Chapter 438
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Chapter 438:
“They are bleeding,” he said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. He tossed the towel onto a chair. “But they are not dead. Give me the word, Jocelyn. I can authorize a massive short-selling attack right now. I can leverage the Titan Club funds and completely bankrupt the Stein family before the market closes today. I will leave them with absolutely nothing p>
Jocelyn looked at the man who was ready to obliterate an entire dynasty purely to avenge her.
A few months ago, the thought of destroying the family that had abused and neglected her would have brought her intense satisfaction. But sitting there now, listening to the gentle crash of the waves and feeling the absolute, unconditional safety of Gaston’s presence, she understood something profound.
The hatred was gone. It had burned itself out completely.
She reached out and placed her small, warm hand over his massive fist.
“No,” Jocelyn said softly.
Gaston frowned and looked down at her in confusion. “You want to let them survive p>
“Victoria is in a cage,” Jocelyn said, her voice steady and clear. “Aspen is facing life in prison. The people who actually put their hands on me have been destroyed by the law p>
She stood from the lounger and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against his chest.
“If I authorize you to financially slaughter the rest of them just for revenge,” Jocelyn whispered, “then I am no better than my mother. I don’t want to build our marriage on a graveyard, Gaston. I want to be free of them. Completely p>
Gaston looked down at her. He saw the absolute peace in her eyes and understood — this was not weakness. It was a level of strength and grace that quietly humbled him.
𝖲𝗵𝘢𝗋𝖾 𝘆𝘰u𝘳 f𝗮𝗏o𝗋𝗶𝘵𝗲𝘴 f𝗋𝗼𝘮
He let out a long, slow breath. The lethal tension drained from his muscles.
He picked up his encrypted phone from the table and dialed his lead portfolio manager in New York.
“Halt the short-selling protocols on the Stein accounts,” Gaston ordered flatly. “Withdraw all leveraged funds. We are done with them. Call off the wolves p>
He hung up, tossed the phone aside, and pulled Jocelyn tightly against him, burying his face in her hair.
Thousands of miles away, in the freezing concrete jungle of Manhattan, the interior of the Stein family townhouse was a war zone.
Arthur Stein stood at the head of the mahogany dining table, his face purple with rage. He seized a thick stack of financial loss reports and hurled them directly at Edward’s face.
The heavy papers smacked Edward across the cheek and scattered across the floor.
“You arrogant fool!” Arthur roared. “Your daughter’s stupidity and your botched bribery attempt just wiped out two billion dollars of market capitalization! The board is demanding your immediate resignation p>
Edward’s face flushed red. He pointed a shaking finger at his father. “If you hadn’t cut funding to my division to cover your own bad real estate bets, I wouldn’t have needed to bribe anyone p>
The rest of the family erupted around the table — a vicious, cascading screaming match. Cousins turned on cousins. Uncles threatened lawsuits.
They had not been destroyed by Gaston Collins. They were destroying themselves. The toxic, greed-fueled foundation of the Stein family was collapsing entirely under its own weight.