When the general arrived in Paris during the day, people in a hurry were like swarms of ants scattered everywhere, moving busily through the streets, and the Poncena Bank, located near the exchange, was as busy as ever.
This bank silently shows off its status as a financial giant with its magnificent office building, which stands like a giant tree in this busy neighborhood.
In its spacious lobby on the first floor, people of all kinds come in and out, depositing or remitting huge sums of money. Staff in crisp uniforms shuttle around every corner like worker bees, collecting the money they pick from everywhere.
Transfer it to the bank's books and treasury.
On the second and third floors of the bank, everything has changed. There are some carefully decorated rooms here, which are quiet and luxurious. Only important customers are qualified to be brought here to discuss matters involving huge amounts or confidential matters.
trade.
And today, one of the offices welcomed a special guest.
This guest was dressed simply and wore a hat with a veil hanging down on her head. We can only guess how beautiful she is from her figure and the brilliant blond hair hanging down from the hat.
After she sat here and waited for a while, the door to the room opened, and then a short, fat, middle-aged man in exquisite clothes walked in.
After seeing the other party, the lady took off her hat, then bowed slightly to greet the other party. "Good morning, Mr. Bowen."
"Good morning, Lady Alice."
The banker's astonishing beauty did not make the banker lose consciousness for a moment. He just nodded to the lady with an indifferent and formulaic smile and a calm demeanor.
They were indeed old acquaintances. In the past, as a budding banker, Bowen tried to make money and accumulate social connections. Naturally, he also got to know Duke Nordlyen and his family - of course, he just met them.
We've only met Alice a few times, so there can't be any deep connection between them.
Not long after, Alice got married, and Bowang also forgot about this young lady in his busy work. However, he did not expect that a few years later, the two of them would fall in love again due to various accidents.
intersection.
Bowen and the Count of Monte Cristo colluded together, stirred up the financial trend, forced the Tanglar Bank to collapse, and by the way forced the Duke of Nordelion's family into a desperate situation; and after discovering this, Lady Alice took the lead and
He volunteered with Aigron and took on the task of "rescuing" the Duke's family.
After answering Paris, Alice got acquainted with Bowen again under the introduction of the Count; and soon after, the Count had to leave Paris to carry out Aiglon's mission, so Alice had to handle the entire business personally, so she
It is also inevitable to meet with Mr. Bowang frequently.
During these contacts, Bowang's impression of Alice also changed greatly. Compared with the past impression of "noble lady", it has now become "this woman is a bit shrewd and not easy to deceive."
"Idiot", I admire her a little bit.
Of course, it's just appreciation. In his career as a banker who has been planning and calculating for many months, Mr. Bowen has lost all interest except money. He is also used to all the coquettish tricks used by ladies to show off their debts.
, so the beauty has left him indifferent, and no matter how beautiful the wife is, she can't compare to the account book.
"Madam, as per your request, the latest payment has been prepared." After a brief greeting, Bowang went directly to the topic.
Then, he couldn't help but feel a little proud, "In accordance with all your requirements, the financial accounts have been done perfectly. I don't think anyone can trace the source of the money."
After finishing speaking, he handed the detailed accounts to Alice.
"Thank you." Alice thanked Bowang, gently took the account book, and then looked at it carefully.
Although after this period of interaction, she has fully understood that the other party has superior abilities and is ten times more powerful than herself in finance, but she still remains cautious and carefully checks every account for fear of making any mistakes.
——She knows that His Majesty's trust in her is a precious and rare resource that she must cherish, and she must handle things more appropriately than he expected, so that she can gain his trust even more in the future.
Although time was precious, Bowang was not impatient at all. He just sat quietly waiting for Madam - he admired the cautious and responsible attitude shown by Madam Alice. If it were not for the disparity in status, he would have wanted to
He needs to hire his wife as his secretary with a high salary.
