally binding. We

need a notary and lawyer present.”

“I've already called the company’s chief accountant to bring them over,” he added, glancing at his watch. “They

should be here any minute.”

Thalia’s irritation instantly transformed into fawning admiration. ‘Blake! You're right about making it official.

None of us would have thought of that!”

Audrey's POV

| stood back with Adrian, keeping my phone steady as 1 livestreamed William and his family.

Mayo Clinic isn’t downtown, it's at least a good drive from the city center. For Blake to arrange the accountant

and lawyers to chere... that takes planning.

Just for the chief accountant to grab the files and drive over would take an hour minimum. Which means over an

hour ago, when William was still fighting for his life in emergency, Blake was already making these

arrangements.

I always thought only Rebecca, Elizabeth and the others were after William's money. Never occurred tothat

while they were squabbling in the hallway, Blake was watching his grandfather being resuscitated and

simultaneously making calls to handle the estate...

| glanced toward Blake. His face remained blank, but his eyes had regained that sharp focus | remembered from

before.

The elevator dinged behind me.

Six people stepped out looking rumpled from rushing over - the chief accountant with two assistants, two

notaries, and a lawyer.

The accountant approached William. ‘Sir, | understand you want to create a will?”

William nodded silently.

“Let's begin then, the accountant said with a slight bow.

He methodically listed William's assets one by one.

As the numbers climbed higher, | watched Rachel's eyes grow more hungry with each figure mentioned.

| used to think only my love life was a failure. Turns out my friendships were just as fake.

The inventory dragged on for thirty minutes.

Except for Blake, the Parker family circled William like vultures.

After answering all the legal questions, William took a deep breath.

‘I've decided,” he declared. “After my death...”

He raised his voice. All my assets -

The hallway went deadly silent.

Everyone except Blake stared at William's face with naked anticipation.

After my death, William announced forcefully, “all my assets will be donated to social welfare charities!”

The hallway exploded with noise.

Rebecca, who clearly hadn't processed what was said, started clapping. “I knew you wouldn't change your mind,

Father! Ten months ago you wanted to give everything to Audrey, and now you're still giving -

Thalia rushed over and pinched her arm hard.

Rebecca's perfectly made-up face twisted in horror as reality hit her. “You can’t be serious! Only people without

families donate everything to charity. Look around you - this hallway is full of your descendants! We're all

counting on that money, and you're just giving it away?”

Elizabeth jumped in. “Father, please reconsider - *

William dismissed them with a cold snort.

He turned to the legal team. “Got all that?”

The lawyer nodded while reminding, “Sir, | should advise that for someone with your family situation, we

typically don’t recommend -

Thalia rushed to Rachel's side, linking arms with her.

“Grandfather, she pleaded, “ten months ago you were leaving everything to Audrey. What changed? Don’t you

care about her anymore? Wasn't she your

favorite?”

She nudged Rachel. “Right, Audrey?”

Rachel snapped back to reality and approached William.

She grabbed his hand, her voice dripping with manufactured sweetness. “William, | thought you wanted to leave

it all to me?”

*Blake and | just started our jewelry company. We need capital for my career. Didn't you always say | shouldn't

just be a housewife but have my own

business?”

Her voice grew more earnest. “I'm finally following that dream you encouraged. Wouldn't your support mean

everything? Even when you're gone, knowing my company exists because of you would keep your memory alive

for me.”

If I didn’t know better, | might actually buy Rachel's performance. She used to bitch about Laurel having no

acting talent despite wanting to be a star. Turns out Rachel’s the real actress in the family.

Looking at her now, | can’t help seeing flashes of the carefree girl from the hospital five years ago. Was any of it

real? That friendship | thought we had?

| used to think | knew her better than anyone. Now | realize | never knew her at all.

William watched Rachel's little show with cold amusement.

He pulled his hand away and patted her head condescendingly. “Child, | understand you need money for your

business.”

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Chapter 399

His voice hardened. “But have you forgotten what you said ten months ago? You toldyou didn’t need my

money and that | should give it to people who actually needed help.”

“When | suggested you use it as startup capital for your business, you insisted you could succeed without my

help. You said people who needed social services would truly suffer without support.”

William's eyes flicked towardbefore returning to Rachel.

You might have forgotten those words. | haven't. I'm simply following your suggestion. Any objections?”

Rachel's face fell. “But Grandfather -

Adrian laughed behind me.

He stepped around me. “That desperate for cash, Miss Hayes? | thought the Rose family was loaded, and you're

about to marry Blake.”

“The old man wants to help people after he’s gone - normally considered a good thing. Why are you so

determined to stop him? Money problems?”

Rachel jutted her chin out. “I'm starting a business. Of course | need funding. Didn't you need money when you

were starting out?”

*Sure did,” Adrian said, “But | never begged my parents or in-laws. Every dollar | raised cfrom convincing

actual investors with my pitch. That's what real entrepreneurs do.”

He smirked. “Tell you what - since you're so broke, Ill invest in your company. Just giveyour elevator pitch

right now. If you can convinceyour jewelry business has potential, I'll write you a check. Then you can let the

old man donate his money with a clear conscience.”

“n..1o

DivorceBefore Death Takes Me, CEO