Chapter 295: The Antique Jewels are Stolen
Chapter 295: The Antique Jewels are Stolen
After some thought, Lu Jiaxin felt that Gu Haifan, being thirteen years old, was mature enough to understand the situation. So, she informed him of her plan to file a lawsuit against the He family.
Lu Jiaxin said, "There were two lawyers present for the verbal will, but no lawyers were present for the written will. The chances of winning this lawsuit are slim. However, we will proceed anyway. If we lose the first trial, I will appeal, and if we lose again in the second trial, I will continue to appeal. We will drag this out until next March when I turn eighteen, and at that point, I can apply to the court to become your and Auntie Gu's guardian."
With her financial resources, as long as she applied when she turned eighteen, she would definitely become Gu Xiuxiu and Gu Haifan's guardian. After all, He Zhuliang's misdeeds were well-known, and he had provided ample evidence against himself.
Gu Haifan disliked living in the He family's old house, but with He Zhuliang as his guardian, he could only wait until he turned eighteen to leave. Hearing Lu Jiaxin's words, he was ecstatic—he only had to wait eight more months before he could leave.
Overwhelmed with joy, Gu Haifan could hardly believe it. He asked cautiously, "Cousin, do you mean that when you turn eighteen next year, you can come and take Aunt Gu and me back home?"
"I will apply to the court after I turn eighteen," Lu Jiaxin replied. "However, changing guardianship will take some time. Don't worry, if anyone from the He family dares to bully you or Auntie Gu, just give me a call."
There was also another possibility—that He Zhuliang would choose not to go to court and instead agree to her terms for an out-of-court settlement. In that case, he and Gu Xiuxiu could move out soon. However, since this was not yet certain, she didn't mention it, not wanting to get their hopes up prematurely.
Gu Haifan's entire body relaxed with relief.
Lu Jiaxin asked, "Did you tell anyone else about the things Auntie Gu gave you?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Haifan became dejected. "Those things are gone. They took them away."
"What happened?" Lu Jiaxin inquired.
It was then that she learned that Gu Haifan had been tricked by He Hanyuan. He Hanyuan had said that many of Gu Xiuxiu's antiques and jewels had gone missing, and that Lu Jiaxin had also stored a batch of antiques and jewels in the Wansheng Bank. He Hanyuan accused Lu Jiaxin of being a thief and declared his intention to sue her, claiming that the theft of such a large amount of valuables would result in a prison sentence of at least twenty years.
Gu Haifan, being ignorant of the law, was anxious when he heard this, especially since he had those items in his possession. He Hanyuan had initially been testing the waters, but Gu Haifan's anxiety gave him away.
He Hanyuan had originally planned to take Gu Haifan out to sea the next day and coerce him into revealing the whereabouts of the jewels through threats and enticements. However, when Nie Zhan arrived that morning, he dared not make any rash moves. Soon after, he came up with another idea—he would have the maid give Gu Xiuxiu sleeping pills early in the morning.
Gu Haifan knew that Gu Xiuxiu had been sleeping for a long time and was worried about her. He wanted to take her to the hospital, but He Hanyuan didn't agree and even threatened that if Gu Haifan didn't reveal the whereabouts of the items in his possession, they wouldn't send Gu Xiuxiu to the hospital, leaving her to die at home.
Fearing that the He family might actually refuse to send Gu Xiuxiu to the hospital, Gu Haifan confessed about the safe deposit box, and the keys were taken from him.
Lu Jiaxin patted his shoulder and said, "I told you before that life is more important than money. Now that you've handed over the items to them, they won't harm you anymore."
This was the reason why she hadn't given Gu Haifan the keys in the first place. At thirteen, he lacked life experience and would find it difficult to keep secrets from the cunning members of the He family. As it turned out, her concerns were justified, as Gu Haifan had easily revealed the truth.
Gu Haifan said worriedly, "Cousin, He Hanyuan has been questioning me repeatedly, asking if Auntie Gu secretly gave you a large sum of money. I told him no, but he doesn't believe me. He even went to ask Mei Auntie and Hong Auntie. Cousin, please be careful; don't let them trick you too."
Lu Jiaxin indicated that she wasn't afraid. "The assets under my name are all from my business ventures and investments."
Gu Haifan was surprised. "Cousin, didn't Auntie Gu give you anything? I thought she gave you something as well."
"Auntie Gu gave me a shop, but I sold it for 20 million yuan," Lu Jiaxin explained. "I donated all that money to support children who have dropped out of school and to help orphans."
Gu Haifan's mouth fell open. "You donated 20 million yuan just like that, Cousin? The He family will be furious when they find out!"
"The shop was given to me, so it's mine to do with as I please," Lu Jiaxin replied. "Whether I spend it or donate it, they have no right to interfere."
While that was true, if she hadn't sold the shop and had instead donated it publicly, the He family would have definitely sued to reclaim it.
Gu Haifan paused, then asked, "But they said that all of Auntie Gu's money was given to her by Grandpa Gu, and that it's all He family property. If they go to court, won't the court take back this property as well?"
No wonder he felt so distressed about losing so many valuables—he had been deceived. To comfort him, Lu Jiaxin nodded and said, "Since Auntie Gu is in her current state, it's possible that the gifts she gave might be taken back. However, I've already donated my money, and if they try to reclaim it, they'll become a laughingstock in all of Hong Kong."
There were precedents for the wills of Alzheimer's patients being invalidated, but the issue here was that Gu Xiuxiu had been of sound mind when she made the will, and there was a written document, video recording, and two lawyers as witnesses. It was impossible for the He family to reclaim the shop, and they would definitely lose if they went to court over it. This was also the main reason why they hadn't pursued the matter further.
Upon hearing this, Gu Haifan regretted, "If I'd known, I would have donated those things too."
Donating to a public cause was better than letting the He family have them. Unfortunately, he hadn't thought of that at the time and had instead let the He family benefit from his naivety. Sighing, he resolved to consult his cousin more in the future.
The two chatted for a while longer before Lu Jiaxin left.
After leaving the He family's old house, Lu Jiaxin asked Nie Zhan why Mrs. He's attitude had softened as soon as he mentioned the lawsuit.
Nie Zhan explained, "As soon as He Zhuliang got his hands on Ms. Gu's property, he started selling it off. Yesterday, my aunt mentioned that Mrs. He had sold some of her collection of jewels. I suspect they're facing some kind of crisis and urgently need a large sum of cash."
In such a situation, they would definitely be unwilling to go to court, as once the court accepted the case, Ms. Gu's assets would be frozen.
Lu Jiaxin thought for a moment and said, "Let's go find Yan Yihua now. I want to file a lawsuit. Even if I can't get half of Auntie Gu's property, I want to keep the villa she's living in."
"Aren't you scared?" Nie Zhan asked.
Lu Jiaxin had indeed been worried before, fearing that the He family might try to harm her. But now, she had come to a realization—a barefooted person wasn't afraid of a shoe-wearing one, and if it came down to it, she would risk everything.
Nie Zhan couldn't bear to hear such talk. "What do you mean, 'risk everything'? I'm here! I won't let them hurt you."
Lu Jiaxin didn't want him to get dragged into this mess. "I'm worried that He Zhuliang might become desperate and end up implicating you. Nie Zhan, it's better if you stay out of this."
Nie Zhan had already helped her a lot these past few days, and she didn't want to put him at risk because of this matter.
Smiling, Nie Zhan reassured her, "Don't worry! He Zhuliang doesn't have the guts, and what you're worried about won't happen."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report