An Offer They Cannot Refuse

There it was again, a letter with that Family Crest. Mrs Liu hesitated to open the letter although the letter opener was already in her hand. The hand that held the envelope trembled slightly. The career woman called her husband who told her to take a picture of the letter's contents. He didn't want to have to arrange another flight back home if it wasn't anything critical.

Mrs Liu didn't know what to expect from the Wilde's. Scarlet hasn't been going to school. She couldn't possibly be interacting with anyone or bothering the Wilde's. She didn't know why such a powerful and influential family would bother with an average household like theirs. The group accountant wasn't naive enough to think that this was a coincidence. There was no such thing as a coincidence in this world just like how free lunches didn't exist.

The letter opener felt heavy in her hands as Mrs Liu sliced open the envelope. She took out the folded letter and took a deep breath before straightening it out to read. There was nothing out of the ordinary and it didn't seem like a formal letter. If anything, it was handwritten - something uncommon to see with emails becoming more popular.

The group accountant blinked and read the contents twice. The neat calligraphy stared back at her. Mrs Liu didn't know what to think. The Wilde's wanted to invite her to tea with Scarlet and extended their invitation to her husband too. Her mind blanked.

"What is it?" the irritated Chief Information Officer grumbled into the phone. His wife certainly had way too much time on her hands when she wasn't busy pouring over numbers and counting money. If it wasn't mutually beneficial, he would never have taken her as his wife. Their relationship was meant to be more business-like, she wasn't supposed to bug him over every single little thing. Having Scarlet was her idea. He never wanted children in the first place. What more did she want out of him? At this point, Mr Liu was heavily considering settling for a divorce.

"It's the Wilde's again. They sent a letter inviting us over and we must bring the girl. I know you don't like being disturbed from your work but think about it, this could just be the break we need to succeed! It's a chance that won't come by again, the Wilde's are extremely influential. If played right, the girl can give us what we need to solidify our social standings."

Mr Liu paused. His heart surged at the thought of finally getting the recognition he deserved. For once, the woman was right. Scarlet could very well be the bargaining chip they needed for a breakthrough.

"I understand. When does this happen?"

Mrs Liu grinned, knowing that her husband wouldn't pass up such a chance. Who knew that their daughter would one day prove to be useful? For all the trouble that Scarlet caused over the years, she was finally beginning to prove her worth. they say that some investments are bitter at the start and for her daughter, it was simply too true.

Scarlet listened in to her mother's end of the conversation from behind her door and swallowed. Suit & Glasses didn't lie. The Wilde's were able to coax her greedy mother and even make her uncaring father agree. What kind of magic did they use? Not even the sweetest of deals could make her mother dance with joy like this. Scarlet peeked from the crack beneath the door and saw the reflection from the floor. Her mother was humming a merry time while choosing out potential outfits, tossing them onto the bed.

She wasn't able to find out the content of the letter or the date of the meeting but it wasn't as important as reporting the situation at home to the lawyer who was still waiting for the news. He had been asking about it for the last two days but the mailman didn't deliver anything of importance till just now.

-Red Willow has logged in.-

Suit & Glasses: You're here. Did they receive it yet?

Red Willow: Affirmative. From the conversation, both of them will attend. My mother is already choosing her outfit as we speak, I can hear the humming.

Suit & Glasses: I see. That's good news. Let's go through the plan in detail now that we've confirmed their response.

Suit & Glasses: Jasper will not be present on that day, you will be visiting with your parents. Jenna will be receiving your family and Mrs Wilde will make an excuse for you to join Alex while we start the negotiations. I will be attending as a lawyer to 'finalise some business proposition' with your parents. Don't worry, it will be a legitimate deal.

Red Willow: Will I really be moving in with the Wilde Family? I don't really want to take on the Wilde name...

Suit & Glasses: Don't worry, Mrs Wilde would never make you do anything you dislike. You're going to be her ward, not her adopted daughter. Nobody will question why the Wilde's have a ward. It's actually a very common practice to do so in the business world for those who don't marry into the family.

Scarlet read Benjamin's explanation and blinked. This kind of thing is common?

Red Willow: I've never heard about such things...

Suit & Glasses: That's because it isn't publicised much. It's a dirty trick that the old aristocrats did to protect the power in their Family. Talent isn't always born in the family, you know?

Scarlet had no comeback to it. Alex was also recognised as a genius but she wasn't the brightest when it came to running a business.

Suit & Glasses: Don't worry, just leave everything to us. We will make them an offer they cannot refuse. There isn't anything the Wilde Family cannot afford and your parents are the exact kind of flies that hover around the Wilde's every day. It's just going to be like pocket change to them, don't think too much about it and focus on that book. Mrs Orita Wilde is an investor who will never invest in anything that doesn't yield returns.

Scarlet felt as if Benjamin poured cold water onto her. The book she proposed to write with Jasper and Alex was still only at the character development stage. The page was still blank and four days had gone by already.

"Where did all the time go?" she screamed silently and left the chatroom. There was still much work to be done even though she has no school. Why did life have to do this to her?

Sadly, it doesn't look like there will ever be rest days for the self-proclaimed half-genius.