They Mocked His Old Car, His Clothes, His Pie… Then His Granddaughter Had Enough
Chapter 6
Walter drove to George’s farm the next morning.
The old pickup bounced down the gravel road.
George looked surprised.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Walter climbed out.
“I came to ask a question.”
George frowned.
“What?”
“How close are you to losing the farm?”
George went silent.
“Who told you?”
“I saw the numbers.”
George sighed.
“We’re behind.”
“How much?”
“$180,000.”
Walter looked at the fields.
“Franklin offer you help?”
George laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
“What did he want?”
“The land.”
Walter nodded.
“That’s what I thought.”
George looked confused.
“Why do you care?”
Walter smiled.
“Because my wife did.”
George froze.
“Rose?”
Walter nodded.
George stared at him.
“You’re her husband.”
“Yes.”
“I thought…”
“What?”
George laughed.
“I thought you were some retired guy selling pies.”
Walter smiled.
“I am.”
“But you’re also…”
“Apparently.”
George looked at the truck.
Then at Walter.
“Does Lily know?”
“She knows everything.”
George shook his head.
“I’ll be damned.”
Walter offered him a contract.
“This will cover your debt.”
George stared.
“I can’t take charity.”
“It isn’t charity.”
“What is it?”
“An investment.”
Walter explained.
Hayes Regional Foods would create a long-term purchasing agreement for his crops.
George would keep his land.
The company would get stable supply.
George signed.
Then he began to cry.
“Rose would have loved this.”
Walter smiled.
“I think she did.”
Word spread.
Farmers started contacting Walter.
Not because he was rich.
Because they trusted Rose.
And because they trusted the man she chose.
But the board wasn’t all supportive.
Several executives complained that Walter was making emotional decisions.
One said:
“We’re running a corporation, not a family.”
Walter looked at him.
“That’s the problem.”
The room went quiet.
“We forgot that every number represents someone.”
Lily watched from the back.
She smiled.
Her grandfather was finally saying what he’d always believed.
Then Jonathan handed him another file.
“There’s something you need to see.”
Walter opened it.
A confidential memo.
It listed a hidden debt inside the company.
Two hundred million dollars.
Walter stared.
“Where did this come from?”
“Loans.”
“Who approved them?”
A name appeared.
The chief financial officer.
Richard Cole.
Walter looked up.
“Is he connected to Franklin?”
Jonathan nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then this isn’t over.”
No.
It wasn’t.
Because Franklin had not been the mastermind.
He had been one piece.
And the person who had been quietly controlling the company’s finances was still sitting inside the boardroom.