After a long time, Alice finally finished flipping through it, and then she nodded and approved of Bowang's work. "Sir, thank you for your hard work..."
"It doesn't matter, this is my job." Bowang smiled and shook his head, and then asked Alice, "Madam, when do you plan to ask for the next payment?"
"Just next week." Alice had already thought about it and answered.
"Well, I will make corresponding preparations in advance." Bowang had no objection, "Besides, congratulations, madam, as far as I can see, you are now in charge of a large amount of assets... There are undoubtedly others in Paris.
Many ladies are richer than you, but you are the most deserving of these wealth, and I hope you can make good use of them in the future."
Being praised like this, Alice couldn't help but blush a little, but she still nodded firmly, "Thank you, I will. Of course I am very happy for everything I have got now, but I know even more what a heavy obligation I have.
I will use it with caution."
After saying that, she didn't want to waste Bowang's time anymore. She stood up and said goodbye to Bowang, and then left Poncena Bank with the money he paid.
After walking out of the bank, Alice put on her veil again, got into an inconspicuous carriage and embarked on her way home. However, she was so full of pride and joy that she did not notice that not far away, there was always a pair of
His eyes silently watched her every move until the carriage left his sight.
"Poncena Bank?" Not long after, the Duke quietly asked his daughter in the study room of Duke Nordlien's residence. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure." Agnes replied softly, "Recently, my sister will go there secretly every once in a while, and then bring you the money soon after. There can be no mistake."
Not long ago, under the order of her father, Agnes received the order to "inquire about her sister's source of funds." Although she was reluctant, for the sake of her family, Agnes still fulfilled the order and quietly monitored her sister.
Because of the count's departure, Alice had to increase the frequency of her actions, which also gave Agnes an opportunity to take advantage of.
She had a close relationship with her sister, and she was very skilled, so through some mental arithmetic or not, she finally figured out Alice's whereabouts, and today she finally reported back to her father.
Although this was "significant progress" for her, she was not happy. Spying on her sister made her feel guilty and weak to speak.
"Very good!"
However, her father had no time to take into account his daughter's complicated mood. On the contrary, he patted the table excitedly.
"Poncena Bank...it's right when you think about it. There are not many places that can mobilize such a large amount of funds without leaving any trace! Now everything makes sense, yes, I understand it, haha
Ha ha……"
He was indeed very lucky. Ever since he was kidnapped by his daughter, he had been dreaming of ways to get out of this predicament. Now that he finally saw the light, how could he not be excited?
But after being excited for a while, he fell into distress again.
"However, even in Poncena Bank, there are many people inside... Who is leading this matter? Poncena himself? No, I know him, he is not such a sinister person, and he is already old
I am no longer involved in specific operations; then, it must be an important figure in it, who is it...who is it..."
The Duke kept mumbling to himself, but couldn't find any clues, and Agnes was also at a loss next to her - although she was very skilled, she couldn't help with this kind of thing, and it was impossible to bring down the bank's senior officials
Arrest them one by one and torture them, right?
The more the Duke thought about it, the more headache he got, and finally he couldn't help but cover his forehead, "Who is it..."
"Dad, why don't you take a rest first?" Seeing his distressed look, Agnes felt a little distressed.
"No..." The Duke waved his hand anxiously.
Suddenly, he had an idea and seemed to have thought of something.
Then, he frowned and thought and weighed again. Although Agnes didn't know why, she didn't dare to say anything to disturb her father's thoughts.
"There is a way to find that guy." After a moment of silence, the Duke suddenly broke the calm.
"What can I do?" Agnes asked quickly.
"Bill -" the Duke gave a short answer, "Since Alice has huge financial transactions with this guy, no matter how well she hides it on the surface, the outflow of funds is an ironclad fact, and he will definitely issue the corresponding bill from
The bank lends money...so, as long as we can find one or two of the bills, and then compare the handwriting and signature, we can find that person."
"That's right..." Agnes suddenly realized.
