All Chapters of From Trash to Titan: Chapter 231 - Chapter 240

Tristan stood at the front of the room, microphone in hand, smiling warmly at the newlyweds.At least, that was the performance he was putting on.Because the truth? His eyes kept sliding to Table 1. To Maxwell. To the one man who had spent the entire evening existing in a way that made Tristan want to flip every table in the Grand Belmont.He hated Maxwell with all his being right now. Looking at him unbothered by all of it, acting like he belonged somewhere he clearly didn't, made Tristan hate him more with every passing second.Wasn't this Maxwell pathetic? Compared to Tristan, he was nothing but a small fry. His salary was a single drop in the ocean compared to what Tristan earned. That was the reality that annoyed Tristan so much, the fact that he just couldn't forget it.How could someone who was so clearly beneath him not realize it? Usually, in this world, the little people did not dare to challenge the people at the top. They bowed their heads, they laughed at the right jokes

The silence in the room wasn't the humiliating, mocking kind Tristan had expected.It was filled with awe and respect that was directed at Maxwell. Every head at every nearby table had turned. Guests were whispering with bright, curious eyes. Patricia and Robert were no longer looking at Maxwell like he was something stuck to the bottom of their shoes. They were looking at him like they had just realized the man they had spent the entire evening insulting was carrying a last name that commanded rooms.The Lexus family name. They might not be like the Sterling's, and far from it, but was that still one of the most powerful families in the entire city? The same family whose name appeared on skyscrapers, on courtroom plaques, on the lips of every high-powered attorney worth their salt?Maxwell had just been revealed as a member of that family. And this man had been sitting here all evening, eating his steak, sipping his whiskey, letting them talk down to him without saying a single word

Tristan stared at him, his face completely blank. Not only did this man undermine Tristan's gift, but he also offered something better. How dare he do such a thing?“Bastard please, you make less than five hundred thousand a year.” Tristan scoffed. “Do you take us for fools to believe that someone like you has five million to spare? And is also handing out Italian estates like party favors?”Maxwell still was not paying any mind to Tristan. He simply turned to Natasha and whispered something to her. And while ignoring Tristan Maxwell didn't once look like he was being smug or arrogant, it actually looked like he actually could not hear Tristan which was the most enraging thing for Tristan but also embarrassing. "Another thing," Maxwell whispered into Natasha's ear, his eyes still calmly fixed on the sweetheart table. "How much is Mercer Holdings worth? Who are their majority investors, and exactly how much debt are they carrying?"Natasha didn't even need to look at her phone. She

Patricia looked like she was about to have a heart attack. "Leo! Have you lost your mind? That trip is worth more than you make in three months! Pick that up right now and apologize!""No, Mom," Karina said, her voice trembling but firm. "We aren't picking it up. And we aren't listening to Tristan anymore.”"I will not have this!" Patricia shouted, slamming her hand on the table. "I will not accept my future son-in-law being spoken to this way by his own family. Tristan is a man of substance. Maxwell is not.” Tristan managed to calm himself down despite wanting to put Karina and Leo in their place. “Mother in-law is right, he is a man of fiction."Maxwell checked his watch again."Seven minutes," Maxwell murmured. He picked up his whiskey glass and swirled the ice. "I’d suggest you start saying your goodbyes to your legacy, Tristan. It’s the only thing you have left that’s still free.”Tristan turned to him. “Shut up,”Maxwell didn't respond to that. And the place went quite as every

A few days had passed.The news of Mercer Holdings' sudden, catastrophic collapse had hit the city's financial district like a localized earthquake. By Monday morning, the headlines weren't just reporting the bankruptcy. They were dissecting it. Marveling at it. Wall Street analysts were calling it a textbook hostile takeover, executed with surgical, almost terrifying precision over a single weekend through a network of untraceable shell companies that all led back to one giant: Sterling Equity.To the public, it was a mystery wrapped in corporate warfare.To the people who had attended Karina and Leo's wedding? It was a warning.The teenage girl's livestream had reached over twenty-eight million views before the night was even over. The clip of the unnamed Sterling heir sliding a ten-dollar bill across a white tablecloth while a grown man wept on his knees had been shared, remixed, and dissected across every platform. Mercer Holdings was a punchline now. A ghost story parents woul