Mason paced back and forth in his penthouse office, with his phone pressed to his ear. His face was tight with frustration with sweat beading on his forehead.“I need you to speed things up, Peter. The Lotus shares I want to acquire them now. I am tired of waiting. Tired of all this.” Mason said bitterly.Peter’s voice came through in calm and measured tone. “Mason, I am working on it. These things take time. You can not just snap your fingers and expect major shareholders to hand over their stakes. It does not work like that.”Mason stopped pacing and shouted to the phone speaker. “I do not have time for excuses! Clara is becoming a problem. A real problem. The sooner I control Lotus, the sooner I can deal with her. She getting suspicious. Asking questions. Poking around where she shouldn’t.”“And what about Dante? He is still the second largest shareholder. Even if you acquire more shares. He is still a block. A big block.”“Which is why I need the major investors!” Mason shouted an

Mason sat at his desk in Lockwood Hotel, staring at the documents spread out before him with frustration in his face and his jaw clenched tightly. His eyes moved back and forth across the papers, but nothing made sense anymore. Everything was falling apart. The door opened and peter walked in. He did not smile and he did not greet. He just walked over to the desk and dropped a thick folder on top of Mason’s papers. Mason looked up, annoyed. “What is this?” Peter replied flatly in a cold manner. “Look through that. All of it. Every report. Every contact. Every lead I have been working on for the past months. Then tell me if I am as unreliable as you accused me of doing?” Mason scoffed and pushed the folder aside. “I do not have time for this, Peter. I do not have time to pat you on the back and tell you what a good job you are doing.” Peter narrowed his eyes. “I did not ask for a pat on the back. I asked you to look at the work I have done. The work you dismissed Without eve

The party continued around them in bursts of laughters and jeers, but at the corner, tension crackled thickly like electricity.Clara stood frozen for a moment after Eva had walked away. Then Sophie grabbed her arm.“Clara, let us go. Now. This is too much.” She whispered.But Clara did not move. Her eyes were fixed on the group across the room. Dante. Mason. Amara and her friend, Benita. They were all still standing together, the tension between them obvious.“Clara, please,” Sophie tugged her arm nervously. Clara pulled her hand free from Sophie’s grasp, and without a word, she marched towards them with her heels clicking sharply on the polished tiles and her red dress swishing with purpose.Sophie gasped and hurried towards her. “Clara! What are you doing?”Clara ignored her. She reached the group and stopped in front of them and asked in a loud and clear voice.“What is the problem here?”Every one turned. Dante raised his eyebrows slightly and Mason’s face became pale, then red.

The hotel room was small and cheap. It was nothing like the penthouse Mason was used to. His belongings were stacked in a corner, with half packed suitcases lining the walls and clothes scattered out around the room.In the corner, Jasper sat in the floor, crying. His small shoulders shook with anger and tears streamed freely down his face.“Daddy, I want to go home. I do not like it here.” He cried.Mason paced back and forth and ignored him completely with his phone pressed to his ear and his face twisted with rage.“Answer, damn it. Answer.” He snarled at his phone.Jasper cried louder. “Daddy!”Mason whirled on him and barked angrily, “Stop crying! You are disturbing my peace! Can you not see that I am trying to fix things?”Jasper squeezed his small face and cried harder. His small body curled into himself in grief.Mason turned back to his phone. He dialed again.Miller’s number. Switched off.He cursed loudly and dialed another.Peter answered on the second ring. His voice was

The Lotus boardroom was packed with every seat at the long table filled. Board members whispered restlessly among themselves. Clara sat at the head, with her face pale but determined. Dante sat at the far end, looking very calm and watchful, while Caleb stood by the wall, watching the proceedings with sharp eyes.Then the door opened.Mason walked in like he owned the place. Three lawyers followed him, each carrying a briefcase. Mason entered with a cruel, confident smile on her face.Clara stood up and asked sharply, “what is this, Mason?”Mason did not answer. But one of the lawyer’s stepped forward and announced in a formal tone.“Ms. Vance, my client is now the rightful owner of Lotus Group.”There were Loud murmurs around the table and the board members exchanged shocked glances.Clara asked sharply. “On what grounds?”The lawyer opened his briefcase and pulled out a thick file, then he placed it on the table.“These documents show that Mr. Lockwood has acquired enough shares and