I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 179

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 179
I rose from my seat, leaving Ashley Holmes in her state of shock.
As if trying to regain her composure, Ashley Holmes rubbed her cheeks with her hands a few times and looked up at me.
“Sung-guk, could it be that you….”
She was asking, but her tone lacked conviction.
Of course, this wasn’t my doing.
“Ashley Holmes… I’m just a founder who’s barely getting started. I don’t have the ability to orchestrate something of that scale. You know that better than anyone, don’t you?”
“Then who on earth did this to me?”
“Think back—have you made any enemies along the way? Perhaps this is the moment to reflect on that.”
I placed the pizza payment on the table.
“I’ll cover my own meal. Ashley Holmes, if you have money to spend on champagne and caviar for investors, use it for research instead.”
“Sung-guk, do you think I’m going to collapse like this?”
[Probably… You touched Samjeon. It won’t be easy to walk away unscathed.]
Without responding, I left the Pizza Restaurant.
The cool evening air brushed against me.
Ashley Holmes.
Perhaps in the years to come, people would remember her as a fraud.
I was grateful that in this life, her true nature was exposed much sooner, sparing countless victims from harm.
Ashley Holmes used the blood diagnostic kit called “Thomas” to deceive investors, testing blood samples from donors using conventional methods.
She then presented those results as if they came from Thomas, misleading her investors.
Had Ashley Holmes’s blood diagnostic kit ever reached the market, many people wouldn’t have discovered their illnesses early—instead, they would have unknowingly passed by their own diseases.
Now the investigation into John Khan’s embezzlement had begun.
Initially, John Khan’s embezzlement would be the problem, but soon the evidence that his embezzled funds also went into BloodTherapy would surface.
Ashley Holmes would likely deny her relationship with John Khan while trying to save BloodTherapy.
But if my memory serves me correctly, once it’s revealed that the machines John Khan uses at BloodTherapy are actually blood testing devices from the German company Siemens, Ashley Holmes’s grand fraud against the nation would come to an end.
* * *
I entered my home carrying the pizza box.
All the lights inside were off.
“Mark? Lim Mi-mi?”
But I heard no sign of anyone.
[What’s this? Did everyone go out to eat….]
I set the pizza box on the table and opened the refrigerator. I pulled out a carton of milk.
And I drank it straight down in one long gulp.
Suddenly, loneliness washed over me.
In my previous life, being alone had been something I was quite accustomed to.
I’d studied abroad in houses far larger than this, and I hadn’t married particularly early either.
Even after marriage, I spent more time alone on business trips than with my family—roughly half the year.
[Mark is in a relationship now… I suppose I should start preparing to live alone again….]
Click.
I heard the sound of the door opening from behind, and Mark and Lim Mi-mi came in carrying bags full of groceries.
“Sung-guk, when did you get here?”
“Just now. Where have you two been?”
“I saw the news. I figured you probably didn’t get to eat properly, so I went shopping with Lim Mi-mi to prepare dinner.”
“You were worried I hadn’t eaten?”
My heart suddenly swelled with emotion.
[Mark… Lim Mi-mi….]
Mark’s gaze fell on the pizza box sitting on the table, and disappointment flickered across his face.
“You brought pizza? Did you at least meet with Ashley Holmes?”
“Yeah. I ate pizza with Ashley Holmes, and on the way out, I thought of you two, so I grabbed some from the pizza place nearby.”
I forced myself to calm the surge of emotion in my chest.
Mark chuckled softly and stuffed the groceries into the refrigerator.
“Sung-guk, but who was the one who uncovered John Khan’s embezzlement?”
“Obviously it was Jeon Tae-guk.”
“Really?”
“Mark, don’t underestimate the information network of the Samjeon Group. The Samjeon Group is one of the most prominent corporations in the world.”
“I’m not underestimating them… it’s just a world I don’t know. Wow… the chaebol really are from a different world than us.”
