Chapter 185
Chapter 185
After speaking, she stopped looking at him, turning to Theodore instead. "It's a bit stuffy here. Let's get some air on the terrace."
Theodore said nothing. Just lifted his hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear—an intimate gesture—but his eyes swept coldly over Frank before he turned with Yasmin and left.
Only after their figures disappeared into the crowd did Frank realize his back was drenched in cold sweat.
That look from Theodore wasn't a warning. It was a notification. Notifying him that this woman—he protected.
---
Two days later, California.
When FBI agents escorted David out of his Palo Alto villa, he was still in pajamas.
He was charged with theft of trade secrets, financial fraud, and multiple other counts. What awaited him was lengthy federal court litigation and astronomical damages.
The Prescott Group's North American branch underwent a complete purge.
Theodore directly parachuted in a new management team from headquarters, swiftly and decisively cleaning out all the parasites connected to the "Hourglass" plan.
In the Swiss estate, the gray-haired man smashed another expensive antique vase.
"Useless! Can't even maintain one data channel!"
The mole's removal meant they'd lost their best avenue to collapse the Prescott Group from within.
"Boss, we're out of time." A subordinate's voice trembled slightly. "The board is extremely dissatisfied with this failure."
His chest heaved violently, viciousness in his eyes nearly solidifying.
"If we can't steal it, we'll smash it." He ground his teeth, issuing new orders. "Notify our Wall Street allies. Start shorting the Prescott Group's stock. Take those operational data we 'guessed'—process it, turn it into 'evidence' of financial fraud, and spread it!"
A financial sniper attack against the Prescott Group quietly began on the New York exchange.
Suddenly, major financial forums and social media were flooded with anonymous reports about the Prescott Group's financial fraud.
Articles were detailed and convincing, even posting blurred "internal data," directly accusing the Prescott Group of inflating overseas market growth rates to maintain stock prices.
Panic spread like a virus among investors.
The Prescott Group's stock price plummeted. Less than an hour after opening, it dropped three percentage points.
Though the Prescott Group's PR department immediately issued a clarification, once market trust cracked, a single statement couldn't easily repair it.
When Ryan called, Theodore was reviewing a document, tone betraying no emotion.
"Boss, they're coming hard, clearly trying to use public opinion to crush us. Legal is tracking the rumor sources, but it'll take time."
"Let them investigate slowly." Theodore turned a page. "Don't worry about the stock price for now. A few points won't kill us."
Ryan paused on the other end. This didn't sound like his boss's style.
"But..."
"The higher they jump, the harder they fall." Theodore cut him off. "Let them perform to their hearts' content."
After hanging up, Theodore opened another interface—Yasmin Studio's official presale page.
On the same day the Prescott Group's stock fluctuated, Yasmin Studio's long-prepared "Rebirth" collection second season officially launched.
This season's theme: "Plume Weaver."
Yasmin had integrated a millennia-old intangible cultural heritage—embroidery—into modern haute couture design.
She hadn't chosen common roses and vines, but drew inspiration from Greek mythology, weaving fantastical mythical beasts onto silk using hundreds of thread colors in free embroidery techniques.
Each piece was like a flowing ancient scroll.
The moment the launch ended, the entire fashion world exploded.
"Is this design or artwork?"
"I'm seeing another possibility for aesthetics—not antiquated, but full of vitality!"
The instant the official presale channel opened, the server crashed for three minutes from overwhelming traffic.
Maria burst into Yasmin's office clutching a tablet, face flushed with excitement.
"Boss! It exploded! Completely exploded!" She shoved the tablet at Yasmin. "Look at this data—one minute! Just one minute! All five hundred limited edition pieces sold out! Secondary market presale prices are already triple!"
"And this!" Maria swiped to another page. "Those three European luxury brands just sent emails—they specifically want to collaborate with the 'Plume Weaver' collection! They're asking to negotiate with you personally!"
Yasmin looked at the constantly jumping backend data, also somewhat surprised.
She knew this collection would be popular, but hadn't expected this level of explosion.
---
That evening, the Prescott Group.
Ryan knocked on the CEO's office door with the latest market analysis report.
His expression was complicated.
"Boss, the stock price... stabilized. Even recovered a bit."
"Oh?" Theodore looked up.
"The short-selling capital you had us investigate—we found them. It's definitely those funds behind the Roberts Group causing trouble." Ryan paused, handing over the report. "But this afternoon, they suddenly backed off."
Theodore didn't take the report. Just looked at him.
Ryan had to steel himself and explain. "The marketing department analyzed it's because... because of Ms. White's studio."
"Speak clearly."
"The new product Ms. White's studio launched today caused a phenomenon-level buying frenzy globally. Several top investment analysis firms immediately re-evaluated Yasmin Studio's brand value—valuation increased at least tenfold from the last round."
Ryan swallowed and continued. "The Prescott Group... is Yasmin Studio's angel investor and major shareholder. The studio's explosive brand value directly offset our market cap losses from the stock drop. The market believes we're holding a golden goose, with huge future growth potential. So... those short sellers realized they couldn't push it down. If they kept trying, they'd lose money themselves."
Silence filled the office.
Theodore leaned back in his chair, fingers unconsciously drumming the desk.
He'd laid a trap, prepared to counterattack after the opponent exhausted their ammunition.
But he hadn't expected that before he even made a move, someone else had cleared the battlefield in a way he'd never anticipated.
He thought he'd smoothed out Europe's troubles for Yasmin, been her support.
In the end, her brilliance had stabilized his position.
The feeling was... novel.
Theodore picked up his phone and opened the news. The headline showed a photo of Yasmin at the launch event.
She stood under the spotlight—confident, composed, radiant.
He looked for a long time, then dialed her number.
"What do you want for dinner?" Theodore's voice was softer than usual.
Yasmin on the other end paused. Background noise included Maria's excited squealing.
"...Anything's fine."
"I'll have the kitchen prepare." Theodore said. "Come home early."
After hanging up, Yasmin looked out the window at the city's lights forming a brilliant galaxy.
Maria was still excitedly calculating presale profits and future collaboration revenue in her ear, but she was distracted.
The kitchen? Come home early?
These phrases from Theodore's mouth carried a strange yet oddly domestic feeling.
---
When she returned to the Prescott family main residence, Theodore wasn't back yet.
The dining table was already set with several light dishes, a pot of soup warming beside them.
Veda greeted her with a smile. "Madam's home! Sir specifically called to say you've been working hard lately. He asked me to make you calming soup."
Yasmin nodded, an indescribable feeling in her heart.
---
The next day, just as Wall Street traders prepared to attack the Prescott Group's stock again, a document was simultaneously released through the Prescott Group's official channels and several major global financial media outlets.
A document over a hundred pages long, detailed to the point of provocation—the Prescott Group's true overseas business financial report.
The report not only contained data for all time points questioned by "anonymous whistleblowers," but traced back a full three years.
Input-output for every project, flow of every fund—clear as a textbook.
At the end, independent audit certifications from three top international accounting firms, plus an investigation conclusion from North American securities regulators regarding the "data port anomaly" incident—the incident was former executive David's personal criminal behavior, unrelated to the company's financial condition.