*****Augustus slowly raised his head after hearing the question, the movement deliberate and almost mechanical… as though the simple act of lifting his chin required effort he did not currently possess.Then his gaze shifted toward his son, who was already staring at him… his eyes wide and his pupils quavering, filled with questions he did not dare voice, horror he couldn’t conceal, overwhelming disbelief that it left him looking almost childless, and the crumbling remains of his arrogance.The young man who had strutted around with boundless confidence only yesterday, but now… he looked like someone who had just glimpsed the edge of a cliff in the dark.Lucius had asked the question, his voice breaking like fragile glass, but the truth was written plainly across both their faces… they were thinking the same thing, and neither of them liked the answer forming in their minds.“I would also like to know how,” Augustus admitted at last, swallowing hard, the sound painfully audible

*****Lucius was too dumbstruck right now, finding it difficult to believe what he had just heard.His father was openly acknowledging their own inferiority… a realization that felt more painful than a slap.But before he could fully process it:“And as it seems,” Augustus continued without raising his voice, “she is one of those people.”Lucius’ vision dimmed at the edges, the room seeming to tilt slightly.She…” he stammered, pointing instinctively as though Grace herself stood before them.His finger trembled. “Even after all she has done? After humiliating us to the extent she had done? And after making us the laughingstock of the entire city?” His voice cracked, anger and wounded pride fighting desperately against the fear clawing up his spine.Augustus exhaled slowly, the sound weary rather than furious.“You are thinking about our pride,” he replied evenly. “But I am thinking about our survival.” He shook his head, a rare gesture of concession.“For your sake, for mine, and for

*****No one… absolutely no one, whether outside the Sky Group’s compound or inside it, had anticipated this catastrophic reversal of fate.Just one second ago, Sky Group had been pronounced dead without a funeral. Its downfall had seemed certain, inevitable, and already written in stone.Clients had unhesitatingly severed contracts with dramatic flair, partners had distanced themselves as though loyalty itself were a contagious disease, and even employees… those who once swore eternal gratitude… had packed their belongings and fled like passengers abandoning a cruise ship that had merely tilted by one degree.In their minds, the company had already sunk to the darkest depths of the ocean.But in the very next second… that conviction exploded, and in that explosive instant, reality itself seemed to malfunction.Inside the compound, outside the gates, and across the courtyard, everyone remained frozen right now… their bodies stiffened, their eyelids forgot how to blink, and even

*****Meanwhile, back outside the gates, the ex-employees’ wails only grew louder, desperation cracking through every word.As for the ex-partners and ex-clients…A small handful had joined the begging crowd, swallowing their pride like bitter medicine.But most of them stood stiffly apart, pale, and silent, their expressions empty.Because, unlike the employees who could at least attempt emotional appeals, these business leaders understood something far more terrifying.They had just forfeited a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.And they knew it.Their companies had severed ties the moment rumors of Sky Group’s downfall spread, eager to save themselves. They had calculated the risk and had chosen survival.But now the calculation had backfired catastrophically.Sky Group hadn’t sunk; instead, it had ascended by leaps.The kind of leap that left everyone else staring up from below.The realization left several ex-partners feeling their vision blur.Suddenly, one of them clu

*****Meanwhile, standing just outside Sky Group’s massive gate, Dorothy had not moved an inch.Amid the roaring chaos behind her, the wailing outside the compound, and the swelling noise of regret filling the entire street, she remained completely still, stiff, and rooted to the spot, looking like a life-like statue.Her gaze remained glued to the screen of her cell phone, leaving anyone looking at her to assume she was reading something important… perhaps company reports, breaking news, or messages pouring in from newly eager partners.But the truth?It was far less composed.In reality, Dorothy wasn’t reading anything at all.If anything, her eyes were locked on the screen… yet they weren’t seeing anything whatsoever.At this moment, she might as well have been staring into an empty void, because inside her mind…Pure chaos reigned.The outside world had already descended into madness, but the storm raging in Dorothy’s thoughts was no less violent.And how could it not b