Chapter 14 The Mastermind and Her Pawn
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The Solaria Group looked exactly the same. Nothing had changed–the furniture, the décor, the layout. Everything was frozen in time.
Natalie stood in the familiar chairman’s office, momentarily dazed.
Memories from the past swept over her like a tide.
She had been the apple of her family’s eye–pampered by her mother, spoiled by her father. Life had been nothing short of a fairytale.
But despite being the heiress to the family business, she had no idea how to run a company.
Her father had often nagged her, “We spoiled you rotten. All you know is how to spend money like it grows on trees. How am I ever going to hand the company over to you?”
But there had been one moment–when he thought she was asleep.
He pulled a blanket over her and whispered his thoughts in the quiet of the night.
“As long as you’re happy, nothing else matters. I’ll take care of everything for my little girl. And if I can’t anymore, I’ll find you a handsome, capable husband who can. All you need to do is be happy.”
Her eyes stung with tears at the memory
She suddenly missed that stubborn old man–though he was probably furious with her now.
Why else would that old man have stopped returning her calls and answering her text messages?
Jacques interrupted her thoughts. “Ms. Oracle, my reputation’s been wrecked by all the bad press lately. The reputation of Solaria Group is in the gutter, and our shares have tanked. We’ve lost close to a billion. Do you have a fix?”
Natalie smiled faintly. “Of course I do.
She had designed a series of traps just for him.
Natalie pulled out her tablet and opened the stock market app.
She explained, “The company stock has crashed through the floor. It’s what we call a dead share now–past the point of saving-
“What do we do then??
“My advice? Let Solaria go.”
“No way!”
Jacques’s reaction was strong and intense.
He had schemed and clawed his way into acquiring Solaria Group. Now she was telling him to just walk away?
Natalie wasn’t worried. She let him simmer, slowly drawing him in.
“Jacques, haven’t you ever wanted to start your own company? One that’s truly yours?”
“What do you mean?”
As his curiosity sparked, she pointed to a new stock on the screen.
“This is a foreign tech company. Tech is the future. Since it launched just a week ago, it’s already surged three times. If my prediction’s right, it’s about to enter a full bull run.
“All you need to do is sell off all your Solaria shares and pour every penny of your cash into this tech stock. I promise–it’ll be
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Chapter 14 The Mastermind and Her Pawn
a goldmine. Once you cash out, you’ll have enough to start your own company.
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“I’ll manipulate the market,” she added, “and turn this stock into the hottest one on the globe. When that happens, you might even find yourself standing shoulder to shoulder with Hyperion Group.”
It was a tempting offer–and Jacques, visibly torn, was clearly tempted.
He opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, and opened it again. “That’s a big decision. I need to think.”
Natalie had spent years by her father’s side. She may not have been a business expert, but she understood people.
Jacques was the classic loser type–indecisive, cowardly, greedy, and scared of failure.
To trap someone like him, Natalie had to p hook and wait.
play the long game. She couldn’t take him down with one blow; she had to bait the
“Suit yourself.
Standing downstairs, looking up at the Solaria building, Natalie’s resolve solidified.
It wouldn’t be long before it was hers again.
Just as she got into her car, her phone buzzed with a text from Jacques.
“Ms. Oracle, I’ve been thinking. Dumping everything into one stock is way too risky. How about this? I’ll start with 5 million and see how it goes.”
Natalie wasn’t surprised.
He was guarded against her. This man was testing whether she was the real deal.
“Fine,” Natalie said, deciding to give him a small taste of victory, just enough to pique his interest before everything came crashing down.
She made a call and instructed, Pump Cosmos Tech.”
“How much? came the voice on the other end.
Limit up.
“That’s crazy, boss. If we mess this up, we could go bankrupt.”
Manipulating the market required serious capital.
Bu: Natalie wasn’t worried about the money.
If the Oracle of Stocks account wasn’t enough, she still had the Miracle Worker’s Fund.
That was more than enough to mess with Jacques.
“Do what I said,” Natalie replied coolly.
If she didn’t go big, how could she trigger Jacques’s greed?
Her father used to say, “Gambling’s all about guts.”
The cautious starve, the bold thrive.
And Natalie? She was the one calling the shots, and she wasn’t about to lose to a mere pawn like Jacques.
Natalie dropped off Gwendolyn’s blood at the blood bank.
Yvonne was recovering nicely under her care. Natalie wouldn’t let her daughter take even a drop of that rotten brat’s blood.
But Gwendolyn’s rare blood type might still help others; therefore, she decided to send it to the blood bank.
Chapter 14 The Mastermind and Her Pawn
As she left the hospital, she ran into Stephanie.
“Do you really think Jonathan loves you? God, you’re pathetic.”
Natalie didn’t even flinch; she gave no response.
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She quietly handed her a business card from a neurologist. “Hard to book an appointment with this neurologist, but I know him. Go get your head checked. It’s on me.”
