At 3 p.m., in the conference room of the Morstan Enterprises building in central London.
The long mahogany conference table was already occupied by the elders of the Morstan family's collateral branches and the group's executives.
The air was thick with the heavy scent of cigars and tense whispers.
The forced search of South Shore Warehouses No. 4 and No. 5, along with Philip's arrest, had caused a major uproar within just a few hours.
"This is the biggest scandal the Morstan family has faced in half a century!"
Adrian Morstan, a tall and thin elderly man seated at the far left, struck his cane against the wooden floor and spoke in a harsh, aggressive tone.
"Philip did make a mistake, but our top priority right now is the textile factory in the East District!"
"Without supplies from the South Shore, the factory will be hit with enormous fines and forced to shut down within three days!"
"A girl who is barely college age has no ability to handle a crisis like this. After all, she is just a woman. How could she possibly become the head of the family?"
"That's right. Arthur has fallen. We cannot let a little girl drag us down with him."
The other directors quickly voiced their agreement. In an instant, the room filled with indignation as they prepared to stage a joint coup.
Benson Morstan remained seated, saying nothing, merely wiping the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.
After some time, the heavy copper-framed oak doors of the conference room slowly swung open.
Mary Morstan, dressed in a perfectly tailored black high-neck velvet gown, entered the room with a calm stride, accompanied by the butler William, who had served the family for many years.
When her clear emerald-green eyes swept across the room, the previously noisy conference room fell into complete silence.
The girl, who had just suffered one devastating blow after another, still carried a faint trace of the imposing aura her father Arthur Morstan had once radiated when inspecting his territory. But what truly captured everyone's attention was her striking long pale-yellow hair and those emerald-green eyes.
Everyone present had seen Mary before. Arthur used to bring her along and proudly show her off.
That was why, upon seeing a face that was both familiar and strangely unfamiliar, nearly everyone was shocked.
Under their watchful gazes, Mary walked straight to the end of the long table and stopped in front of the empty seat that symbolized the highest authority.
"Good afternoon, elders," she said.
The girl's voice was soft and sweet, carrying just the right amount of respect.
"I'm sorry for being late."
What should have been a polite apology somehow sounded, coming from her lips, as though she had taken the initiative to offer it with complete composure.
After a brief moment of silence, murmurs of surprise and confusion broke out.
"Mary, what happened? Your hair…"
The first to launch an attack was Adrian Morstan. His clouded eyes were fixed on Mary's long pale-yellow hair.
"And your eyes…"
"Let's set personal matters aside for now, shall we, Uncle Adrian?"
The girl met her cousin's gaze without flinching. Her tone was conversational, yet it left no room for rebuttal.
"I believe everyone here is aware of what happened at the South Bank warehouses."
Mary looked around the room, meeting the eyes of those present one by one.
"Currently, Father is still hospitalized for treatment, and Cousin Philip has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling and posing a serious public security threat. As a result, Warehouses No. 4 and No. 5 on the South Shore have been completely seized…"
"To be honest, I never imagined he would do something so shameful to the family."
"Of course, what matters even more than any of that is that because of Cousin Philip's mistake, both warehouses on the South Shore have now been seized. This has forced an interruption in the supply of raw materials to our textile factory in the East District."
At this point, Mary paused. Her emerald-green eyes slowly swept across the familiar faces in the room before finally coming to rest on Benson.
As if sensing her gaze, Benson Morstan immediately tensed up.
"This is a disgrace to the family!"
Adrian struck the floor with his cane again, breaking the silence.
"Let's start with the chaos Philip has caused. It has caused severe damage to the Morstan family's corporate image."
"Furthermore, with the South Shore warehouses sealed off, the East District factory will have no choice but to shut down. The penalties for breach of contract from those distributors will be more than enough to bankrupt us."
"The South Shore was our only base, and now it has been sealed. This is entirely not your responsibility, but it is far beyond your capabilities."
He looked at Mary seriously, dropping the aggressive attitude he had shown before she arrived, his expression saying, "This is all for your own good."
