Those words of his were too shameless.
Simon and Melissa frowned.
Most wealthy families wouldn’t embarrass themselves like that when handling matters. People like him who hounded others so persistently were honestly a rare sight.
Yet, Miranda, who was next to him, spoke up for him. She said, “He’s right, Mrs. Anderson. No matter what, he’s still Yvette’s husband and Nora’s father, so that makes him family no matter how you look at it… Even though Yvette is no longer around, it’s not right to cut off family ties with them.”
Then, she smiled and said, “Isn’t there a family like that right in our circle? Mr. Walker’s first wife was from the Lanes. After she died, he married a Ms. Lopez. His second wife is very close to the Lanes, so the Lanes treat her like family. Mr. Walker’s son from his first marriage has now inherited his company, and he treats his stepmother pretty well…”
Everyone knew who Miranda was referring to.
However, this was because the stepmother had really treated the child very well. That was why she was on such good terms with the child’s mother’s family. This was completely different from Henry’s situation.
Had Henry treated Nora even just a little better, the Andersons wouldn’t have treated him like this, either.
Melissa sneered, “These are our family affairs, Miranda. If there’s nothing else you and Rachel need, then the two of you can leave!”
Miranda waved her off and replied, “We’re not in a hurry. Feel free to continue.”
“…”
Melissa was furious. How she wished she could rescind the call she had made to Farrell just now.
She took a deep breath and looked at Henry. “What are you trying to say, Mr. Smith? Why don’t you make things clear instead?”
Henry smiled and replied, “It’s actually very simple. If we’re family, then you should treat us like family and take care of us a little more. If you don’t see us as family, then it’s time that we properly split the profits between us.”
Simon was taken aback. “What profits are you talking about?”
Henry replied, “The profits from the Carefree Pills, of course! The Carefree Pills were developed by Yvette. Isn’t that something that everyone knows?”
He got up and said shamelessly, “Yvette is my wife, as well as Nora’s mother. Since she’s no longer around, her spouse and her children should be first-in-line to inherit the things she left behind, and not Mom, Simon, or any of you, right?
“If you treat us like family, then it’s not like we can’t provide the Carefree Pill’s formula for free. After all, it’ll just be family members helping each other out, right? But if you don’t, then Nora and I will split the formula equally between the two of us. Since you’re taking the formula and investing in it, then it should at least be split in the 7:3 ratio, no matter how you look at it, right? Since the formula matters the most here, then it should be worth 70% instead of 30%. In that case, you should give me at least 35%, right?”
He had already asked around before he came to the Andersons.
As it turned out, the Andersons had already fallen into decline long ago. However, they had reinvigorated the company with Yvette’s Carefree Pill.
That was why Henry was demanding such an exorbitant cut of the profits.
Nora let out an icy laugh when she heard what he said.
The formula that her mother had left behind didn’t allow them to mass-produce the Carefree Pill. It was just like how she had only produced five pills even after she threw hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of medicinal herbs into it. The one being mass-produced now was a formula that she had improved.
“You—!”
Simon became riled up. He felt that Henry must be daydreaming.
Melissa also frowned—she could tell that things had become a little troublesome now.
Henry’s claim was actually a reasonable one.
Although Yvette had died, without a will, her things were indeed the Smiths’.
At the sight of how the Andersons’ expressions had changed, Henry said cheerfully, “The Andersons are a big family with a big business. Surely you won’t bully people like us who come from another part of the country, right?”
Next to him, a smiling Miranda said, “Of course not. The Andersons are a scholarly family, and are well-known in New York as an extremely honest and sincere family.”
Henry smiled and said, “That’s great. In that case, when will you show me the accounts, Simon? We can settle this quarter’s dividends after that?”
Next to him, Wendy also piped up. She said, “Yes, that’s right. See, if we’re in-laws, then we definitely won’t make things so stiff and formal, and speak bluntly. But since you don’t want to acknowledge the marriage, then we can only adopt a ‘business is business’ stance. Sigh!”
Then, she looked at Nora again and said, “You, too, Nora. Why didn’t you inform your family when you brandished the formula? It doesn’t just belong to you, after all. We haven’t even decided on a good price yet.”
The look in Nora’s eyes turned cold.
Seeing that he completely had the upper hand, Henry smiled with satisfaction. He said, “Sigh, I’m actually also making us out to be strangers by wording it that way. I’m not in a hurry for the money, Simon. How about you do me a little favor? We can talk about these things again later.”
The Andersons didn’t have much cash flow at the moment. It would take at least three months for them to produce the Carefree Pills, recover costs, and make profits!
Simon was surprised to hear that from Henry. He asked, “What kind of little favor is it?”
Henry smiled and replied, “I have another daughter who has been admitted to the New York University School of Medicine for her postgraduate studies this year, but her current mentor is relatively young and inexperienced. Can you help me pull some strings and get her a better mentor?”
The Andersons held a weighty position in the pharmaceutical industry.
Had it been another university, perhaps they wouldn’t have been able to intervene, but Simon indeed was an alumnus of that school. Most of the university’s current leaders were his ex-classmates.
Simon’s knitted brows relaxed. “I can try. Which mentor does she want to switch to, though?”
If he and the mentor knew each other, then this matter would actually be a pretty simple one to resolve.
But as soon as he thought of that, Henry replied, “It’s Professor Anti…”
Simon was stunned. “Who did you say it is?”
Anti?
That world-renowned big boss?
That was impossible!
He immediately waved and said, “Sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about that! We don’t even know who Anti is, let alone contact them!”
Henry beamed at them and said, “How can that be? You could do that for my niece, so why not for my second daughter?”
They had done that for his niece?
Simon became even more confused. “What are you talking about? When have I ever…”
However, before he could finish, a frosty voice suddenly interrupted them.
“Tsk.”
Nora hadn’t said anything all this time because she wanted to see how big Henry’s demands were going to be this time. Little did she expect that apart from finding a mentor for Angela, he had actually set his sights on the Carefree Pills?
She slowly straightened her back and yawned. Then, she said, “It’s a shame that you weren’t born in medieval times, Henry Smith.”
Henry, “?”
Nora curled her lips and said, “Otherwise, your skin could be used as city walls to defend against external enemies.”
Henry, “!!”
He became enraged at once. “You no-good daughter and bastard, how dare you insult me! I haven’t even held you accountable yet for taking out your mother’s Carefree Pill formula so thoughtlessly without my consent, yet you actually have the audacity to come at me?”
However, as he knew that this daughter of his was pretty good at fighting, he only dared to rant and rave but didn’t dare to go forward.
Nora pursed her lips. She had gotten sleepy.
She’d better get rid of those two quickly, then!