Stephanie slapped the card away, fuming. “Jonathan only married you because you got pregnant after that night!
“He never loved you. He’s always loved someone else. Bet you didn’t know, huh? Jonathan has a first love.”
Did Jonathan have a first love?
Natalie had never heard of it before.
Back in school, Jonathan was the campus heartthrob. Girls flocked to him, but he never dated anyone.
Was it because he was saving himself for that girl?
Just as Natalie was pondering, Stephanie’s smug voice rang out again. “He only married you because you got pregnant.
“If your face didn’t resemble his first love, do you really think he’d have slept with you that night?” Jealousy burned in her voice. She hated that Natalie had shared a night with Jonathan.
She hated even more that Natalie had gotten pregnant.
“You’re nothing but her stand–in. And when she comes back, you’ll have to step aside and give up your place as Jonathan’s wife. I can’t wait for the day you lose everything and get thrown out on the street.
Natalie didn’t react. She remained as poised and graceful as ever.
That only frustrated Stephanie more.
She had wanted to see Natalie break–rage, scream, fall apart. Just like she had.
Then, Natalie suddenly asked, “How do you know about Jonathan’s first love?”
They weren’t that close–Jonathan and Stephanie. If even Natalie didn’t know about it, how could Stephanie?
“I heard it from my brother,” Stephanie answered confidently.
jeremiah and Jonathan had been close for years. If Jeremiah had said it, the it might be true.
Still, Natalie needed to hear it from Jonathan himself.
Tension hung thick in the air at Hyperion Group.
People scattered when they saw Natalie coming, like she was the plague.
Ding-
The elevator doors opened.
Natalie stepped inside, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a dozen employees huddled in the farthest corner, practically trying to disappear.
“Are you scared of me?”
They nodded instinctively, then shook their heads even faster.
She merely furrowed her brow, and they looked like they were about to cry.
Eventually, a few started talking, nervously explaining that the previous Natalie had made a scene every time she came here.
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Chapter 14 The Mastermind and Her Pawn
On a good day, she trashed office equipment. On a bad day, she trashed people too.
Several employees had even gotten hurt.
Even though they’d all received generous compensation afterward, they were still terrified of her.
Natalie took a deep breath and covered her forehead helplessly.
At this point, her public image might as well be printed on warning labels: toxic wife, awful mother, and now, a full–on
maniac.
Natalie was helpless. Like it or not, she had to clean up the mess her future self had made.
“Wait! A 50,000 dollar cash gift? All the employees in the elevator widened their eyes.
“Yeah. Didn’t know what you all liked,” Natalie said casually. “Figured a little cash gift wouldn’t hurt.”
Instantly, their terrified expressions melted into one of kindness and gentleness.
By the time she stepped out of the elevator, people were waving at her with big grins.
“Come visit more often, Mrs. Hyperion!”
Through the office’s glass wall, Natalie spotted Jonathan and Jeremiah talking inside.
She reached for the door, but just before she could push it open, she heard Jeremiah say something that made her freeze.
“No matter what she’s done, if she turned around and came back to you, you’d give everything up for her in a heartbeat, wouldn’t you?”
Jonathan’s voice was quiet. “Yeah.”
“You’ve loved her for 18 years. No wonder her charm still has you wrapped around her finger. I guess my sister really never
stood a chance.
Natalie’s hand stopped midair, fingers just inches from the door. A ringing filled her ears, sharp and relentless.
So it was true, Jonathan had a first love. And she was just a substitute..
No wonder he’d always seemed distant, Cold.
Her heart soured when she thought of that woman.
And yet, even as a substitute, he’d protected her, tolerated her. She didn’t dare imagine how far he’d go for the real thing. How much he must’ve loved her.
Jeremiali asked, “Are you really not going to tell Natalie that she is the first love you’ve loved for 18 years?”
He was lounging on the couch, his eyes licking toward the faint figure now slipping away from the doorway.
Jonathan crushed his cigarette in silence. She doesn’t need to know.”
She hated him already, how could he confess his feelings to her?
He couldn’t take the risk. If she found out the truth, she might hate him even more.
Jeremiah didn’t mention that Natalie had just been standing outside. He yawned and leaned back with a lazy smile. “You’ve gone solt, Jonathan”
He remembered a time when Jonathan would’ve moved mountains just to keep Natalie by his side. But 6 years had passed. And now? Now he hesitated. Now he held back. That wasn’t the Jonathan he used to know.
irve
got things to take care of at the hospital, I need to go now,” Jeremiah said as he stood and walked into the elevator. Hlands in his pockets, he watched the doors close slowly in front of him; he no longer musked the affection in his eyes.
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Chapter 14 The Mastermind and Her Pawn
“Since you’ve stepped back, Jonathan, don’t blame me for stepping up.”
