Hearing Octavia's explanation, Latham felt the idea was actually viable.
"Shirley is still young. It would only be an engagement. If Mr. Clark's son really is that kind of man, we shouldn't make a fuss about it right now. We can pretend to accept the engagement terms until the bank releases the loan and the James family weathers this storm. After that, we'll gather solid evidence of Mr. Clark's son preferring men and having overly intimate encounters with them. That way, once the James family is completely back on its feet, we can break Shirley's engagement with the Clarks."
Latham firmly believed this was the best possible plan. It might seem underhanded, but weren't the Clarks acting just as despicably by exploiting the James family's misfortune to force an unreasonable marriage?
Seeing that Latham and his wife were still scheming, Patti grew absolutely furious. She glared at her husband. It was all his fault for being so incompetent. He used to rely on Latham for a paycheck, and now he didn't even have the courage to fight back!
"Mom, look at Latham and Octavia. They are absolutely determined to throw my Shirley into the fire!" Patti complained directly to Mary, playing the victim in hopes of winning her sympathy.
Patti was far less obnoxious than Octavia, though Mary never openly played favorites with her daughters in law. However, in this specific situation, Latham and Octavia's actions had made the older woman extremely unhappy.
"Latham, do you even realize what you are saying?" Mary's face was dark. If this had merely been Octavia's idea, Mary might not have been so enraged. It was the fact that her own flesh and blood entertained such a despicable thought that made it unbearable.
Latham was genuinely intimidated by his mother's authority. But at this critical moment, his desperation to keep the James family afloat and prevent the company from going bankrupt overrode his fear.
"Mom, my hands are completely tied. If the bank doesn't approve the loan, our family's company won't survive this. Can you really just stand by and watch the company go bankrupt? Even if you won't do it for us, you should at least think about Dad. The company was his life's work."
Mary felt a sudden lump in her
throat. Her late husband truly had sacrificed everything for the company. If he hadn't devoted his entire life to the business, he wouldn't have passed away so early. Mary and her husband had shared a deep bond. Hearing her son bring him up naturally pulled at her heartstrings. But Mary also had her principles.
"No matter how much your father cared about the company, he would never trade a young girl's happiness to save it. Latham, a person's moral bottom line cannot keep sinking lower and lower."
People always said businessmen were cunning. But if a person truly became a ruthless profiteer who cared about nothing but money, everyone would gladly push them over when they finally stumbled. The current situation facing the James family was already dire enough.
"We don't have to use Shirley as a bargaining chip in some arranged marriage. All you have to do is convince Claire to help us," Latham pivoted, realizing he couldn't persuade his mother.
Mary stared at him in disbelief. "What does this have to do with Claire? She isn't a child of the James family, and you and your wife barely paid her any attention when she was growing up. Why are you suddenly remembering her existence now that the company is in trouble?"
Latham knew that in his mother's
eyes, he and Octavia had been terrible parents. They had completely failed their children. But the James family had still raised Claire, With the family now in deep financial distress, Claire's refusal lift a single finger fueled Latham's growing resentment.
"Mom, it's not that we're only thinking of her now. We just have absolutely no other choice. Claire
owns an incredible piece of real net
estate that her grandmother gave her as a wedding gift. It's the Hearth & Kettle property on the west side of town. Have you ever dined at Hearth & Kettle The property covers, massive amount of land. If we mortgaged it to the bank, we could
easily secure a loan for hundreds of
millions. Just mortgaging that estate would instantly solve our family's desperate crisis."