CHAPTER SEVEN
Counter Measures
Juan phoned James after sometime. James had asked, "What's the status?"
Juan said, "Gregory had been wounded but he's already at the hospital and being attended here at the ER. The wound isn't deep. As for the attackers, they were already apprehended by the hotel security personnel and the Luceros' bodyguards. The police had also been notified."
James inquired, "When can we see Gregory?"
Juan answered, "I strongly advise you and the Luceros to stay there at the penthouse for a while. I'm here with Gregory along with some of the bodyguards of the Luceros. I fear for Georgina's safety if she leaves the penthouse. Gregory feels the same way. He wanted to talk to you."
James acknowledged it, "Okay."
Gregory spoke up, "I'm fine, buddy. I'll do anything to protect my sister so, please do the same. Reassure her and our parents that I'm fine. I won't stop until those people behind this attack and behind the scam are stopped. I should have not asked Georgina to help me out uncover the truth about those discrepancies at the financial reports. If I hadn't asked her help in reviewing those financial reports with me, she won't be targeted. Prove to me now that I really can count on you when it comes to my sister's safety, James. Our family just had her back. So, do everything in your power to keep her safe."
James responded, "You can count on me on that, buddy. You don't even need to ask. Do you want to talk to Daddy George?"
"Yes," Gregory replied.
Daddy George got the phone that James hand handed to him. "Greg, how are you?"
"I'm fine, Dad. You got nothing to worry about. The wound by my side isn't deep. They'll be able to discharge me in a short while. Juan and our bodyguards here are just making sure that I'll be safe on our way to the condo," Gregory replied. "I fear most for Georgina's safety. If we didn't ask her to join the company for the time being, none of these would have happened. Mommy Mariana might not be able to handle it if we lost her again. So, we must do everything to protect her."
"I understand your point, son. So, will you be ready to take on my position now? I know it's too soon but you need to step up for the sake of our family. And we need to address the scam immediately."
"I'll be ready, Dad," Gregory acknowledged it. "Mommy Mariana and Georgina might be kept safe for the meantime at Phoebe's safe house in Hawaii."
"I'll tell them about it. Come home to the mansion. You'll be safer there than in G's condo unit," George told his nephew/son.
"Okay. I will, Dad."
Their conversation ended.
George told Mariana and Georgina about Gregory's suggestion. "I think it's best for you darling and Georgina to fly to Hawaii at Phoebe's safe house. Gregory and I will handle all the problems here first. You'll be safest there. I will already contact Tobias regarding it. That property in Hawaii is on Phoebe's name but we don't want to disturb her on her honeymoon."
Mariana spoke up, "How about you and Gregory?"
George assured his wife, "We'll be fine. Gregory is ready to be the CEO-President. But we need to be sure of Georgina's safety. And you should go with her to Hawaii."
Mariana said, "What if we don't want to leave?"
Georgina asked her father, "Is hiding really the best option, Dad?"
George answered his daughter, "We cannot afford to lose you again, princess. Gregory is already feeling guilty that he had asked your help regarding the anomalies on the financial reports. As you can see, your Mom here is very stressed already with what just happened a while ago. So this is the best option not unless you have a better idea."
Georgina answered, "I wanted to stay here in the country, Dad. If you don't want me to go out of the house, then I won't, but don't let me and Mom leave you and Gregory behind. We're all on this together."
James butted in the conversation, "I think your Dad has a better plan, honey. In as much as I don't want us to be parted again, we don't want anything untoward to happen to you. If Phoebe had been well-protected in that safe house from the syndicate of Del Torre, you'll be even more."
Georgina stood by her position, "I don't want to go out of the country, Dad. Mom will just be more worried about you and Gregory if we're away."
Mommy Mariana agreed with her daughter, "We had handled all hardships and trials together, darling. I also don't want to leave the country."
Don George knew that that he wouldn't be able to convince his wife and daughter to leave so, he conceded, "Okay, you'll both stay but I prefer that you both stay indoors until everything is solved."
Meanwhile, James received a phone call from the chief security officer of the hotel regarding the two attackers. James was told that the news had reached the reporters stationed at the Vienburg City Police Department. The news could possibly be on TV already.
