Amy was still fuming over how Marina had lashed out at Niamh the other day, so when news broke just a few days later that CD Corporation had absconded with the funds, she could hardly believe her luck.
Reports said CD Corporation was nothing but a shell company registered overseas, and the Coralis government refused to recognize any of its so–called exploration results.
With CD Corporation gone and under sanction, the truth about the new Phosphorock Mountain mine came out: the survey had been faked. The site was nothing but a depleted vein, with less than one percent of it fit for gemstones.
Amy stared at her screen in disbelief for a few seconds. Then the entire office rang with her laughter.
“Oh, this is just perfect! Serves her right. Thank goodness the boss didn’t win that bid.”
Grinning from ear to ear, Amy made Niamh a fresh cup of coffee and brought it to her office.
Niamh had just closed her laptop.
“Is something up, Amy?”
“Boss, I’ve got some fantastic news for you!”
After leaving Niamh’s office, Amy couldn’t help but mutter to herself, “She really is unshakeable. Not a flicker of schadenfreude.”
Niamh had listened to the whole Phosphorock Vein debacle without so much as a smug smile.
“I need to learn to keep my cool like her,” Amy resolved quietly.
Meanwhile, Marina was teetering on the edge of a breakdown.
She’d poured two billion dollars into that project.
Two billion.
Now, with nothing but a slap on the wrist from the Coralis government for CD Corporation, Marina was still on the hook for the mining contract she’d signed.
But how was she supposed to fulfill it? The mine was worthless–she’d hired her own team to reassess it, and they told her flat out it wasn’t worth even two million,
1/2
no na
let alone two billion.
Worse still, her contract required her to mine at least ten thousand carats of precious gems per year. If she defaulted, the penalty would be triple damages.
And as soon as word got out that CD Corporation had vanished, the banks were on her case, demanding immediate repayment, with a deadline of just three days.
Where was she supposed to find hundreds of millions in three days?
Everything went black around the edges. Marina felt utterly trapped.
Edna kept calling her, and Joker even sent her a short message, twisting the knife:
Congratulations.
Desperate, Marina clung to the hope of Jonathan–her last lifeline.
Jonathan had already handed her a staggering $1.5 billion in working capital, but The Thomas Group was huge. Surely he would have a way.
“Yes, Jonathan will know what to do. He’ll help me. Jonathan… Jonathan…” she whispered, biting her thumb, repeating his name like a mantra, half–mad with anxiety.
Her desk was piled high with resignation letters from her staff.
Her company was empty.
No money, no team, and now, a mountain of debt.
Marina grabbed her purse and bolted out the door, twisting her ankle in her high
heels as she ran.
She had only one destination in mind-
The Thomas Group.
She drove through the pain, arriving outside the company’s imposing headquarters. Once, she’d treated The Thomas Group like her own private playground. She’d come and go as she pleased. Everyone had treated her with deference, bowing scraping.
After all, she was Jonathan’s first love.
His one true love.
But as Marina limped toward the grand lobby, she didn’t even make it inside before
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09:03
Chapter 483
the security guard stopped her.
She recognized him. He knew exactly who she was.
“Do you know who I am? How dare you stop me?”
“Ms. Thornton, you can’t go in.”
“Ms. Thornton“-the words hit her like a bolt of lightning.
Marina stared at the guard in shock.
He knew who she was, and yet, he still barred her way.
