Chapter 338. No Way Out

Chapter 338. No Way Out
That was why Andrea had later decided to leave the country, claiming that he was going abroad to continue his advanced medical studies and receive more specialized training as a doctor. But in truth, studying medicine had only been the excuse he showed to everyone else. Once he was overseas, he had gotten involved with organized crime and started doing illegal business. He had used those dealings to expand his influence, gather more people under him, and build up an even greater amount of money and power.

It would not be completely right to say Andrea wanted to take Ellie away from Galvin only because he loved her. Deep down, there was another reason behind it. Andrea wanted to steal away the person Galvin loved most so he could prove that, at last, he had beaten Galvin.

For many years, the Preston family had relied on the wealth they kept overseas to keep themselves beyond the reach of investigations at home. Even if one company ran into trouble, they could immediately move the money through other companies and continue as though nothing had happened.

If they wanted to bring the Preston family down, attacking only one place would never be enough. They had to cut off the flow of money, their supply of goods, their credit, their transportation routes, and every person who was still standing behind them and protecting them, all at the same time.

Wyndham Group alone could cause the Preston family serious losses.

But it still was not enough to force them completely into a dead end within a short time.

The Thorne family, however, had something Wyndham did not have.

The Thorne family’s network spread across transportation, seaports, construction, and private finance. Nearly all the major shipping companies currently working with the Preston family had either a direct or an indirect connection to the Thornes.

If Kevin made a move, most of Preston’s goods would no longer be able to move through the usual routes as easily as before. Wyndham Group, on the other hand, controlled many investment channels and had close ties with banks, along with a large number of partners in technology and the media.

The two families did not operate in exactly the same fields. But that was precisely why, once they worked together, they could strike every important part of the Preston family’s business at the same time.

Kevin understood what Galvin meant. He stared at the file for a long while before slowly saying, “Use everything the Thorne family has that can be of use to you.”

Galvin raised his eyes slightly. “Aren’t you afraid your family will suffer losses as well?”

Kevin gave a cold laugh. “As long as Andrea is dragged down, I don’t care how much it costs us.”

He no longer cared how badly his own businesses might be affected. Money could be earned again, and companies could be built again from the ground up.

But Andrea’s debt to Helena and to their child was something Kevin would collect, no matter what it took.

If Andrea had not deliberately created one misunderstanding after another, perhaps Kevin would not have been blinded by hatred to the point of pushing Helena into such a deep pit of suffering. Kevin knew that he himself had to bear the blame for everything he had done to her. He would never deny that. But Andrea was still the one who had set all of it in motion from the very beginning. Kevin wanted him to pay for it with everything he owned and everything he had spent so many years building.

Not long afterward, Galvin left the Thorne residence. That very same day, the people working for Wyndham and the Thorne family quietly began to act.

To the outside world, the two families still gave no public sign that they were working together. The market did not notice any change either. Nothing seemed unusual on the surface, and business continued as usual. But the people in charge of carrying out the plan had already received detailed lists showing exactly which companies, routes, accounts, and people they were supposed to deal with first.

Galvin’s first strike was aimed at Preston’s cash flow. While investigating Andrea, his men discovered that several Preston companies had been using false contracts to move profits from inside the country to overseas accounts. The money was not sent straight into accounts under Preston’s name. Instead, it passed through a number of smaller companies, changing hands several times, before finally being transferred into investment funds controlled by members of Andrea’s family.

Galvin did not expose any of it right away. Instead, he had his people quietly buy up part of the debt owed by three intermediary companies that were already struggling and close to running out of money.

Those companies had always relied on Preston’s funds to keep themselves operating. The moment their debts fell into Wyndham’s hands, Galvin demanded that every payment be made on time, with no delay and no room left for negotiation.

At the same time, two banks that had ties with Wyndham suddenly began reviewing Preston’s credit limits. Loans that had once been extended without much trouble were now being checked one by one. Even the assets Preston had put up as collateral were taken back for a new valuation.

In only three days, a large amount of Preston’s money became trapped and could no longer be moved freely. They had no choice but to pull money out of other companies to pay off the debts, causing the flow of funds they had kept hidden for years to slowly show itself.

That was exactly what Galvin wanted. He did not need to take all of Preston’s money at once. He only wanted to force them to reveal the accounts and companies they were still keeping hidden from everyone else.

Every time they moved money to save one company, Galvin’s men followed the path it had taken and found another new link inside the network. In less than a week, the number of companies confirmed to have ties with Preston rose from more than forty to nearly seventy.

Some of those companies existed only on paper and had never done any real business. Some were used to launder money. Others were warehouses overseas where Andrea had hidden goods and supplies. Once the chart was almost complete and most of the connections had been marked down, Kevin finally began making his move.

The Thorne family already controlled shares in two major port groups. They did not directly refuse to handle Preston’s cargo, because doing that would immediately make the other side realize that they had become the target.

Kevin only ordered a full review of every safety document. Preston’s cargo ships soon had to wait longer at the ports, while permits for transporting chemicals were repeatedly sent back with demands for more documents, more details, and additional proof.

One shipment being delayed for a few hours meant almost nothing. But when dozens of ships were all held up at the same time, the penalties for failing to meet their contracts immediately began to rise.