"Mary, you are still young. I believe in your potential, but you are still a student who hasn't even graduated yet. You shouldn't have to bear this heavy burden."
"We can wait, but the banks and partner companies cannot. Therefore, the best thing we can do right now is to have someone with more authority and familiarity speak on our behalf."
"Cousin Adrian is right."
Another white-haired director seated diagonally across from Benson pushed up his reading glasses and spoke in a cold, businesslike tone.
"Mary, we understand that you have been through a lot these past few days. You even used your own savings to pay the wages of the workers in the East District."
"This generous act was praised by the Guardian, but it was only a temporary solution."
"Now that the South Shore warehouses have been sealed and the supply of raw materials has been cut off, this is an unavoidable outcome. If we cannot deliver the goods, we will face enormous fines and a crisis of trust. But looking at the current situation, without raw materials, the workers cannot work. Do you intend to keep pacifying them by simply paying them money?"
"Of course not."
Mary smiled.
"If that is what you are worried about, then rest assured."
"I have already urgently contacted a special route and signed an expedited procurement contract."
"They have arranged special trains and express cargo ships. The materials are scheduled to arrive directly at the unloading platform of the East District textile factory by tomorrow at 8 p.m. at the latest."
"The raw material issue has been resolved. The labor issue and the penalties for breach of contract have also been resolved."
The girl said this casually.
"Any other questions?"
After she finished speaking, the room fell into a brief silence before one of the directors spoke again.
"What about the price?"
"How much is the supply price for these raw materials?"
"Given the urgency of the situation, they are charging a 20% premium as an expedited fee."
The girl said with a smile.
Those words struck the room like a spark, instantly igniting the heavy atmosphere.
"Are you insane?!"
One of them slammed his fist on the table and stood up, shouting. "Twenty percent?! Do you even know how to do math? Do you have any idea how much money that is?!"
"Scotland Yard has promised to release the warehouses within a few days."
Mary answered calmly.
"The goods we purchased are only enough for a few days' worth. The price is… around twenty thousand pounds."
"Twenty thousand pounds? And with an additional 20% premium on top?!"
The director who had just slammed the table looked as though he had heard the most absurd joke in the world. He placed both hands on the mahogany table, making no attempt to hide the disbelief and anger in his voice.
"Mary, do you think this is some kind of business simulation game?!"
"Do you know what a 20% premium means? It means that for every piece of textile product we send to the East District for production, the company will be operating at a loss!"
"If we don't do this, the price we will have to pay will be far greater."
Mary remained completely unfazed by the accusation.
"If the East District factory shuts down and we fail to deliver the goods, based on the punitive breach-of-contract clause in the agreements, the amount we will have to pay will be more than three times the purchase price of these materials."
"Moreover, the penalties for breach of contract are only a minor issue. If the Morstan family loses credibility during the most important sales period of the Christmas season, other chambers of commerce will take advantage of the situation to seize market share."
"Who will bear this long-term, invisible loss? You, Mr. Howard?"
"You are using a logical fallacy!"
Howard shouted angrily.
"Enough."
Adrian joined the conversation, lightly tapping the floor with the tip of his cane as though a judge delivering a final verdict.
"Mary, your intentions are good, but you have not fully grasped the overall situation."
"According to the company's articles of association, any emergency expenditure exceeding five thousand pounds must be approved by a majority vote of the board of directors."
"Based on the company's current financial risk assessment, we cannot approve your expedited procurement contract or release the funds."
"If this leads to a breach of contract, it will be the result of your immature judgment in this matter."
"Of course, this is your first time experiencing something like this, so it is not entirely your fault."
"Now, listen to me. Leave the crisis management with the banks and partners to us elders. Let the older generation handle it, all right?"
The conference room fell silent. All eyes were on the girl with the long pale-yellow hair.
That was their real goal.
You want to purchase raw materials at a premium price to resolve the crisis? Fine. But we will not approve the funds. Let's see how you manage to buy them then.
Once the supply of goods is cut off and the factory falls into chaos, you will have no choice but to obediently resign and hand over this heavy responsibility.
"No."