Mark shook his head in amazement.
[Mark, we’ll need to develop that kind of intelligence network soon too. In the future, information is the real competitive advantage.]
Just then, the doorbell rang.
I didn’t need to look to know who it was.
Mark seemed to know too.
“Sung-guk, that Korean saying about speaking of the tiger and it appears—that’s right, isn’t it?”
“Mark, did Lim Mi-mi teach you that saying?”
“Yeah. Every time we talk about you, you show up. That’s when Lim Mi-mi told me about it.”
When I looked at Lim Mi-mi, she deliberately avoided my gaze.
“Pizza goes with cola, but you didn’t buy any cola, did you, boss?”
“Lim Mi-mi, don’t try to change the subject.”
“Boss, I wasn’t gossiping. It’s just that the timing always worked out that way. As you know, I’m absolutely loyal to you, boss.”
The door clicked open, and Jeon Tae-guk stepped inside.
Mark greeted Jeon Tae-guk warmly.
“Tae-guk, have you eaten dinner?”
“Not yet.”
“Sung-guk brought pizza. Let’s eat together.”
Jeon Tae-guk looked at me with a heavy expression.
“I have something I need to discuss with Sung-guk for a moment….”
“Hyung, shall we talk on the terrace?”
“Yeah.”
Learning the truth about Ashley Holmes should have been a good thing, but Jeon Tae-guk’s expression and tone suggested otherwise.
* * *
On the terrace, a beer bottle hung from Jeon Tae-guk’s hand.
Jeon Tae-guk took a long swig of beer.
“What’s wrong, hyung?”
[Jeon Tae-guk, making a toast?]
I noticed his eyes glistening with moisture.
“Sung-guk… I really am an idiot, aren’t I?”
[You’re only figuring that out now, Jeon Tae-guk?]
“What’s the matter, hyung?”
“I thought Ashley Holmes was being kind to me because she was genuinely interested in me. But in the end… she was only interested in Samjeon Group’s money.”
[Jeon Tae-guk, without money you’re a corpse. You shouldn’t be at an age where you don’t know that….]
I gave a slight shrug.
“Ashley Holmes—did hyung investigate her?”
“Yeah. I had Secretary Yang look into it.”
“And the news broke quickly?”
“Yeah… Within a month, Ashley Holmes and BloodTherapy will probably collapse. Maybe even faster….”
It seemed Samjeon Group had uncovered far more about BloodTherapy than I’d anticipated.
“Hyung, either way, not investing was really the right call….”
“Yeah… At least I didn’t use company funds.”
[What’s with that tone?]
I probed subtly.
“Hyung, did you invest personally in Ashley Holmes?”
“It wasn’t exactly a personal investment… Last time Ashley asked me to dinner… I got my hopes up again… So I just gave her a small diamond ring as a gift.”
[Not even surprising.]
Thinking of how much Jeon Tae-guk had spent on actresses in my past life, a diamond ring was nothing.
“Hyung, don’t go around giving gifts so easily from now on.”
“Why do women only see my money….”
[Because there’s nothing else to see, that’s why.]
“Hyung, is that all you wanted to talk about?”
“No… Father found out about this.”
That was the real reason for Jeon Tae-guk’s distress.
Once Secretary Yang conducted the investigation, Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s network inevitably got involved.
Which meant it was obvious that the fact of Jeon Tae-guk giving Ashley Holmes a diamond ring and attempting to invest had reached Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung’s ears.
“Hyung, what did the Chairman say about this?”
“He told me to come back to Korea immediately….”
“Then just go.”
“Sung-guk, I think Father’s going to scold me terribly. You said you were heading to Korea for Lunar New Year anyway.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“Could you… come with me and have a meal with Father?”
“Huh?”
[Jeon Tae-guk, that’s not happening.]
Jeon Tae-guk even grabbed my hand, pleading.
