Captivation: Want Nothing But You

Chapter 15: From A Rich Woman To A Woman In Debt 

Abby looked at Rachel and said, "I can prepare most of the dishes.If you’d like to eat something that I can’t make, I’m willing to learn."

Rachel rested her chin on her hand while eating the last piece of bread.

"I didn’t expect you could cook so well," she remarked.

It seemed that Abby wasn’t as clumsy as she had claimed.She just didn’t have enough confidence in herself.

"I like the bread," Rachel said as she pointed at the plate of bread.

Upon hearing that remark, Abby’s eyes lit up.

"If you like it, I can bake some more for you!"

"Sounds good."

Rachel nodded, tilted her head to the side, and smirked.

"Abby, did you learn to cook from your family?"

Abby lowered her head.

"I’m self-taught.I’m actually an orphan."

The sound of her voice portrayed her sadness.

Rachel was stunned.

The indifferent look in her eyes cracked a little, but it only last for a second and she collected herself before Abby could notice.

It wasn’t exactly sympathy, but she did feel sorry for the girl.

Rachel might be born in a rich family, but Sheila herself was actually an orphan, just like Abby.She grew up in an orphanage.

For as long as she could remember, she didn’t even have any recollection of what her parents looked like. In all honesty, she didn’t care about knowing her biological parents that much.

But sometimes, she would rehearse in her mind what she would do if they appeared before her and told her that she was their daughter.

She’d probably ask them why they had abandoned her for so many years.

The dean of the orphanage had once told Shelia that she was left at the gates of the orphanage when she was still a baby, which meant her parents weren’t forced to abandon her; they just didn’t want her anymore.

Now that she recalled that time of her life, she didn’t feel sad about it.

Those days were long gone, and she must live in the moment, as Rachel of course.

"Abby, please teach me how to bake this kind of bread when I’m free," she said while taking another piece of bread.

Surprised, Abby raised her head and grinned.

"I would be happy to!"

"I’m a little busy these days, so I’ll probably ask you when I have more spare time on my hands.For now, you can teach me the basics."

Actually, Rachel had never wanted to learn how to bake bread, but she was touched by how passionate Abby was about cooking.

Perhaps it was because they shared a similar fate.

This encounter spurned the idea in Rachel’s head to help Abby gain some confidence in herself.

However, Shelia had never been a sentimental person.

Never.

For a moment, she couldn’t tell if she was developing sentimental feelings or if she was just being affected by Rachel–this body’s original owner.

Abby nodded earnestly and told Rachel the steps to baking the bread.

In reality, Rachel wasn’t listening to Abby, but she would ask her questions from time to time, to convince her that she was listening.

After breakfast, Rachel remembered the pile of documents that Andy left her, so she went to the study, intending to read them.

Although she knew that she might not even understand them, at least she tried.

Before long, Andy arrived while Rachel was unsuccessfully trying to comprehend the documents.

The door of the study was open, so after knocking a couple of times, Andy walked in.

"How are your knees?" Upon hearing that, she glanced at her knees.

"They’re much better now.At the very least, I won’t need to sit on a wheelchair."

With a faint smile, Rachel closed the folder in her hand.

All of these reports filled with a myriad of data was giving her a migraine.

Naturally, Andy knew that she was joking, but he didn’t smile nor chuckle, because he didn’t find it funny.

"You need to keep applying ointment on them even though they’re getting better.You need to take better care of yourself," he reminded her.

"I know, Andy." Rachel nodded.

Elisa had asked And y to look after her.

When he found out that she had not been living a good life for the past few years, he felt guilty because he thought he wasn’t fulfilling Elisa’s last request. Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

That was the reason he showed so much concern for Rachel now.

Rachel knew that Andy was just worried about her, so she was grateful for his presence.

She accepted his concern without debating against him.

At this moment, Andy glanced at the document in her hand.

It was the Bennet Group’s financial statement two years ago.

"Are you reading a financial statement?" he asked.

Rachel glanced at the cover of the folder and said, "Yes, but I don’t really understand it."

Andy fell silent for a while.He adjusted his glasses and put on a stern expression.

"Actually, there was something I needed to tell you.I planned to tell you the day you moved back.However, I didn’t get the chance to say it because you were suddenly taken away."

"What is it?"

"The Bennet Group had been acquired by the Sullivan Group two years ago."

Suddenly, Rachel got up and asked, "It was acquired by the Sullivan Group?"

Andy nodded.

He took out the latest statement of shareholding ratios from the pile of documents and handed it to Rachel.

"Two years ago, the Sullivan Group suddenly began to purchase a large portion of the Bennet Group’s shares from its shareholders; both big and small.Moreover, the Sullivan Group also invested a lot of capital into the company.And now, two years later, the Sullivan Group holds fifty-five percent of the Bennet Group’s shares.It is now the dominant shareholder of the Bennet Group."

Rachel looked at the top of the shareholder equity report and saw what was written.

"Victor Sullivan from the Sullivan Group".

"Well…"

She was about to say something, but she had no idea what to say, so she just looked at Andy in silence.

He then let out a sigh, took another statement of shareholder equity and handed it to her.

"This is a list of the shares of the Bennet Group you hold at present.Due to the large amount of investments poured in by the Sullivan Group, your equity ratio has declined dramatically." Rachel opened the document.

"I remember that my mother left me fifteen percent of the shares, right?"

"She did."

‘Then it shouldn’t be diluted to less than ten percent,’ she thought.

But before she could say those thoughts out loud, Rachel saw her equity ratio on the paper.She must’ve read it several times before she came to the realization of what it meant.

"One percent?" she exclaimed.

Rachel looked at Andy in disbelief.

She wanted him to tell her that this document was a mistake, but unfortunately, he nodded in response to her question.

"You didn’t read it wrong.You now only have one percent of the shares." Rachel’s mouth twitched.

‘What am I supposed to do with one percent share?’

If she owned one percent of the Sullivan Group’s shares, it meant that she was qualified to be the richest person in a small town.

But according to the Bennet Group’s financial statement two years ago, the company had been losing income for seven years straight.

It was now on the verge of bankruptcy.

Rachel wouldn’t even get a penny from one percent of the shares in a company like that.

"The Sullivan Group has invested a lot of money in the Bennet Group to make up for the company’s losses for the past two years.However, Jack has been in charge of the Bennet Group all this time, and the Sullivan Group has kept their hands off the company.The capital investment has almost been drained, and we can no longer pay off our debts."

Originally, Rachel thought that she would become rich after inheriting a large fortune after her reincarnation.

But who knew it would turn out that what she inherited from her mother were mountains of debt.

Rachel sat down and looked at the statement of shareholder equities; her eyes brimming with displeasure.