Chapter 281

John could hardly believe what he was hearing. How could a rich guy like him suddenly be cut off from his money?

The guy on the other end of the line chuckled and confirmed, "Yep, Mr. Williams. Your funds have been cut off because the Brown Group, along with two other companies, have targeted your assets."

John was livid. "Has Paxton lost his mind or something? Why's he been coming after me lately? I haven't done anything to provoke him!"

The guy on the phone sighed and said, "Mr. Williams, I really don't know. But it's true, the three families are ganging up on you. At first, they were going after the whole family, but then they found out about the split between you and Mason's assets, so they zeroed in on your share."

John's face twisted in anger. If the entire Williams Family was backing him, he wouldn't be worried about these petty moves by the other three families. But now, with only his own assets to rely on, he was in no shape to fend off their attack.

John knew he couldn't afford to waste time being angry. He asked firmly, "If I pull funds from other companies now, how long will it take to get out of this mess?"

John's subordinate seemed to have anticipated his plan and quickly responded, "Based on our experts' analysis, if you pull funds from other companies, you can get through this rough patch for now. But all your money has to go straight into keeping the company running."

John's brow furrowed deeply. His subordinate was reminding him that all his money had to be used solely for his company, not for anything else. This meant he couldn't help Bianca buy out those small shareholders.

Bianca, who had been lying next to John the whole time, overheard the phone conversation. A flash of anger crossed her face, aimed at Paxton.

She grabbed John's arm and shook her head. "Honey, your company comes first. We can figure out another way to deal with those shares later."

John clenched his jaw and looked at Bianca. "This is a challenge from the three major families against our Williams Family. Maybe I should talk to my grandfather."

Bianca shook her head again. "Sweetheart, I don't want you to feel overwhelmed. Have you thought about this? If you can't handle this crisis on your own and have to ask the family for help, your grandfather might be even more disappointed."

John was taken aback by Bianca's words. He pressed his lips together, then pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Hang on, babe! I'll talk to those small shareholders and buy us some time. I'll figure out a way to fix this." John gave Bianca a firm kiss, then got out of bed and headed to the winery to handle the company's issues.

Once he was gone, Bianca's gentle face twisted with anger.

"Damn Paxton, what's his deal? Why's he going after John out of nowhere?" Bianca slammed her fist on the bed, then paused.

A sense of unease crept over her. Paxton had no reason to target John, and if there was any link between John and Paxton, she was it.

Bianca vividly remembered how she and Pearl had plotted against Isabella. Isabella had come out unscathed, but Pearl had been left disabled.

"Is this all because of me? Is Paxton trying to pin the blame on me because he can't find the real culprit? Wait, was that car explosion his doing too?" Fear washed over Bianca.

She quickly grabbed her phone and dialed a number.

After a few rings, a deep voice answered.

"I told you not to call me right now. What's up?" the voice on the other end asked, clearly annoyed.

Bianca collected herself. "Listen," she began, "John's under attack from those three families, his money's gone, and I think the car explosion might be Paxton's doing. He thinks I'm responsible for Pearl's injuries, and he's coming after me."

After hearing Bianca's speculation, the voice on the other end of the phone went silent for a moment, then let out a chuckle. "So, this is the big emergency?"

The mocking and disdainful tone in the other person's voice made Bianca instantly furious.

"Instead of mocking me, you should be telling me what to do now. This isn't helping our plan at all," she snapped, her voice shaking with anger.

The person on the phone completely ignored Bianca's anger and continued in that same mocking tone. "Seems like you've been hanging around John too much lately, losing your ability to think straight. Use your brain for once. If Paxton is really targeting you, how did he get the other two families to join him? You don't have any beef with them."

Bianca was taken aback. She had no quarrel with the other two major families; their paths hardly ever crossed.

"Are you saying they have other reasons for going after John?" Bianca asked, her voice tinged with confusion.

A cold laugh echoed through the receiver. "I can't say for sure if Paxton was behind the car explosion last time. But according to the intel from the Brown Family, the Taylor Family has some kind of mysterious secret that could restore their former glory. Now, if you were the leader of the three major families, would you let a once-powerful family regain its strength?"

Bianca was taken aback, instantly piecing together the clues from the call.

"Is all this just for some unknown secret? Has Paxton lost his mind? And the other two families too? They're after John for something they're not even sure about? Aren't they scared of the Williams Family striking back?" Bianca shouted, her voice trembling with anger.

The voice on the other end turned cold. "You and your sister are worlds apart. When Isabella faced a tough situation, she stayed calm and thought things through. All you do is scream!"

Bianca clenched her fists, realizing that arguing was pointless and would only cost her any support she had.

The voice on the phone waited for Bianca to settle down before continuing, "You don't need to worry about John or yourself. After all, you had nothing to do with Pearl's incident. So, what are you so afraid of?"