Chapter 10
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That brilliant "rescue" project for Reed Corporation had been a carefully designed trap from the start.
Every clause in the contract concealed a lethal hook.
The funding dried up overnight. Partners turned hostile. Tax authorities launched investigations. Negative headlines broke daily. The stock price went into freefall.
Scandals about Reed Corporation erupted one after another, each more devastating than the last.
Tyler's gambling with company funds. Miranda's schemes to siphon assets. Even Victoria's dirty tactics to secure contracts years ago—all of it surfaced.
When a giant falls, everyone rushes to kick it.
Reed Corporation's stock crashed, hitting the daily limit down for weeks straight.
Victoria scrambled like a rat on a sinking ship, begging for help from anyone who would listen.
Officials she'd once wined and dined suddenly had "full schedules." Business partners who'd called her "sister" either dodged her calls or offered insulting buyout terms.
I watched the news footage of her being mobbed by reporters outside the company headquarters.
She looked hollow-eyed and gaunt, desperately clinging to her last shred of dignity while panic blazed in her eyes.
The woman who once looked down on me like I was garbage now resembled a cornered stray herself.
In less than three months, the once-mighty Reed Corporation declared bankruptcy and began liquidation proceedings.
The day the news broke, Nathan and I were having tea on the rooftop terrace.
"It's done," he said calmly, glancing at the news alert on his tablet.
I nodded, feeling nothing—as if I were reading about a minor traffic accident in another city.
The satisfaction wasn't as sweet as I'd imagined. It felt more like relief—like setting down a heavy burden I'd carried for years.
A few days later, Nathan approached with his phone, his expression odd.
"Alexander Foster is dead."
