On the other side, Xavier was highly efficient in his work.
After returning to the company, he organized the information reported by his subordinates and sent it to Matteo's email, along with a termination letter and a compensation amount within Matteo's acceptable range.
Matteo was furious after reading the materials.
He never expected that his and Mia's scheme would be discovered by Deanna.
No wonder Lance left so decisively earlier; he had been waiting for this moment.
Matteo couldn't refute it and had to accept the compensation with gritted teeth.
Although he couldn't do anything to Deanna, it didn't mean he couldn't deal with Mia.
He was determined to get the compensation money back from Mia.
With this in mind, Matteo immediately called Mia.
As soon as the call connected, he got straight to the point: "Your plan was uncovered by Deanna. Now that woman is demanding fifty million dollars in compensation, and you have to pay it."
"Why should I pay that money?" Mia was stunned for a moment but quickly refused without thinking.
Fifty million dollars was more than all her private assets combined.
Matteo seemed to have anticipated Mia's refusal and replied coldly, "Don't forget, you were the one who approached me to cooperate in scheming against Deanna. You repeatedly assured me that the plan was foolproof. Now that it has failed, shouldn't you be responsible?"
Mia was at a loss for words but still unwilling to pay the money.
"Even if I approached you first, you could have refused. Ultimately, it's because of your greed."
"My greed is my business, but you have to pay this money. Otherwise, I'll go to your family."
Matteo ignored Mia's excuses and directly hit her weak spot.
Mia was furious on the other end of the line but had no choice.
In the end, she agreed to pay the money but planned to do so in installments since she didn't have enough cash.
Matteo, not being foolish, realized from Mia's tone that she genuinely didn't have that much money. He didn't press further but demanded that she sign a debt agreement.
After hanging up the phone, Mia was seething with anger and vented her frustration in her room before calming down.
However, thinking about the fifty million dollars made her heart ache.
It wasn't even enough to cover her retirement savings.
She then called Emily, "Do you have fifty million dollars?"
"Fifty million? Why do you suddenly need so much money?" Emily was shocked and asked for more details.
Mia didn't hide anything from her daughter and explained through gritted teeth, "It's all because of that bitch Deanna. I thought Vortex Technology didn't have technical staff anymore. I planned to cause product issues to damage their reputation and make shareholders sell their stocks so I could buy them again. But who knew that bitch quietly hired technical staff, ruining my plan? Now I'm being threatened for fifty million dollars in compensation."
After hearing this, Emily didn't know whether to call her mother foolish or bold.
"Why didn't you discuss it with me before going after Deanna? Do you still think Deanna is the same pitiful girl we used to bully?"
She couldn't help but lecture her mother, forgetting that she used to target Deanna just as much.
Mia's anger flared up again but she took a deep breath and said, "Alright, I didn't call you for a lecture. Do you have fifty million dollars or not?"
"I don't have fifty million. I only have a few million left, and I can't touch that money. Raphael is getting increasingly impatient with me. I need to keep that money as a backup. Why don't you try getting money from Dad?"
Emily refused to give her money and suggested another idea.
Mia didn't doubt her daughter and also worried about her situation. "Is your relationship with Raphael still not improving?"
"Raphael hasn't shared a room with me for half a month," Emily said, feeling both aggrieved and angry.
Mia was deeply concerned after hearing this. "This can't go on. You need to find a way to improve your relationship with Raphael. Your father will never allow us to lose our connection with the Howard family."
Just then, she heard the butler's voice outside.
"Sir, you're back."
"Your dad is back. I won't keep you any longer. Just make sure to stabilize things with the Howard family."
With that, Mia hung up the phone.
She had just put down her phone when Garrett walked in with a dark expression. Feeling guilty, she quickly got up to greet him and asked with concern, "Why do you look so upset? Did something happen?"
"Damn Lance! He really screwed me over this time!" Garrett said angrily, kicking the coffee table hard.
Seeing this, Mia was alarmed.
It had been a long time since she had seen Garrett this furious.