Chapter 80 Dead ends

Chapter 80 Dead ends
♤SEBASTIAN♤

It’s evening, and the city lights below are flickering to life, but inside this office, the air is thick with failure.

Noah and I have been staring at the same columns of numbers for hours, trying to find a loophole around the trap Beauty left behind.

But every idea we come up with leads to a dead end. Every legal way out is blocked by a clause she signed three days ago.

I yank the knot of my tie loose, pull it off completely, and slam it onto the desk.

“I can’t do this anymore,” I growl, shoving my chair back.

“I can’t do this, Noah. I think I’m just going to step down from this position.”

Noah snaps his head up from his tablet, his eyes widening behind his glasses.

“Step down? The official press release is already circulating worldwide, boss. You can’t just walk away now. If you do, you’ll look like a coward who ran the moment things got difficult.”

“Then what the hell do you expect me to do, Noah?” I shout, frustration boiling over as I stand and start pacing the room.

“What am I supposed to do? This isn’t a challenge anymore. It’s a dead end. If I lose this fight, if I let the shipping division fall into Notch’s hands, all the blame lands on me.”

An irritated hiss slips through my teeth.

“I knew nothing about her secret deals, but the public won’t care. They’ll only remember that I was sitting in the big chair when everything fell apart. They’ll call me incompetent.”

“And that’s exactly what Beauty wants,” Noah says, his face unusually serious.

“She wants the whole world to see you fail. That’s why you have to find a way out.”

I let out a bitter laugh and rub a hand over my face.

“Oh, ye wise one. Since you’re so sure there’s a way out, why don’t you pull one out of that genius brain of yours?”

He blinks rapidly.

“We’ve been tracking these funds since morning, and every path leads nowhere. There’s no way out of this contract without triggering a multi-million-dollar penalty.”

I continue pacing, my boots squeaking against the polished floor. My chest rises and falls as my thoughts spiral.

I don’t even know who to call anymore. Even my best legal teams can’t touch a maritime contract this airtight.

“How about talking to your father?” Noah suggests quietly.

“Jonathan has the resources to freeze the assets before Notch claims the ports.”

I stop walking and turn a cold glare on him.

“Who told you Jonathan doesn’t already know?”

Noah raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“He knows,” I say with a tired sigh.

“The board knows too. They deliberately kept it from me until after I signed the transition papers.”

Noah frowns. “Why would they let you walk straight into a trap?”

“Oh, Noah,” I mutter, leaning against the edge of the desk.

“I raised you better than this.”

I fold my arms.

“Let me explain the old man’s twisted way of thinking. Jonathan and the board left this trap for me because they want to see what I’m capable of. It’s their version of an initiation test.”

Noah lets out a disbelieving laugh.

“That cunning old man never stops surprising me.”

“If I find a way out of this mess,” I continue, “then they’ll finally accept me as the rightful heir.”

I tap my fingers against the desk.

“But right now? They only see me as the chairman’s rebellious son who got handed a powerful position because he’s Jonathan Cross’s son. That’s all the board sees, and that’s what the rest of the world believes.”

I rake a hand through my hair.

“But if I beat this trap… if I outsmart Notch and save our ports… then they’ll finally have no choice but to respect my abilities.”

“They already respect you, boss,” Noah notes.

“I know,” I reply quietly, staring at the flashing numbers on the screen.

“But surviving something like this? That earns a different kind of respect.”

I look at him.

“How much time do we have before the contract activates?”

Noah taps his screen.

“Three days, sir. Seventy-two hours.”

“Three days,” I repeat, the words tasting like shit in my mouth. “That bitch. If I see her right now, I might actually kill her.”

Noah sighs and slips his tablet into his briefcase.

“Boss, you’ve been working since early this morning. You haven’t eaten a single meal. Just espresso.”

He nods toward the empty cups behind me.

“You’ve had three double espressos today, and it’s catching up with you. Go look in a mirror, you look terrible.”

“Stop exaggerating.”

“For real, boss. You look like you need twenty hours of sleep. It’s already evening, you should go home.”

I sink back into my chair, resting my head against the headrest and closing my eyes.

“So what you’re saying is… I achieved absolutely nothing today?”

“Well…” Noah says with a grin, trying to lighten the mood.

“You officially became the sole heir to Cross Holdings today. That’s a pretty big achievement.”

I open one eye and throw a pen at him.

“Why have you become so dumb lately, Noah? Get out of my face.”

He catches it with a small smirk. “Should I start packing up, boss?”

“Yeah,” I mutter, rubbing my temples.

“Just pack everything. You’re right. I need some sleep. This headache is starting again.”

Noah pauses, concern replacing his smile.

“The headache again? You’ve been complaining about it for two days now. Ever since the lounge incident.”

He studies my face.

“Are you okay? Should I call a doctor?”

“I don’t know,” I admit quietly.

“I’ll probably be fine after some sleep. I haven’t really rested since that night, It’s just been one disaster after another.”

Noah nods and continues packing the files into my briefcase.

“I understand.”

I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, intending to check in with Vanguard. But the second my fingers touch the screen, it begins to vibrate in my palm.

I glance down, my brow furrowing at the unknown number.

I slide the bar across the screen, rejecting the call, but it lights up again almost immediately.

Noah pauses, looking at the blinking phone before glancing back at me.

“I think you should answer it, boss. It seems important.”

I let out a quiet curse under my breath before sliding the bar to accept the call.

“Sebastian Cross speaking. How may I help you?”

There is a brief silence, then a soft voice drifts through the speaker.

“Sebastian…”

My entire body goes rigid, and my heart stops for a beat before slamming wildly against my ribs.

I swallow hard, my fingers tightening around the phone until the plastic nearly groans beneath my grip.

“Yasmin?” I breathe. “Yasmin… is that you?”

“Yes. It’s me.” She pauses, and I can hear the strain in her voice.

“I need to see you right now, Sebastian.”