But she quickly thought of another question, "Sister will definitely store such an important thing carefully...ah..."
When she said this, she stopped because she found that her father was looking at her directly. The sharp look in his eyes made her shudder. "Dad..."
"You know what I mean, Agnes." Her father replied coldly, "You and your sister are so close. If there is anyone in the world who can dig out those things, it must be you."
"But... isn't that despicable?" Agnes retorted subconsciously. "This is stealing from my sister!"
"Hmph!" The Duke interrupted his daughter's ridiculous retort with a cold snort, "Despicable. Isn't it despicable that she took advantage of others' danger and colluded with outsiders to deal with her father? Isn't it despicable that she tried to take away our family's property?
Is it okay? She hurt us first, we were just acting in self-defense."
"But..." Agnes still found it difficult to accept.
"Agnes!" Her father increased his voice, making Agnes swallow her words. "Do we still have a way out now? I know you love Alice, but please think about us... Don't you
Would you like to see our family's fortune finally fall into the hands of the Treville family?"
Agnes was speechless for a moment.
Her father's questioning got to the point. She really didn't want to see this happen.
"Besides, it's not like stealing. We're just taking it out temporarily. We'll stuff it back into her after we find out the truth. It won't take long..." Then, the Duke continued to be very seductive to his daughter, "Agnes,
Now without me saying any more, you should understand how important all this is to us, right?"
"Dad..." Agnes's voice was a little panicked, and she tried to make her last resistance.
"Are you really not willing to stand with dad?" the Duke asked. "You are the only one who can help us now."
Agnes was stunned, and then her breathing became messy.
"Is there no chance of mending the rift? Why don't you try talking to your sister again?"
"Don't be naive, where can we talk!?" The Duke interrupted his daughter sharply, "Do you want me to find Alice and say, 'Dear Madam, we already know that you are talking to someone from Poncena Bank
Cooperate, please tell me who he is -', do you think I can do this? Can't you imagine what consequences this will bring? There is no chance, because she never gave us a chance!"
Her father's words finally broke the last hesitation in Agnes's heart.
Although she didn't want to admit it, she knew in her heart that her father's words were indeed correct.
There is no way out, and there is no way to reconcile. My sister has forced the family to this point, and my father is at the end of his rope and can only try his best to find a way out of the predicament.
Maybe it was ugly to do so, but he was also protecting his family business, and she couldn't just sit back and watch.
Finally, she nodded.
Early the next morning, Agnes came to visit the Marquis of Treville at his home.
The Marquis was not at home as usual, Edgar also went to the club, but his sister was at home.
After receiving the notification, Alice warmly welcomed her sister.
"Agnes..." She hugged her sister, "You are finally here."
"I came to see Xia Lu." Agnes replied with a smile, "I miss her so much."
"Oh, that's really great..." Alice laughed, "I feel like it's too tiring to take her with you. You can take her to play with her while I rest first."
So, she handed her daughter over to Agnes and stayed in the bedroom to rest.
This kind of thing has happened countless times, so no one paid attention to Agnes's actions. She took Xia Lu around the mansion.
However, everything is different from usual.
Although Agnes was amused with her niece on the surface, she was a little anxious in her heart.
Why is my sister at home today? God is so tormenting... She knows that the things must be in the box in her sister's bedroom, and her sister will definitely put them there.
However, there is no room for hesitation anymore. No matter how unwilling you are now, you can only do it to the end.
She looked at Xia Lu at her feet, and she couldn't help but feel a little distressed by such a cute face.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Xia Lu... I will repay you a thousand times over in the future..." She muttered silently in her heart.
Baimeng book
Then, she took Xia Lu to the steps, and then looked around carefully.
Then, there was a dull sound.
"Yeah!" she screamed.
At the same time, at the last moment, she carefully held Xia Lu back to ensure that her niece would not be knocked too hard.
"Please, forgive me." She screamed and cried. "God, please forgive me!"