Chapter 306
Chapter 306
Bianca's disjointed curses echoed in Chloe's mind again—so vivid, so fierce, as if the woman were still whispering right in her ear.
"We fought the whole way, but you reached the end first."
Chloe stood there for a long time, so long her hands and feet went numb from the cold, before finally turning to leave.
……
The call came from Clarence.
When Lucas had dropped Damian off, he'd only made a brief phone call to Clarence—nothing more than "I appreciate it."
Clarence knew what he meant.
On the phone, Clarence's voice boomed just like it always had.
"That son of yours is good material."
"Combat class—some big kid threw him seven or eight times. On the eighth, he still got up and charged right back, wrapped himself around the guy's legs. That stubborn streak—wonder where he gets it from?"
Clarence let out a mock curse and a laugh.
Lucas listened without saying a word, but his knuckles tightened around the phone.
The laughter faded, and Clarence's booming tone shifted.
"All right, enough about your kid. Let's talk business."
"Go ahead."
"Things haven't been quiet lately. Someone's been trading intel for cash, feeding it into the system."
"Caught a few. Tight-lipped, all of them. But we followed the money trail and found some offshore shell companies. Guess what? A few of those accounts overlap with companies Owen's been using."
"What level are we talking?" Lucas asked.
"Mid-tier. They can access some project workflows, but nothing core. Just greedy types making money through shady channels—not much guts, easy to hook with a little cash."
Owen had been overseas for years. His domestic network had long since fallen apart. There was no reason—and no way—he'd risk sticking his hand back into the military just to buy off a few small-time players.
It didn't add up.
"If the snake's out of its hole, you've got to give it something to eat." Lucas's voice was quiet, but laced with cold certainty.
"What are you thinking?" Clarence asked.
"Military procurement, or a new base construction project. Big budget, long process, lots of moving parts, plenty of profit. That's where they like to dig in. We plant false intel, build a convincing setup, and drop the bait. If he really wants in, he'll bite."
"I'll handle it." Clarence agreed without hesitation. "I'll cook up a new project, let the word spread. What about your end?"
"I'll watch the money." Lucas said. "The second he moves, there'll be a shift in the funds. No matter how many shell companies he nests them in, if money moves, it leaves a trace. I'll have David put surveillance on every related account. We'll sift through it like sand—over and over."
"Good." Clarence's voice carried a hint of long-dormant menace. "I want to see how many more days this grasshopper can keep jumping."
……
A letter arrived from Damian at the military academy.
At the end, he'd written: [Mom, I'm doing great. Don't worry. Dad, you too.]
Juliana looked at the line "Dad, you too" and couldn't help but laugh. Damian knew how to keep things balanced.
Lucas came out of the bathroom.
"Letter came?" He walked over, toweling his hair.
Juliana snapped out of it and handed him the letter.
Lucas's gaze landed on the three goofy stick figures at the bottom.
"Damian's handwriting is finally legible."
Lucas sat down beside her, clicked off the hairdryer, and tossed it aside.
"Your family's case—we found something."
Juliana's hand paused. She looked up at him.
"I had David dig through the old records. Found a very clean asset transfer. Money moved from your father's company account into an offshore trust fund, then cycled back into the country through several shell companies."
"That money was used to buy up your family's most valuable properties and assets at rock-bottom prices. As for the rest—what they claimed was 'insolvent' and needed to be 'urgently liquidated'—they deflated the valuations and had proxies sell it off for you."
"Proxies…"
She remembered.
After her father died, everything fell apart. Her uncle stepped up. He told Juliana, "Uncle will find someone to handle it for you. Let's just get through this first."
Those so-called "relatives," under the guise of "helping her," had swiftly divided and sold off everything her parents had left behind.
"The one running it all was your uncle. Marshall Wells."
"I haven't had contact with his family in years." After a long silence, Juliana spoke.
Lucas reached out and wrapped his hand around her cold fingers.
"I found them. The whole family's doing pretty well. Took your family's money, started a new company in the next city over. Business is booming. Whenever you're ready, we'll settle this however you want."
