Chapter 249

Chapter 249

Over the next two days, Audrey didn't rush to leave Oakspire.

She checked into a small inn and spent her days asking the elderly locals about the Turner family's past.

Audrey was determined to uncover the truth behind the Turner family massacre. She believed that if Bronte were still alive, she would have done the same.

A few days later, Audrey returned to the Brown Group. She'd barely settled into her office chair when her assistant knocked and entered.

"Ms. Clark, Mr. Ross is here. He says he'd like to see you."

"Send him in."

Declan pushed through the door and took the seat across from her. No pleasantries—he cut straight to the chase. "Ms. Clark, I'm here to discuss something with you."

"Go ahead, Mr. Ross."

"I need people to run Black Raven's technical system," Declan said. "I heard that all of Black Raven's core team members are under your employ. Would it be possible to loan me a few people to help with system deployment and initial operations? It won't take long—about three months. We can negotiate compensation."

Audrey's tone remained flat. "Mr. Ross, the technology rights were delivered to you in full. I have no obligation to provide additional personnel support."

Declan's smile stiffened slightly. "Ms. Clark, the contract didn't explicitly mention personnel support, but this was part of our verbal agreement."

"Verbal agreement?" Audrey raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Ross, I don't recall us having such an understanding. What you said at the time was that you only needed the technology rights—not the personnel. Those were your exact words."

Declan found himself backed into a corner, his face turning slightly ashen.

Seeing his expression, Audrey sighed as if making a concession. "But since you've come to me personally, I suppose I can't be completely unreasonable. I can assign two people to help you with system integration, but on two conditions."

Declan's eyes brightened slightly. "Name them."

"First, you pay their salaries—the Brown Group won't advance any costs. Second, for each person I loan you, beyond their salary, you'll pay an additional two million dollars."

The office fell silent for a moment. Declan's expression completely changed. "Two million dollars per person? Ms. Clark, you can't be serious."

"I'm completely serious." Audrey's tone remained even. "Mr. Ross, you know perfectly well that there are only a handful of people in the market who can understand this technical architecture, and they all currently work for me. If you want to borrow them, you'll have to pay accordingly."

Declan's voice turned sharp. "Two million dollars per person is not a reasonable quote. If you insist on these terms, Ms. Clark, we have nothing more to discuss."

Declan let out a heavy snort, then turned and strode out of the office.

The moment the door closed, Audrey leaned back in her chair. She knew Declan would soon discover he'd run out of options.

The technical system in his hands was like an underground palace filled with treasure, but without a key, all he could do was pace anxiously outside the locked door.

Just as she'd predicted, over the next week, Declan contacted nearly every reputable tech company in Imperial City. But after reviewing the system architecture, they either waved him off, saying it couldn't be done, or quoted prices Declan couldn't stomach.

Meanwhile, pressure from Vertex Global Holdings intensified. Atlas Bailey personally called, his tone completely devoid of patience.

Declan stood at his office window, gazing out at the city skyline, engulfed by an unprecedented sense of helplessness.

He'd obtained everything, yet discovered it was like a ruin—he had neither the ability to rebuild it nor to profit from it.

Just when he'd nearly exhausted all options, a thought surfaced. Just because he couldn't realize Black Raven's value didn't mean others couldn't. If he sold the technology to another capable organization, he could at least recoup some of his losses.

The next day, Declan contacted a well-known overseas investment firm, Infinity Ventures Corporation.

He didn't mention the system's operational barriers—only that he owned the rights to a world-class network security encryption system and was interested in transferring them. Infinity Ventures Corporation showed keen interest and made a reasonable offer. Declan barely hesitated before agreeing.

On the day of signing, Declan sat in the conference room watching the other party sign and seal the contract, finally allowing himself a look of relief.

At least this deal would temporarily stabilize things with Vertex Global Holdings.

Three days after Declan signed that resale agreement, disaster struck.

That afternoon, while he was processing emails in his office, his assistant burst through the door in a panic. "Mr. Ross! We have a problem!"

Declan's brow furrowed. "Calm down. What's going on?"

"Infinity Ventures Corporation—they've sent a legal demand letter!" The assistant's voice was shaking.

"They're saying the technical system we delivered has major defects and can't operate normally. They're demanding a full refund plus damages!"

Declan's pupils contracted sharply.

"What exactly did they say?"

"They claim we deliberately concealed the system's operational requirements and dependencies, making it impossible for them to achieve any commercial application after purchase. They're calling it fraudulent dealing."

Declan shot to his feet. "Fraud? When did I commit fraud? The contract clearly states that the deliverable is the technology rights—personnel support wasn't included. They didn't do their due diligence before signing, and now they want to sue me?"

"Mr. Ross, they're taking a very hard line. They also said if they don't receive a response within the specified timeframe, they'll proceed directly with international litigation."

Declan's expression darkened further. He'd admittedly taken a gamble with this deal, assuming that if Infinity Ventures Corporation could afford that price, they must have a technical team capable of working with the system.

Infinity Ventures Corporation never expected that after purchasing it, they'd discover their technical team couldn't make sense of it either.

Over the following days, the situation spiraled rapidly.

Infinity Ventures Corporation gave Declan no room to maneuver. Less than a week after sending the demand letter, formal litigation documents arrived in Declan's hands.