Chapter 3 Make an Offer

• Two years later, in Yorkland.
• "CEO, our business proposal was rejected by GM Company," said the assistant.
• Upon hearing the news, Joel raised his head slightly. He remembered the meeting two days ago, and his brows furrowed in displeasure. He flew to Yorkland personally to discuss the cooperation, which was a great show of respect on his part. However, the CEO of GM didn't even show up and instead sent a young foreign executive to entertain them. The man's attitude was haughty, and his speech revealed his elite education from a prestigious family.
• The team brought a meticulously planned proposal, but the other party suddenly demanded a fully English version of it. Joel suppressed his anger and heard the man speak in fluent English. "Your company has no sincerity at all. Did you only prepare one proposal?"
• After that, they were dismissed, even though they had been arranged to stay in the best local hotel and given tour services. But GM never showed up again.
• "CEO, your sister called. She said that the old lady's condition is not good and asked if you want to continue with conservative treatment," the assistant said.
• Brad had worked with Joel for a long time and knew that he was angry right now. The negotiations failed, and the old lady's health was deteriorating.
• "There will be a new type of medicine at the auction tonight that will be of great help to Grandma's condition. Once we get it, we will go back. Is there any progress on that matter?" Joel asked.
• Brad shook his head, and Joel's thin lips tightened, his face turning even darker.
• After the investigation of the hospital fire incident, it seemed that it was caused by a nurse smoking in the storage room. But in reality, someone had deliberately set the fire to kill Summers' old lady. If it weren't for Gemma's timely arrival, they might have succeeded. The old lady blamed herself very much and felt that she owed her grandson and granddaughter-in-law too much. She had become increasingly distant from them in the past two years, and he felt guilty about it, but it was too late.
• Joel announced publicly that it was an accident, but during the investigation, he realized that things were far from simple. The nurse committed suicide out of fear, and her family had moved to another city, cutting off all leads. Strangely enough, Gemma's news was deliberately suppressed. Joel belatedly discovered that he knew very little about his wife of three years, except for her phone number. Her phone number was unreachable, and she disappeared without a trace, leaving him helpless.
• What puzzled him the most was that Gemma had already left, so why did she return to the hospital?
• "Continue the investigation and keep an eye on the nurse's family," said Joel, his dark eyes brewing a terrifying storm.
• Brad pushed his glasses up and wanted to continue reporting the work, but he saw his phone screen light up, displaying "Patricia". He tactfully left the room.
• The auction officially started at eight o'clock in the evening. Joel met GM's representative, Mark, who invited him to sit together. Patricia reached out to hold Joel's arm, but he avoided her nonchalantly. His lukewarm attitude made her very annoyed, but she couldn't flare up.
• During the intermission halfway through the auction, Joel mentioned the cooperation. Mark smiled meaningfully and said, "I heard that Mr. Summers came to negotiate with a private jet?"
• "Yes," said Joel.
• "Mr. Summers, with your ability to afford a private jet, do you still need to seek cooperation with others?" Mark chuckled. "For someone in a begging position, the attitude is wrong."
• Joel's face sank, and Patricia wanted to retort, but she met his cold eyes and hesitated to speak.
• The VIP room on the second floor was open-plan, similar to the layout of an opera house. Guests could see the situation downstairs at a glance, with excellent visibility.
• The auction continued, and the host apologized to the audience for some special circumstances that caused adjustments to the items on the list. Then he enthusiastically introduced the blue and white porcelain vase on stage. Joel rubbed his forehead, and his face became gloomy.
• He came here for two things, one was the new medicine, which was said to have been developed by the most mysterious medical institution overseas and could restrain the spread of cancer cells. The other was related to his grandmother's dying wish. He didn't want the old lady to leave with regrets. Since he knew the whereabouts of this item, he was determined to get it.
• Why were the two things he wanted just adjusted? Brad quickly went to find the person in charge to communicate with them. While Joel was annoyed, he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
• He subconsciously wanted to stand up, but when he looked again, there was no one.
• Patricia looked at him in surprise. The item on stage had been changed to a violin with a history of more than seventy years. The host introduced, "The violinist spent four years polishing and tuning it in memory of his deceased wife, and he named it 'The One I Loved in My Life'."
• However, unexpected people were bidding for this violin. Even when Mark bid three million, someone still followed.
• Joel frowned, suddenly hearing someone from the VIP room opposite them shout "Four million!", causing a commotion in the audience.
• Joel stood up suddenly, not because the price was too high but because the voice was too familiar!
• As the price kept rising, the other side had already shouted six million. Joel directly offered seven million. Then, to everyone's surprise, he headed straight for the VIP room opposite them. Upon opening the door, he found it empty.
• Patricia's fists clenched suddenly, her nails digging into her skin, and the pain in her palms kept her from losing control. Her already distorted face became even more hideous.
• Gemma was fond of the violin, but she was already dead. Why was Joel so desperate?
• "CEO, the auction house said that the original owners of those two items have already left and may be in the parking lot now."
• Joel did not hesitate to chase after them. When he arrived at the parking lot, he saw Mark standing next to a Rolls-Royce, waiting calmly for him. Suddenly, someone in the car spoke, "It seems that CEO Summers is determined to get the medicine."
• Joel's face tightened, his eyes cold and fierce. This voice was the female voice that had just bid!
• He only heard her coldly say, "If I say either give up Patricia or give up the cooperation with GM and exchange one item for another, which would you choose?"
• He rushed forward to open the car door, but Mark stopped him. Seeing Patricia trying to sneak away, Mark signaled to his men to drag her over and pulled out a gun, pointing it at her head.
• Joel stood in front of her. "Patricia can't move. You can change the condition and make a new offer."
• Before either of them could take action, the woman in the car laughed coldly and said, "Mr. Summers, I have given you a multiple-choice question. You can choose, but you are not qualified to change the question. It seems that you have already made your choice. I hope you keep your word and withdraw from the competition."
• Someone in the car got out and handed him a box, and then they all left. Joel's eyes darkened, and his heart felt as if it had been tightly squeezed.