Juliana lifted her head. "I'm ready tomorrow."
Lucas looked at her and said nothing more. "All right."
……
The next day, Juliana kept her word.
In the neighboring city, Marshall's new company was called Venus Industries. When she and Lucas arrived, Marshall was in the middle of a morning meeting.
"Julie? What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
"I'm here to settle a debt."
"Debt? What debt? Sweetheart, what are you talking about? We're family. There's no debt between us."
Lucas followed her in. "Mr. Wells, that thirty million dollars that left the Wells Group account fifteen years ago—still spending it comfortably?"
The color drained from Marshall's face in an instant.
"It wasn't me… it wasn't me!" He stammered incoherently. "Someone came to me! He told me to do it!"
"Who?"
"Owen! It was Owen! He masterminded the whole thing! He said he'd split it with me fifty-fifty if it worked out! I… I just made a mistake!"
……
Lucas turned to Marshall, still slumped in his chair. "You have one hour. Pack your things."
Before the car pulled away, Lucas rolled down the window and said something to David, who was waiting by the door.
"Three days."
David nodded. "Understood."
The car merged smoothly into traffic.
"Owen's overseas, deeply rooted. Our people have been digging for a long time and only managed to touch one corner of his empire. Taking him down head-on will be hard."
"So we make him come back." Juliana picked up where he left off, opening her eyes.
Lucas glanced at her. "Once the snake's out of its hole, it's easier to strike."
"What's your plan?"
"The Sharp family's stock price hasn't moved in a while. I want to make it drop."
Juliana froze for a moment, then understood.
This was bait.
Bait big enough that no shark could ignore it.
……
Sylvanor.
Owen had just finished a round of golf when the butler handed him the latest financial briefing.
When he saw one particular headline, his fingers stopped.
[Sharp Group stock plummets without warning, evaporating billions in a single day as market panic spreads.]
Owen sat up straight.
Lucas's company was a fortress. How could it suddenly crash?
"Look into it." Owen told his assistant. "I want to know what the hell is happening at the Sharp family."
……
The Sharp Estate.
"Lucas, what the hell are you doing? Is the company yours alone? If you want to gamble, don't drag us down with you!"
Lucas sat on the couch. "My business. Stay out of it."
"Stay out of it?" Juliana laughed bitterly. "Do you see what the media's saying? How am I supposed to stay out of it?"
On the second-floor landing, a housekeeper peeked around the corner, then quickly ducked back, heart pounding. Mr. Sharp and Mrs. Sharp are about to tear each other apart.
Once she was sure no one was around, Juliana deflated, rubbing her stiff face. She leaned in and whispered, "How was that? Was I angry enough? Did I nail the disappointment and resolve?"
"Very convincing." Lucas assessed. "Though you almost hit my cup when you threw the newspaper."
"…"
Juliana sank into the couch. "Playing your enemy is exhausting. Harder than a ten-hour surgery. I kept worrying I'd crack up laughing."
Especially looking at Lucas's face and forcing herself to look disgusted—it was unnatural.
Lucas picked up the file Juliana had tossed aside and said flatly, "You could think about how I used to treat you."
Juliana choked. She glared at him.
This man always knew exactly what not to say.
……
A few days later, David brought news.
"He's moving." David handed Lucas a tablet. "He's quietly buying up scattered shares of our company on the market. His people are also reaching out to some of our European competitors, asking about our core business lines."
"Not enough yet." Lucas studied the fund flow chart on the screen. "He's testing the waters. He hasn't committed."
"Add more fuel?" David asked.
Lucas nodded, picked up the intercom, and dialed the executive office directly.
"Send out a notice. The group's two main business lines—semiconductors and new energy—are suspending all overseas project partnerships due to 'internal strategic adjustments.' Effective immediately."
The secretary on the other end froze for a full three seconds before stammering, "Yes, sir."
Lucas hung up. David gave him a thumbs-up. "You're really going all in. Those two lines are the group's biggest profit drivers. You're just shutting them down?"
"If we don't use strong medicine, Owen won't believe it."