Chemical Reactions of Phenol

In the reaction, ${\mathrm{C}}_6{\mathrm{H}}_5\mathrm{OH}\stackrel{\mathrm{NaOH}}{⟶}\left(\mathrm{A}\right)$
$\frac{{\mathrm{CO}}_2}{140°\mathrm{C},\left(4-7\right)\mathrm{atm}}\left(\mathrm{B}\right)\stackrel{\mathrm{HCl}}{⟶}\left(\mathrm{C}\right),$ the compound $\left(\mathrm{C}\right)$ is:

$\mathrm{p}$-cresol reacts with chloroform in an alkaline medium to give compound $\mathrm{A}$, which adds hydrogen cyanide to form compound $\mathrm{B}$. The latter on acidic hydrolysis gives chiral carboxylic acid. What is the structure of carboxylic acid?

What is $\text{Z}$ in the following sequence of reactions?
$\mathrm{Phenol}\stackrel{\mathrm{Zn} \mathrm{dust}}{\to }\mathrm{X}\stackrel{{\mathrm{CH}}_3\mathrm{Cl}/\mathrm{Anhydrous} {\mathrm{AlCl}}_3}{\to }\mathrm{Y}\stackrel{\mathrm{Alkaline} {\mathrm{KMnO}}_4}{\to }\mathrm{Z}$

The $\mathrm{p}-$cresol reacts with chloroform in alkaline medium to give the compound $\mathrm{A}$, which adds hydrogen cyanide to form the compound $\mathrm{B}$. The latter, on acidic hydrolysis gives chiral carboxylic acid. The structure of the carboxylic acid is