Chapter 451
It's Time to Call Claire Bennett Out
Victor Bennett had been listening from the side the whole time, but he wasn't as agitated as the others.
Among the siblings, his abilities really hadn't been the most outstanding to begin with. The only reason Old Mr. Bennett had taken a liking to him was entirely because of Megan Shaw Bennett, and he was still grateful to Megan Shaw Bennett for that.
It was just a shame they'd ended up where they were now.
Thinking of what had happened back then, Victor Bennett couldn't help sighing with emotion.
He said in a low voice, "We're all Bennetts. Today is Dad's birthday, so we shouldn't be making such an ugly scene and upsetting everyone. As for how the Bennett family is divided up, we should still listen to the old man. It won't look good if this family falls apart."
Although Old Mrs. Bennett's side had no blood relation to the Bennett family, the people on her side had gotten plenty of benefits by following Victor Bennett, so now that they heard him say this, of course they helped speak for him too.
Several people quickly chimed in, saying, "Yeah, we think that makes sense too. When the family lives in harmony, everything prospers."
"We're all family. What's there to fight over?"
Several of Victor Bennett's brothers and sisters couldn't help rolling their eyes.
That sure sounded nice. On the surface he was saying it was for the good of the Bennett family, talking about listening to the old man, but in reality, wasn't he just trying to monopolize all of the Bennett family's assets?
Old Mr. Bennett slammed the table in anger. "Since none of you are satisfied, then I'll hand Bennett Group's divisions over to you by department. At the end of the year, whoever can't cut it will shut their mouth for me!"
This was already the most perfect solution.
At least there was still a chance. Even if they might not necessarily beat the others, being able to stop Victor Bennett was already a good thing.
Laura Bennett let out a dark, cold laugh. Every bit of Victor Bennett's glory came from that jewelry company.
If Claire Bennett showed up and fought him for it, then his share wouldn't amount to much either. That meant they still had a chance. Just thinking about it made her thrilled to death!
People drifted out in twos and threes, and the birthday banquet continued.
Hannah Bennett and Ava Bennett moved off to the side. Ava Bennett said uneasily, "Mom, are you sure that little bitch Claire Bennett really won't come back? Dad's running into so much resistance over inheriting the Bennett family right now, and it's only being propped up by our jewelry company. If she comes back..."
It wasn't strange for Ava Bennett to have that worry. After all, back then they had suppressed Claire Bennett far too viciously.
Now that she wasn't on their side, if she came back, she might very well be coming to fight for the family property.
If half of Victor Bennett's jewelry company got taken away then, they would have absolutely no standing in the Bennett family. They might even lose in the end!
She had worked so hard to build everything she had now. She couldn't just hand it over to Claire Bennett for nothing.
The thought of giving everything away made Ava Bennett feel profoundly unbalanced.
Because Victor Bennett was going to inherit the Bennett family business, he had already taken over quite a few things in advance and was learning alongside Grandpa, so the company had been handed over to her to manage.
Now she was the jewelry company's manager, in charge of everything there.
If Claire Bennett really came back to get a piece of the pie, Ava Bennett felt she would be furious to death.
Back then she just hadn't been ruthless enough. If she'd been crueler and killed Claire Bennett when she left, then there would be nothing to worry about now!
Hannah Bennett's eyes darkened, and she gritted her teeth as she said, "Don't worry. When she left, she made it clear that she would never come back. She's stubborn by nature. There's no way she'd come crawling back humiliated."
Only then did the two of them feel slightly relieved.
As time passed, the birthday banquet reached its key moment and grew more and more lively.
Seeing this, Laura Bennett felt the timing was ripe. It was time to call Claire Bennett out.
She immediately grabbed Lila Bennett and told her to bring Claire Bennett out.
She had been waiting for this moment for a long time!
Lila Bennett had actually been sick of Ava Bennett for ages. At last she'd get to see her crash and burn. She wondered what kind of scene it would be when Ava Bennett saw Claire Bennett appear in a moment.
With that in mind, Lila Bennett hurried downstairs to bring Claire Bennett out.
Inside the lounge.
Claire Bennett and Julian Sterling were still sitting there. After Lila Bennett came in, her gaze couldn't help lingering on Julian Sterling for a moment. She hadn't expected Claire Bennett to find such a handsome man. She wondered what his background was.
Still, even if his background wasn't anything special, a face like that was enough to make anyone drool.
Seeing Lila Bennett staring at Julian Sterling, Claire Bennett frowned slightly.
She spoke up and asked, "Can we go out now?"
Lila Bennett quickly nodded. "Mm. Mom sent me to invite you both out. Everyone's outside right now, so this is perfect."
Claire Bennett stood up and said, "Got it."
After thinking for a moment, she turned back to Julian Sterling and said, "Why don't you wait here for me for now? If I need you later, I'll call you."
Julian Sterling looked at Claire Bennett with some concern.
He knew Claire Bennett had no standing in the Bennett family. If she had to face those relatives by herself, he really was worried.
Julian Sterling was worried about Claire Bennett, but wasn't Claire Bennett worried about Julian Sterling too?
Although Julian Sterling was the most outstanding man in the Sterling family, if he appeared with her and those people in the Bennett family found out in the end, they would probably start sucking up to him, and then it would be unbearably annoying.
The fact that he could come with her was already enough to move her deeply.
She didn't need him to go through any additional unpleasantness on top of that.
In the end, because Claire Bennett insisted, Julian Sterling still did not go out with her. He stayed in the lounge and waited for Claire Bennett to come back.
"Don't forget the gift." Julian Sterling handed over the item in his hand.
Only then did Claire Bennett remember that he had prepared a birthday gift for her to bring.
She had almost forgotten about it just now. Luckily Julian Sterling reminded her, otherwise if she showed up at the banquet empty-handed, she would probably embarrass herself. The gift Ava Bennett had given was something by Master Ziyun.
But Julian Sterling had only gotten this gift the day before they left.
Later, there hadn't been time to open it and take a look, so Claire Bennett didn't know what was inside. Based on her trust in Julian Sterling, she brought it straight to the birthday banquet without checking it.
To be honest, she actually had no idea what was inside.
Claire Bennett picked up the gift and left with Lila Bennett.
"Let's go."
After the two of them went out, Lila Bennett finally couldn't help asking, "Claire, what does your man do? He looks impressive and handsome. He's not some rich family's son, is he?"
Hearing the obvious probing in Lila Bennett's words, Claire Bennett curled her lips into a cold smile.
It wasn't that Julian Sterling was someone she had to hide, but she also didn't want to use him to show off. She had even less to say to this cousin of hers, Lila Bennett.
"His job's decent enough. Cousin, do you have a boyfriend now?"
At the mention of her boyfriend, Lila Bennett's expression changed. She quickly forced a smile and brushed it off.
Laura Bennett had found her a rich second-generation heir. The guy looked decent enough, but he was notoriously unfaithful, fooling around with women all day long. She was already exhausted from constantly catching him cheating, and to keep people from laughing at her, she still had to force herself to put on an act of being loving with him.
Just now, when she saw how gentle and attentive Claire Bennett's husband was toward her, she couldn't help feeling envious deep down.
If that man was also very rich, she would probably be driven insane with jealousy!