Chapter 368: Daniel Whitmore Quickly Reached Out to Stop Him

Daniel Whitmore quickly reached out to stop him.

"Don't trouble yourself. I can handle it."

Elias Mercer continued clearing the table without pause. "You didn't hesitate to invite me for dinner. Don't start being formal now."

"Well..."

Daniel was still hesitating when Elias efficiently gathered the dishes and headed toward the kitchen.

Helen Whitmore stared at his retreating figure in surprise.

"Impressed, aren't you?" Daniel whispered proudly. "You don't see many diligent young men like him these days. Reminds me of myself at his age. No wonder we get along so well."

Helen shot him an exasperated look.

Even when complimenting others, he couldn't resist praising himself.

At one in the afternoon, Elias prepared to leave.

Daniel, tending to his plants on the balcony, called out immediately. "Clara, see your Uncle Elias out!"

Elias froze mid-step, his back visibly stiffening.

Clara Whitmore sprang up from the couch. "Dad! Stop with the 'uncle' nonsense! Professor, let me walk you—"

"Alright."

After they left, Daniel muttered under his breath, "But last time we agreed he'd be an uncle..."

* * *

Two weeks passed in a blink.

Clara felt the timing was right to arrange a meeting between Helen and Spencer Hale.

"Mom, there's actually another reason I invited you and Dad to the capital."

"What is it?"

Clara slid a document folder across the table. "This is the contract you signed with Phoebe Ward. I had professional publishers and intellectual property lawyers review it..."

Helen's heart clenched.

Clara gestured for her to open it. "The clauses marked in red are problematic. For instance, this so-called publishing house is actually a studio controlled by Phoebe..."

It didn't even have proper publishing credentials.

They could only produce merchandise and e-books, not legitimate publications.

No wonder Helen hadn't released a new book in ten years.

It wasn't writer's block—Phoebe simply couldn't publish her work!

Every creative idea had been rejected for this reason.

"If she couldn't publish, why sign you in the first place? And for a full decade?" Daniel asked gravely.

Phoebe had paid a one-time signing bonus of $200,000 back then.

A substantial sum ten years ago.

What was her motive if there were no profits to be made?

Clara pointed to the third page. "The second trap is here. She holds full copyright agency rights to all your published works... but where's the royalty percentage?"

Daniel flipped through the pages. "Where are the appendices?"

"There aren't any."

This meant Phoebe could arbitrarily decide the profit splits.

Helen's voice trembled. "In these ten years, I've only received royalties five times..."

Clara took a deep breath. "Both The Weapon and The Deserted School have remained in the top twenty bestsellers for a decade."

Helen was stunned. "Phoebe said the publishing industry was struggling..."

"The domestic market did face a downturn, but did she ever mention overseas sales?"