Chapter 572
Chapter 572:
Silas swallowed. The muscle in his jaw twitched. He knew better than to argue when she looked like this.
“Understood,” he said, clearing his throat. “There is one more thing. The Phase Two project review meeting is tomorrow morning at nine. Mr. Lancaster expects you to be in attendance p>
Isolde’s eyes narrowed. A dangerous spark lit in her dark pupils.
“Tell him I will be there on time,” she said. “I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to hammer the final nail into InnoTech’s coffin p>
Silas bowed his head slightly and left without another word.
The moment the door clicked shut, Isolde picked up her phone and dialed Arland Roth’s private number.
“Did the bait work?” she asked the instant he answered.
𝗥еа𝗱 𝘸𝘪𝗍𝘩o𝗎𝘁 і𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗋𝗋𝘂p𝗍і𝗈n𝘴 𝗈𝗇
Arland’s low, rumbling chuckle came through the speaker. “They swallowed it whole. That silent partner InnoTech has been relying on? It was a shell company used for laundering money. Our people spooked them. They pulled all their capital out of InnoTech’s accounts an hour ago p>
A rush of adrenaline moved through her. “Excellent. That means InnoTech is operating on fumes. Tomorrow morning, I have the ammunition for a fatal shot p>
“There is a complication,” Arland said, his tone shifting. “Belle is panicking. She is making calls all over the city — she has even reached out to predatory lenders. The kind that strip a company for parts p>
Isolde frowned. “She is that desperate p>
“A cornered animal makes stupid mistakes,” Arland said. “Do you want my people to intercept her? Stop her from borrowing the dirty money p>
Isolde stared at the city lights beyond the window. She thought of her mother taking the slap in the hospital corridor. She thought of the years of deliberate, calculated cruelty.
“No,” she said quietly. “Let her borrow it. Let her dig the hole as deep as she likes. The heavier the debt, the faster she drowns p>
She ended the call.
She walked to her bag and pulled out her personal checkbook. She wrote a check for the Swiss medication, then added a zero to the end of the market price. She folded it into an envelope and wrote two words across the front in bold black ink.
Paid in Full.
She left the envelope on the small table for Silas to find later, then switched off the desk lamp.
In the darkness of the hospital room, her eyes were wide open and fully awake. Tomorrow, the hunting season officially opened.
The top-floor boardroom of Lancaster Group Headquarters was a theater of corporate power. A massive oval table, carved from a single slab of black walnut, dominated the room, while floor-to-ceiling windows offered a dizzying, panoramic view of the city below.
The room was packed. Men and women in expensive, tailored suits sat with rigid posture. Government compliance officers lined the back wall, their faces unreadable. The air was thick with tension. Over the weekend, the rumors of InnoTech’s supplier scandal had swept through Wall Street like a virus.
The heavy mahogany doors opened.