Chapter 573

Bryan didn’t answer right away. Worried he might be unhappy, Santiago quickly added, “Mr. Wilson, there’s no need to make it so nobody gets a piece of the pie, right?”

Bryan knew that after guarding the gold mine for so long, there was no way the village chief’s family would be satisfied with just being bought off with a lump sum. He’d drawn such a hard line on purpose as he was waiting for the village chief’s family to name their own terms, so he could keep the upper hand. Getting half the profits was already more than generous. Besides, the Wilson Group’s real objective wasn’t even the gold mine.

In the end, he raised his glass and agreed, “Here’s to a successful partnership.”

Back at the hotel, Carmen pushed open the door and could just make out that there was someone sitting on the sofa.

From the shape of the figure…

Carmen gasped, “Alvin?”

Sure enough, it was Alvin.

He turned to look at her, calm and unhurried as he questioned, “So, what did you all talk about today?”

Carmen filled Alvin in on everything they talked about. As she spoke, she recalled matters concerning the gold mine and how Alvin had told her from the start to wait for Bryan and push him to work with the village chief.

“That was my guess,” Carmen thought.

Alvin didn’t explain further, but he probed, “What do you think about Bryan teaming up with the village chief?”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Carmen replied. With the village chief on their side, they’d have a great shot at landing the project. But Alvin didn’t help her just so the Wilson Group could easily snag the deal.

“You fool!” Alvin snapped. “If the project gets settled this way, what does it have to do with you? All the credit will go to Bryan, and you’ll just end up worse off.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?” Carmen asked, feeling lost. No matter what kind of personal grudges she had with Bryan, at the end of the day, they were still family. There’s no way she could just sit back and let Aubree snatch the project for herself.

Alvin let out a cold laugh and uttered, “Mining without a permit is against the law. Bryan would never let himself get exposed to something like this, but if someone tips off the authorities and the village chief gets taken down, Bryan might not be in real trouble, but he’ll have to face an investigation.”

“Once Bryan gets tied up in the investigation, you’ll be the only one left to speak for the Wilson Group. With the village chief out of the way, and I’ve already dealt with the toughest holdout in the village, landing this project will be a walk in the park,”

Carmen was tempted by his suggestion. She inwardly reasoned, ‘Alvin was absolutely right. If Bryan pulled this off, not only would he secure the project and an extra 50% of the gold mine’s profits for the company, but when it came time to hand out rewards, I wouldn’t even get a taste of the benefits. But if I went with Alvin’s plan, I would be the hero who turned things around after Bryan’s blunder. That would put me in a whole different league.’

“At the end of the day, it’s your call,” Alvin said. He wondered, ‘Which option would Carmen choose? She was already working with me, and with something so clearly in her favor, of course, she’d agree.’

Carmen gave a charming smile and agreed, “Isn’t it obvious? Of course I’m with you. I recorded their conversation today. Once I’ve had it edited, I’ll send it in as an anonymous tip.”

Alvin nodded in response, “You need to move fast. Aubree’s probably making progress too.”

“A gold mine?” Aubree blurted out, her eyes wide in surprise as she listened to what Bowen had just told her. It was Bowen who had asked Ethan to look into this matter. Since none of them were in the village right now, Ethan was the only one who could move around freely.

“When it comes to treasures hidden in the mountains, if it’s not ancient relics, it’s gotta be minerals,” Bowen explained. ‘Otherwise, the village chief wouldn’t have just sat on it for years, too scared to make a move,’ he thought.

Aubree’s brow furrowed instantly as she murmured, “This isn’t good! From what I saw in that car today, Bryan must have gone straight to the village chief to cut a deal. The village chief can’t do anything with the gold mine, but Bryan definitely can! Once they get past the village chief, the rest is nothing.”

‘Even if they tried to report the village chief, there’s nothing anyone can do for now, especially with the county chief covering for him,’ Aubree thought.

“Don’t worry about it, Bree,” Bowen said with a sly smile. “Just focus on persuading the other villagers. There are people who will deal with the village chief and Bryan for us.”