Chapter 1074 - Planning to keep Penny safe... and a proposal (1/2)

~ Los Angeles, Cliffside villa ~

7:06 PM

JoAnna, Jeff, Sophia and Felix joined for dinner.

The newly minted parents left Cecilia at home with her nanny. Both of them were nervous to be away from their four-weeks-old baby and they frequently checked the video from the baby monitor to make sure everything is alright.

Since Emma was present, Charlie came as well.

They all discussed with Sarah and Aiden what happened that morning at the parking lot and provided their inputs on how it should be handled.

After dinner they moved to the living room and continued their discussion over tasty bite-sized desserts and fresh fruits accompanied by variety of beverages.

Penny was happy that she is surrounded with eight friends who are all concerned about her wellbeing.

The conclusion was the same as what JoAnna said that morning, that in order to keep Penny safe, she either needs to stay cooped up until her parents are out of power, or they need to take action against Marcus right away.

Neither of the options seemed good. If they need to hide Penny, that can take weeks and she has a job. Isabella likes her, but how long will she keep the gallery without a curator? On the other side, going after Marcus earlier, will void all the planning and waiting they did so far in order to get him out of power in a big way so that he loses his supporters permanently.

Sarah suggested more than once just getting rid of Marcus, but Aiden and Jeff can't be ruthless to their Uncle.

”What if we don't touch Marcus, but we target Morgan family only?”, Sarah's question got everyone's attention.

Aiden thought that this is a promising idea. ”How much we know, only Morgans are after Penny, and Lukas who wants revenge for what she did to him.”

Sarah confirmed and continued: ”After last weekend, Lukas is in the hospital, taking care of his own problems. And we can intimidate him not to get any ideas of going after Penny. Then we are left only with her family.”

Aiden smiled. He loves when they complete each other's thoughts. ”We already have a list of assets and people under the control of Morgan family. It should not be difficult to target them. Without money and people, they will lose capability to go after Penny and also Marcus will not need them.”

Sarah's eyes sparkled while she looked at Aiden. ”We can talk to Eric and see if he has any further information that can be useful.”

”Eric?”, Penny asked.

Sarah confirmed. ”Your father's bodyguard. Last weekend we attended an event and he decided to quit his job. He is working for us now. With his intimate knowledge of people and properties, he can be valuable.”

JoAnna saw that Penny was scared and added: ”Don't worry, he does not know that you are here. And he will not come here either.”

Jeff looked at Sarah and Aiden: ”How much time you need to take down Morgans?”

Sarah turned to Sophia while telling Jeff that they are not the ones who can answer that question. ”We will rely on big sis to come up with a plan, and then we will see…”

Charlie offered his assistance as well, and Emma said that she will keep Penny company whenever possible so that she is not by herself.

The high level plan was in place to target Morgan family, and Penny saw a ray of hope that she might reunite with Benjamin earlier than planned.

”Penny…”, JoAnna called. ”You need to decide what you want to do with hotels your parents own.”

”Hotels?” Penny frowned. She does not want to have any connection to Morgan family.

Jeff saw Penny's reaction and offered his input: ”When we go after your parents, they will lose everything. Hotels included. We can bankrupt them or make them change owners. We don't care either way. However, they are very profitable and it's a pity to waste them. That will also impact hundreds of employees who are currently relying on their jobs in those hotels. Even if you are not interested, think about your child. It will be something you can give him one day.”

JoAnna looked at her husband with admiration. She knows that he spoke so much for Penny's sake with a hope that she will take over her family's business. If he cares only about profits and employees, those hotels can end up under White corp. umbrella. White corp. already has so many different businesses that adding hotels will not be a big deal.

Sophia's conclusion was the same as JoAnna's. She patted Penny's hand and said: ”I agree with Jeff. Think about it. By tomorrow afternoon I will have a plan in place, and then you can tell us your decision.”