Chapter 2

The moment I sent the message, I was booted from the group chat. I put my phone away and looked up to see a newcomer standing in the conference room doorway.

It was Blake Johnson, the heir of the Johnson family. Everyone in our circle knew him to be all charm on the surface and all fangs underneath. He wore a bespoke suit and sauntered into the room with two attorneys behind him, his stride unhurried.

His gaze swept over the pile of collection notices on the table. He said with a faint smile, "Looks like I'm not too late."

The tension in the room was already palpable. His presence only made it thicker.

Several senior executives immediately went rigid.

Johnson Group was one of the industry's largest investment powerhouses. With the Sutton family already on the brink, everyone knew Blake wasn't here out of the goodness of his heart to save the day.

Smug satisfaction flickered in Miranda's eyes. She leaned back in her chair, looking more certain of herself than ever. After all, Johnson Group had helped engineer this trap from the very beginning. Now that Blake had shown up in person, it was like she'd been handed another trump card.

Stella sat ramrod straight, and her already pale face turned even whiter.

Still smiling, Blake asked, "Ms. Stella, is there a reason you're not signing? Aren't you aware of the debt you're about to be saddled with? You've already got 650 million in supplier penalties and 1.8 billion in bank loans being called in.

"If the stock hits the daily limit down three more times after the market opens tomorrow, the shares pledged as collateral will be forcibly liquidated."

He checked his watch. "Starting now, Sutton Group is losing about 60,000 dollars per minute."

The room went dead silent.

The finance director, Paul Reese, punched at his calculator, checked it three times, then decided not to say the total out loud.

I sat in the corner, my heart twisting. 60,000 dollars a minute—one minute of that cost more than my entire life.

Miranda smiled and smoothly picked up where Blake left off. She pulled out a thick document with gold embossing and slid it in front of Stella.

"Seeing as we're considered sisters, I'll ask Mr. Johnson to show some mercy and take this mess off your hands if you transfer all your shares to me for free. At least the Sutton family will still have something left.

"If you don't, you're going down with Sutton Group into bankruptcy and liquidation. You signed off on the project, so the liability is yours. You'll spend the rest of your life paying off debt, not to mention Mom and Dad's hospital bills."

The head of legal, Tom White, wiped the sweat from his brow and edged closer. "Ms. Stella, from a legal standpoint, this really is the only way to keep the Sutton family afloat right now…"

Stella stared hard at Miranda, her chest heaving with rage. "Miranda, you ungrateful snake! Mom and Dad treated you so well. Why would you do this to us? What do you even get out of it?"

Miranda's expression darkened instantly. "Those two old fools raised me as their daughter for 20 years, yet they handed you the company's shares without a second thought as soon as you came back. I've busted my ass for this company all these years. When have they ever acknowledged me?"

She abruptly changed her tune, smiling as she leaned in close to Blake. "As for what I get out of it, Mr. Johnson already promised that once this is over, I'll be running the entire Sutton family."

She straightened up and looked down her nose at Stella. "Sign the agreement, and I'll transfer five million dollars into the hospital's account immediately. Mom and Dad did raise me, after all. The least I can do is be a dutiful daughter."

Blake played along seamlessly, checking his watch. "Ms. Stella, it's 9:00 pm now. Once the clock hits midnight, every offer on this table expires."

Stella stayed rooted to the spot, not moving an inch.

I remained in the corner and quietly gathered the scattered documents on the floor. When I flipped to the page with the receiving account number, I stared at it. The longer I looked, the more familiar it seemed.

Wasn't this the corporate account for the project I'd invested 50 grand in?

I'd never invested 450 million. So where did the 450 million on the payment slip come from?

Miranda noticed what I was doing and let out a derisive laugh. "You idiot. Do you even understand what you're looking at? Although, now that I think about it, you're technically the project manager. If this blows up, you're responsible, too."

Stella immediately stepped in front of me, looking protective. "This has nothing to do with her. I approved the funds, and I signed the papers."

Miranda chuckled. "If you're that worried about her, then hurry up and sign, or she's sleeping on the streets with you!"