“Sung-guk, please, I’m begging you. Father has an overseas business trip scheduled for the day after I return home. I just need to avoid him on the first day. He wants to have a meal with me as soon as he gets back, and I’m terrified. Sung-guk, if you’re there, he won’t scold me as harshly.”
“Hyung, you deserve to be scolded for this.”
“Why do you always sound just like our father? I’m asking you like this—can’t you help me out? Please?”
“I have a condition, though.”
Jeon Tae-guk’s face brightened slightly.
“What is it? I’ll help you with anything I can.”
“As I build my business, there’s no guarantee I won’t encounter someone like Ashley Holmes myself.”
“That’s true…”
Jeon Tae-guk nodded appropriately at my words. He was clearly desperate.
“To be honest, I was shocked this time. I got a clear sense of just how powerful Samjeon Group’s information network and influence really are.”
“When I saw that message Ashley Holmes sent you, I snapped to attention. That woman is a complete operator. She took a diamond ring from me and then sent you a message like that. That’s why I tapped into Samjeon Group’s information channels.”
“Those information channels…”
“What about them?”
“Could you help me access them when I need to? If you do, I’ll come back to Korea with you and go meet Chairman Jeon Jae-hyung together.”
In that instant, Jeon Tae-guk pulled me into a tight embrace.
“Sung-guk! You’re the only one I can count on.”
[Jeon Tae-guk, you’ve just been played by me again.]
But I calmly patted his back with one hand.
“Hyung, it’s nothing. I’m genuinely happy to be able to help you.”
* * *
For a week straight, the news was dominated entirely by Ashley Holmes.
For the first few days, the focus was on how John Khan’s embezzlement at GK Investment Firm was ultimately meant to help his girlfriend Ashley Holmes’ company, BloodTherapy.
Tabloid media dug into everything from how the couple with the significant age gap first met to John Khan’s past, including his previous marriages.
They traced Ashley Holmes’ attraction to the older John Khan back to her parents’ divorce in childhood, and various so-called psychologists came on air to analyze her psychology.
Then public opinion began to shift slightly in Ashley Holmes’ favor.
– You could say Ashley was actually gaslit by John Khan, who has extensive social experience. It’s possible John Khan used the blonde, beautiful Ashley Holmes as a front to commit fraud through BloodTherapy. Ashley Holmes is clearly lovable to anyone who sees her.
Morning news shows even made such absurd speculations.
As public opinion tilted toward Ashley Holmes, John Khan, feeling aggrieved, finally publicly revealed the truth about BloodTherapy.
– This is BloodTherapy, a blood analysis machine that Ashley Holmes advertised as being able to analyze a blood diagnostic kit called ‘Thomas’. However, this machine was actually a blood analysis machine from the German company Siemens. Now let’s compare Ashley Holmes’ BloodTherapy with the German Siemens blood analysis machine.
The news reporter showed analysis results proving that Ashley Holmes’ machine—with the Siemens mark removed and a BloodTherapy sticker placed over it—was identical to the German Siemens machine.
Ultimately, Ashley Holmes’ BloodTherapy shut down, and Ashley Holmes became embroiled in various lawsuits.
Even after that, articles about Ashley Holmes continued to pour in.
* * *
Jeon Tae-guk and I sat in the First Class Lounge watching the news.
Every time a story about Ashley Holmes came on, Jeon Tae-guk would drink whiskey for no particular reason.
Then a news story came on that made Jeon Tae-guk’s eyes widen.
– Even Jerry Chang, the founder of Yahoo, fell for Ashley Holmes and invested a massive sum, so the Ashley Holmes case appears to be heading into a prolonged battle. Additionally, it’s been reported that a certain heir of Korea’s Samjeon Group personally gifted Ashley Holmes a diamond ring worth over 300 million won.
“No!”
Jeon Tae-guk jumped to his feet without thinking and let out a cry.
It seemed that even Samjeon Group couldn’t prevent this gossip from making it into the news.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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