Chapter 264 - CEO Jones, Is Dead!

The old lady listened, and she gradually returned to somewhat normal breathing. "All right! I feel better. You should leave first. CEO Go, and I have something to talk about," Grandma Hanada told her assistant Harumi and the two bodyguards.

The three swiftly left and closed the door so that they could have some privacy. As soon as the two were left alone, they conversed on what they should do next.

"If it's okay with you, I want to order an investigation of COO Koji Hanada to know if he is an ally or an enemy." When Grandma Hanada noticed Jeff's raised brow, she explained why she needed to investigate COO Koji Hanada.

"Since he was a child, I didn't see a slight inclination of him having evil desires, and he had never shown greed to have the riches of the Hanada's. That's why I made sure that he would not be raised by his greedy father. When I decided to separate him from his father and sent him to America with Tanaga to study, he was still a child.

"I never permitted him to be with his parents alone every time he comes home for vacation. I am not sure he was ever influenced by his parents in any way. I always made sure that they have no contact with him without my approval. 

"If that is the case, then I win. However, when he started working in the THJ Group, he wished to live with his parents. I had no other choice but to let him. That was two years ago.

"So, I want you to investigate him if there is some kind of anomaly or corrupt act he did against the company. That's where I will base whether I should trust him or not." Said Grandma Hanada full of hope.

When Jeff finished listening to the reasons why the Chairwoman was adamant with the investigation, he was enlightened. He guessed that there was a plan to make COO Koji Hanada the THJ group's Interim-CEO while Tanaga is incapacitated.

He likes that, this will give him the freedom to go back home. He cannot neglect his own company or he would be in trouble with his grandfather. He decided to fulfill the older woman's wish, as this was the only way he could return to the Philippines.

"All right, I understand what you want to happen. I will immediately order my subordinate to investigate COO Koji Hanada. Wait a minute – in fact, I'll order it right now, so that while we talk my subordinates work." Jeff held his phone and made a call to his subordinates to order them.

Jeff and Grandma Hanada decided that the old lady would temporarily remain at the hospital until they could guarantee that Tanaga was safe. Once they were satisfied, Tanaga would be flown to America with Grandma Hanada.

Meanwhile, Jeff would be the one to manage the THJ Group behind the scenes. Only the board members would know about this and Tanaga's situation. Jeff's subordinates quickly covered up the incident involving Tanaga.

They made it seem like it wasn't Tanaga who rode the car but another person instead. They wanted the yakuza behind this incident to come out of the shadows and attempt to kill Tanaga and his family again before they are caught one by one.

Meanwhile, President Hanada was isolated and was prevented from speaking to anyone. He was confined in a bas.e.m.e.nt of a facility owned by Jeff, which no one could enter. They needed to be sure that the yakuza would not help him escape while Tanaga's condition continued.

It was only a few days after the incident, but it looked like nothing happened to the THJ Group. All the employees were back to normal; even president Hanada didn't know anything.

Grandmother Hanada decided to call Ashley to tell her to take more care of her and Tanaga's child, who she was going to give birth to.

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Right after Ashley sat at the dining table, she noticed the flickering light of her phone. She quickly excused herself and proceeded to her room to answer Grandma Hanada's facetime call.

When she had entered the room, she quickly locked the door so that no one could enter, and then she slid her finger on the screen to answer her phone. When she saw Grandma Hanada's face, whose features were extremely Japanese, she felt like needles were piercing her heart for the old lady.

"Grandma Hanada, how are you?" While her voice was rough, droplets of tears formed on her eyes.

"Granddaughter… granddaughter! It was fortunate that you have arrived in the Philippines."

Grandma's tears then started to fall, and she couldn't hold back anymore. Soon, streams of tears began to form. "Huh-huh-huh! Granddaughter! Tan is… huh-huh-huh!"

Ashley's heart began to beat faster, and she held her breath while waiting for Grandma Hanada to tell her what happened to Tanaga. Deep inside her heart, she believed that Tanaga was still alive.

But the way the Grandma was speaking to her, she was afraid that she would say that Tanaga is dead. She spoke first before letting the old lady continued.

"Grandma, Tanaga is safe, right? He couldn't call because he is busy, right? I understand that… don't worry about me. I am with my family. They would not let me be alone." Ashley forced a smile, but she could no longer hold in her tears and let them cascade out.

"Ashley, granddaughter! Strengthen yourself, please. You should understand that you are pregnant, and you need to be strong for your child. Do you understand, granddaughter?!" As Grandma Hanada pleaded, Ashley's heart syncopated, and she was struggling to breathe…

"Ashley, granddaughter! Your husband got in an accident. The car he was riding fell off a cliff and exploded. Tanaga is…" Grandma Hanada didn't finish what she was saying because she heard a loud noise, and Ashley was no longer in front of her camera…

While Grandma Hanada was talking about Tanaga, Ashley's vision began to dim, and before the older woman finished what she was saying… - Ashley's fainted…

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~Scrool to the next chapter~