The girl's light voice rang out in the heavy conference room, carrying a certain firmness of will.
"Mary, stop fooling around!"
Adrian raised his voice. "If you weren't Arthur's daughter, I would have thrown you out long ago. Do you not understand how serious this situation is?"
"From the very beginning, I had no intention of using even a single cent of the Morstan company's public funds."
Mary said quietly.
"What?"
Adrian frowned. "You're not using public funds? Then where do you plan to get twenty thousand pounds in cash?"
Mary did not answer directly. Instead, she gracefully turned her gaze toward Benson Morstan, who was seated behind the conference table and had been desperately wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief ever since she entered the room.
"Perhaps the elders have underestimated the unity and bonds of the Morstan family."
The girl smiled faintly.
"Actually, the moment Uncle Benson learned that the South Shore warehouses had been seized and that the East District was facing a supply crisis, he personally contacted me."
"Not only was he deeply pained by Cousin Philip's foolishness, but he also deeply understood how difficult it would be for his young niece to handle this situation alone."
"So Uncle Benson took an action that deeply moved me, for the sake of the family."
Mary deliberately drew out her words while watching Benson's obese body tremble uncontrollably in the leather seat.
"Uncle Benson decided to personally provide a twenty-thousand-pound interest-free business loan from the family business to cover the cost of the emergency raw material procurement."
"Uncle Benson, is what I'm saying correct?"
The moment she finished speaking, dozens of eyes in the conference room turned simultaneously toward the portly man.
Everyone stared at him with expressions of disbelief, as though he were a traitor and a madman.
"Benson! Is this true?"
Adrian's eyes widened in shock as he questioned the man.
"Where on earth are you going to get twenty thousand pounds in cash from that little farm of yours?!"
Benson Morstan, seated at the conference table, suddenly felt a lack of oxygen to his brain and a ringing in his ears.
He wanted to stand up and loudly deny it, to point at Mary and curse her as a robber and an extortionist.
But when his gaze met Mary's emerald-green eyes, which seemed to be smiling yet were not, he could not help but think of the two black ledgers stolen last night and those unsettling family photographs.
Those matters now hung above his head like the sword of Damocles, pressed firmly against his throat.
If he were to voice even the slightest objection right now, the criminal investigators from Scotland Yard and that sharp-tongued wife of his would chew his bones to pieces and spit them out.
No, it won't come to that.
Benson swallowed hard and forced a smile on his fat face that looked even more pained than genuine. In a trembling voice, he said,
"Yes… yes, that's exactly what my niece Mary said."
Every word he spoke pained his heart.
"Brother Arthur is currently hospitalized. As his younger brother, I cannot stand by and watch the family business collapse."
"I have already instructed the housekeeper to manage the twenty thousand pounds. The full amount will be transferred to the separate account managed by Mary this afternoon."
A deathly, graveyard-like silence filled the room.
Adrian's hand holding the cane froze in midair, trembling slightly from the shock.
The funds were Benson's personal assets, voluntarily provided as an interest-free loan, and had not gone through the company's risk approval process. Therefore, these elders no longer had any legitimate reason to interfere with the transaction.
"Thanks to Uncle Benson's generosity, everyone's concerns about a disruption in the flow of funds seem to have been alleviated."
Mary naturally took control of the meeting's pace and lightly tapped the table twice with her white fingers.
"In other words, there is only one question left."
The gentleness on the girl's face disappeared, replaced by decisiveness and efficiency.
"Cousin Philip has been arrested for serious involvement in organized crime and smuggling, but the chaos he left behind still needs to be cleaned up."
"Warehouses No. 4 and No. 5 will remain closed indefinitely. We need to coordinate with Scotland Yard as soon as possible to separate and transfer the harmless goods."
"Furthermore, a new manager is needed."
"As it happens, I am currently managing the textile factory in the East District. If the raw materials fall into the hands of malicious individuals, we will end up in the same troublesome situation as today."
"Therefore, I propose that I take over the South Bank warehouses."
She paused, sweeping her gaze across the entire room.
"Who is in favor, and who is against?"