As James turned on the LED TV at the living room area of the penthouse, the news correspondent in front of the police department reported –
Earlier this evening, a man and another man dressed as a woman, disguised as Palais Isabelle's rich hotel guests, made simultaneous attacks thru a knife and a gun to the Luceros at the lobby of Palais Isabelle. It was suspected that their target was the newly-found missing heiress – Georgina Lucero. But the heiress' brother, Gregory Lucero, had acted fast as well as her fiancé, James Tan, to keep her away from harm along with the hotel security team and the Luceros' bodyguards. The real motives of the attackers are still unknown but they were already identified as employees of Mr. Sheng-li Kim, the owner of several casinos all over Macau, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and also the father of Manolo Kim. Manolo Kim was one of the kidnappers of Georgina Lucero and is still serving his lifetime imprisonment sentence at Missi Penitentiary. The attackers are in the custody of Vienburg City Police Department. They will be detained there until the court hearing on the criminal case filed against them. We still weren't able to hear any comment from Mr. Kim's side. He resides in Macau with the fraternal twin-children of Manolo Kim and Dulce Lopez. Dulce Lopez, who had just been released a few days ago after being granted a medical parole after being diagnosed of stage four ovarian cancer, is currently in a hospital at Macau with her son and daughter.
Doña Mariana was speechless that she had just fallen down sitting by the couch. She looked at her husband.
Don George looked at his wife with so much care, "I won't let anything bad happen to our daughter ever again, darling."
After an hour, the Luceros had already safely returned to their mansion. James went with them.
At the family room, they had a serious conversation over coffee.
Gregory asked, "Is there a possibility that this incident is connected to the scam, Dad?"
Daddy George answered, "I'm not yet sure, son. I don't know if the culprit behind the scam is working for Manolo and Dulce. Manolo's father is a very rich man."
James stated, "In the statement of the attackers, they admitted that they acted on their own to gain the approval of Manolo Kim Jr. and Dulce Marie Kim. They are the fraternal twins of Manolo Kim and Dulce Lopez. But I don't believe this. I feel that the twins or Manolo himself could be behind the attack. As for its connection to the scam, we must dig deeper. We must consider its possibility."
Georgina who was attentively listening to them then asked, "So what will happen to me now? Can I still continue working for the company?"
Daddy George, Gregory, and James answered in unison, "No!"
Daddy George elaborated his plan, "I will go back to my duties as CEO-President again, baby. Gregory and I will work together to address the scam. You would stay here with your mother and you can start on your business plan already. Once the scam is solved, Gregory will take over the company."
James also added, "And I still suggest that you continue on your self-defense training, honey. I will ask my trainer to recommend a female trainer who can teach you all the aspects of self-defense. You can have you training sessions here instead of going to the gym."
Gregory laughed, "Good luck, G."
Georgina had bantered, "You should train with me, Kuya Greg. So that next time you try to save me you won't be wounded."
Mommy Mariana said, "She might be bored here. She should be occupied with other things aside from her own business plan and self-defense training. I'm afraid that she might do what Phoebe did when we tried to have her locked at home."
Georgina asked, "What did Phoebe do?"
Daddy George imparted, "She sneaked out dressed in a maid's uniform to go to the village of natives in the mountain somewhere in Folli. We were able to track her right away before she could even go to the mountain. From Folli, she was flown to the safe house in Hawaii."
Gregory added, "Lucero women are impatient by nature. They cannot be cooped for long inside the house."
Mommy Mariana then asked her daughter, "G, you have to promise that you won't sneak out. If you want to go out, there should be a security plan."
Georgina felt how much worried her mother was so she assured her, "I promise, Mommy. I won't sneak out. And if I felt the need of going out, I'll notify my security team so that they can plan ahead on what to do."
James said, "I'll ask Belle to visit you often."
Mommy Mariana suggested, "Belle and I can teach you how to cook, baby."
Georgina answered, "I'm hopeless in the kitchen, Mom. I might just wound my fingers if I try to use a knife. My adoptive family never allowed me in the kitchen 'coz I was clumsy and then afterwards I was well-provided by the foundation with everything so I never had tried cooking."
Gregory joked again, "You heard that, James! You still have a chance to back out from the engagement."
James smiled and then said, "I don't mind. I know how to cook anyway."
Georgina was surprised with her fiancé's revelation, "You know how to cook?"
James answered, "Yes, honey. Juan and I live together for quite some time in the US during my studies. He taught me the basics and then Belle taught me the easy-to-cook gourmet meals that I love."
Georgina asked her brother/cousin, "Do you know how to cook, Kuya Greg?"
Gregory grinned then answered, "In US, my mother taught Phoebe and me the basics. But Phoebe is way much better than me. She also enjoys baking more. I think it's one of the many reasons why Isaac fell deeply in love with her. They don't even have to go out to eat. Phoebe loves her privacy so much and Isaac kind of preferred such quiet life after being a world-renown sports personality."
Georgina then asked, "Are there other things I can try aside from cooking lessons?"
Daddy George suggested, "You can learn how to play any musical instrument of your choice."
Georgina informed them, "I already know how to play the guitar. My adoptive grandfather taught me how."
Mommy Mariana recommended, "Try piano. I can hire someone to teach you."
Georgina had another idea, "I would like to try drums first."
