Chapter 294
Chapter 294:
“First of all,” Crawford said, his voice descending to a terrifying, deliberate cadence. “Her name is June Erickson. Do not ever refer to her as insignificant again p>
He stepped forward. The distance between them vanished.
“Secondly,” Crawford continued, his dark eyes boring into Cole’s skull, “I am not doing this for her. I am doing this for myself. I refuse to partner with a blind, arrogant fool who cannot even comprehend the value of the assets sitting inside his own house p>
The word fool snapped the last thread of Cole’s control.
Cole reached out and seized Crawford by the lapels of his custom suit. “Explain yourself!” he roared.
Crawford looked down at Cole’s hands. He reached up, gripped Cole’s wrists, and with a sudden, brutal application of leverage, broke the hold completely. He smoothed his lapels with terrifying calm.
Then he looked at Cole with an expression of profound, freezing pity.
“You really think she is just a charity case, don’t you?” Crawford asked, a dark, mocking laugh escaping his chest. “You think she needs your trust fund to survive p>
He leaned in closer.
𝗖𝗁𝗂𝗇e𝘀е 𝗻о𝘃𝖾𝗅𝗌 𝘁𝗋а𝗻𝘴𝗅𝖺t𝗲𝘥 𝘰𝘯.с𝗼𝗆
“Cole, your ignorance is pathetic. You have absolutely no idea what you threw away,” Crawford whispered. Each word landed like a surgical strike. “That woman alone possesses an intellectual capital that could easily outscale the foundational assets of the entire Compton Group p>
The words hit Cole like a physical blow to the skull.
Outscale the foundational assets of the Compton Group?
His mind short-circuited completely. The logic refused to compute. He knew she was a brilliant scientist, but this — this was something else entirely. The idea was so far beyond the realm of what he had ever considered possible that his brain simply rejected it. He had always regarded her scientific work as a respectable, contained talent. Not a force of nature capable of challenging his entire empire.
Cole stared at Crawford, mouth slightly open, eyes wide with shock and confusion.
Crawford saw the devastating impact land. He knew he had just planted a toxic seed in Cole’s mind — one that would grow, quietly and relentlessly, into an agonizing obsession.
He patted Cole’s shoulder. The gesture was exquisitely degrading.
“Go back to your hotel, Cole,” Crawford said, his voice soaked in venomous sarcasm. “Go have tea with Ms. Beasley. I am sure she will bring you billions in revenue p>
Crawford turned and stepped into the waiting elevator. The doors slid shut, leaving Cole standing completely alone in the silent hallway.
A massive, suffocating wave of jealousy and terrifying doubt crashed over him. His stomach twisted into a violent knot. He realized, with a sickening drop in his gut, that he did not know his own wife at all.
The temporary office inside the Love Group’s Boston headquarters was completely silent, save for the rapid, rhythmic clicking of June’s fingers on her encrypted laptop keyboard.