“No, I have to see Jonathan! Let me talk to Jonathan!”
Marina tried to push her way through, but the security guards quickly blocked her path.
One of them, a little too forceful, shoved her to the ground.
She ended up sprawled on the cold marble floor, utterly humiliated. People passing by stopped to stare, whispering to each other as they glanced in her direction.
But she refused to give up..
She couldn’t give up now.
Not with hundreds of millions in loans on the line, her parents‘ entire savings at stake, the contract signed with Joker, and the penalty fees for breaking the mining deal-
It felt like she was being crushed beneath a mountain, each breath harder than the last. Nausea twisted in her gut; she could almost taste blood.
Her hands shaking, Marina fumbled her phone out of her purse and dialed
Jonathan’s number.
No answer.
***
The Thomas Group.
Executive Office.
Jonathan stood face to face with Sprague. On the floor near Jonathan’s feet lay a shattered phone–thrown there by his father in a rage.
“I left this company in your hands, and now you think this entire corporation belongs to you alone?!”
Sprague was beside himself, voice cracking with fury.
“Listen to this! Just listen!” he barked, stabbing at his phone to play a recording.
“If Jonathan hadn’t given me that one and a half billion, I never would have beaten you so easily…”
It was Marina’s voice. No doubt about it.
1/2
“When you asked me to approve that loan, you never said it was for Marina, And I heard she’s lost everything–poured all the money into that failed mining venture Now tell me, how am I supposed to explain this billion and a half to the board?!”
Sprague was shaking, anger radiating from him.
He’d thought, lately, that Jonathan’s feelings for Marina had cooled. Men, after all–what’s love compared to business? Wasn’t Ramona from the Quinn family just as good as Marina, if not better?
He’d always believed Jonathan to be rational, clear–headed–a man who understood what mattered.
But never in his wildest dreams did he imagine Jonathan would hand Marina a billion and a half for a reckless gamble.
“Let me make this clear–Marina is never setting foot in The Thomas Group again! Her mess is her own to deal with. If you get involved one more time, I swear-
“And then what?” Jonathan’s reply was calm, almost careless.
“You’ll send me to some youth detention center again?”
“You-!”
Sprague’s face went pale.
At that moment, Prescott knocked and stepped into the office.
He clearly knew Sprague was there and that Jonathan was in the middle of a dressing–down. From the look on his face, something serious had happened.
“What is it?” Sprague snapped, still fuming.
”
“Urgent call from the CelestiMed division,” Prescott reported, throat tight. “Their chip manufacturer was just hit by a cyberattack. All production’s halted, and there’s no telling when they’ll be back online.”
“What?!”
Sprague reeled in shock.
Jonathan’s brow furrowed. “Is that all?”
A single chip delay wasn’t enough to shake Prescott like this. Sure, it would set back the Al diagnostic system they were developing with CelestiMed, costing time and money, but it wasn’t catastrophic.
Prescott hesitated, glancing nervously at Jonathan. “There’s more…”
09:03
Chapter 484
Jonathan’s eyes narrowed, his expression hardening.
“Well?” Sprague barked. The day was already a disaster; his patience had run out.
Prescott swallowed hard, his voice hoarse. “There’s also… Miss Rivers–Niamh Rivers–she’s called an emergency shareholders‘ meeting…”
es