Mommy Mariana agreed, "Then we'll buy you a drum set and I'll hire someone to teach you."
The following day, George and Gregory Lucero went to the court to file an embezzlement case against the person they had found to be behind the scam early in the morning. Appropriate cases against all the culprits had also been filed.
The auditing done by Georgina was enough legal proof that the financial documents of the company had been falsified. Gregory was also able to trace the paper trail so they knew who benefited from the embezzled money.
When they reached the office, the board meeting was held to vote for a new CEO-President. George Lucero already expressed his intention to step down at the end of the month and endorsed his son, Gregory, to be the new CEO-President. With James on their side, Gregory had been voted as new CEO-President effective July 1, 2014.
Late in the morning, the Executive Vice President for Finance of MPC along with his culprits had been served an arrest warrant.
During lunch, George and Gregory Lucero sat down for a press conference.
George Lucero released his official statement to address all the issues that had involved his family in the past weekend.
His statement was –
"Good afternoon, everyone. This last weekend had been quite difficult for our family. My daughter, Georgina, whom we had just found recently, had been victimized by a smear campaign last Friday. There had also been an attempt to harm her last night. We fervently hope that this is not connected to the embezzlement case that my son Gregory and my daughter Georgina had investigated these past few weeks. From last night's ordeal, my son had been wounded just to keep his sister away from harm. We are thankful to God that he wasn't harm gravely. As for my daughter, she is now busy on her own business project. She really had no interest to work permanently at MPC. I and my son just convinced her to give it a try even for a week so that I can work on some personal matters. So, during my absence she had agreed to be the OIC. As soon as I step down as CEO-President by the end of the month, my son Gregory will assume all my duties and responsibilities to the company. His presidency was already been voted upon by the board of directors of the company. As for my daughter, Georgina, she will embark on her own business venture. She'll also be busy for the preparations of her wedding to Mr. James Isaac Tan sometime next year. As for the rumors regarding my political plans in the future, I and my family hadn't reached a decision yet. I and my wife, Mariana, had been helping people all these years even if we're not in politics. I and my family will continue on with our charity works even without a position in the public office."
They also answered several questions. Most of them were thrown at Gregory.
The first question was – "Mr. Gregory, how true it is that Miss Jasmine Reeves is your girlfriend?"
Gregory had answered it calmly. "Miss Reeves and I just met and dated once. After that night when the paparazzi had captured us on a photo in front of her condominium building, we haven't seen each other again. I have been very busy with work that I don't even have time to hang out with my friends."
The second question was – "Don George, how true it is that Manolo Kim or any of his family is behind the attack to your daughter last night?"
George calmly answered it too – "We are not in the position to confirm it or deny it. The case had already been filed against the attackers. We leave it to the court to decide on the case."
The third question was – "Attorney Lucero, how true it is that you had been involved in a relationship scandal in US that's why you went home for good?"
Gregory had maintained his cool in answering the question, "It is all but rumors. Dad had long been asking me to come home for good 'coz he wanted to retire early. And being the eldest in my generation of Luceros, I had long been prepared for this task of taking over my Dad's position."
The fourth question was – "Don George, how true it is that you just arranged your daughter's marriage to Mr. James Tan just to secure your son's position as CEO-President of MPC?"
Don George had denied it, "The pact between the families happened when my daughter was still a baby. My son did come home to take over my position. Even without the betrothal, my son will still have the control over 40.1 shares of all the Luceros. The Luceros collectively have the biggest voting shares of the company. The friendship between the Luceros and the Tans is a major plus. Let me also clear that my daughter Georgina and Mr. James Tan will be marrying for love. Even with the pact Jaime and I agreed when they were still very young, we had given James the chance to find love when my daughter hadn't been found yet. But circumstances had led them towards each other. James has fallen in love with my daughter when she was still known as Zoey Dizon. If it will just be James' decision, he wanted them to get married very soon. But my daughter insisted for a long engagement so that she can establish her own business and can still be with us for a while. She knows that once she marries, her top priority should already be James and the family they will build together."
Another question was addressed to Gregory, "Sir Gregory, don't you have plans to settle down too like your best friend Mr. James Tan?"
Gregory smiled and answered the query, "My best buddy, James, is really enamored to my sister even when he still knows her as Zoey Dizon. As for me, I still haven't found that one lady who will knock me off my feet. James and Georgina are lucky to have found such love for each other and I do wish them all the best of luck."
The sixth question was – "Don George, what was your reaction regarding the medical parole given to Miss Dulce Lopez."
Don George answered it with calmness, "It is but humane for her to be granted such parole due to her medical condition. We already found my daughter. And I think she has served her sentence quite enough. I and my family wish her well."
They had answered four more questions until the press conference was concluded.