Chapter 454
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Chapter 454:
Victor took the tablet. Eyes trained by thirty years of financial warfare moved swiftly across the executive summary. He recognized the clean, aggressive logic of the numbers immediately. It was a highly lucrative deal.
He looked up, his expression hardening. “This is a brilliant model. But it is not the model Isabelle presented to the risk committee yesterday. She flagged this as a high-risk failure p>
Jocelyn let out a short, cold laugh. “That is because your sister is currently engaged to Kieran Douglas,” she said, delivering the information with absolute precision. “And I am Kieran Douglas’s ex-girlfriend. Isabelle isn’t protecting your fund, Mr. Sterling. She is using your family’s capital to settle a petty, jealous personal vendetta p>
Victor’s face went completely blank. Then a dark, terrifying flush crept slowly up his neck.
He didn’t care about his sister’s feelings. He cared that she was sacrificing a massive profit to satisfy a private grudge. It was unprofessional, and it was a direct betrayal of the fund.
He studied Jocelyn for a long moment, taking in the absolute, fearless determination in her eyes.
“You are a very dangerous woman, Ms. Wolfe,” he murmured, with a hint of genuine respect.
He handed the tablet back to her. “I will review the full data package myself. If your numbers hold up, my assistant will contact your office by the end of the day to finalize a clean Term Sheet p>
Jocelyn accepted the tablet. “Thank you, Mr. Sterling p>
Two hours later, at Sterling Capital headquarters, Isabelle sat in her expansive corner office scrolling through Vera Wang wedding dress photos on her iPad.
The heavy oak door exploded open.
𝗔𝘥𝘥ic𝘁𝘪𝘃𝘦 𝗇o𝘃𝘦𝗅s 𝗈𝘯
Victor stormed in without a word. He crossed the room in long, deliberate strides, then hurled his phone — open to Jocelyn’s email containing the full data model — directly onto Isabelle’s desk. It clattered hard against the wood, sending her iPad tumbling to the floor.
“What the hell?!” Isabelle shrieked, lurching back in her chair.
“You stupid, arrogant liability!” Victor roared, his voice shaking the glass walls. “If I ever catch you using my money to settle a score with your fiancé’s ex-girlfriend again, I will strip your equity and throw you out on the street p>
Isabelle looked down at the phone screen. She saw the flawless projections — a deal she had deliberately buried. The blood drained from her face.
“From this moment forward,” Victor snarled, leaning across the desk, “you are Jocelyn Wolfe’s personal legal servant. You will draft her contracts, you will fetch her coffee if she asks, and you will close this deal without a single error. Do you understand me p>
He turned and slammed the door behind him.
Isabelle sat frozen in her chair, her face burning with pure humiliation. After a long moment, she reached for her desk phone with trembling hands and dialed her lead corporate attorney.
“I need you to draft the final Wolfe contracts,” she said, her voice low and shaking with barely contained hatred. “And I want you to bury a legal landmine in the fine print. Something buried so deep her lawyers won’t see it until it detonates and destroys her p>