Curious, Damien requested the guest list from one of his assistants. "Give me the list."The assistant handed over a leather-bound folder without hesitation, holding it open as Damien's eyes scanned down the neatly typed rows of names. "Right here, sir."After carefully scanning through the names, his eyes stopped on Joshua's. "Joshua Hart," he murmured under his breath, frowning slightly, tapping one finger against the page as though the repetition might jog some buried memory. He had never heard of the man before, yet Lorenzo clearly regarded him with extraordinary respect."Never seen this name attached to anything," Damien said, more to himself than to his assistant. "No firm listed. No title. Just a name.""Should I look into him, sir?" the assistant asked, already reaching for his phone. "I can have something pulled together in ten minutes.""No need," Damien said, snapping the folder shut and handing it back with a dismissive flick of his wrist. "I'll find out myself." Damien q

Mark's expression also became increasingly unpleasant. His original plan had been to board the yacht, approach Sherry Quinn, and gradually build connections with the wealthy guests. However, Joshua's arrival instantly became the center of attention, drawing everyone's focus away from the other attendees."Unbelievable," Mark muttered under his breath, watching the crowd part for Joshua as though he were royalty. "Every single time."Mark secretly gritted his teeth, unwilling to accept that Joshua once again overshadowed everyone else.Just as the boarding process officially began, security officers carefully checked every guest's invitation before allowing them onto the yacht. Joshua, Lorenzo, Sherry, Kate, and Damien were immediately escorted through the VIP entrance without delay."Right this way, Mr. Hart," a security officer said with a respectful nod, waving Joshua and the others through without so much as a second glance at their credentials.Watching them board so effortlessly

Damien refused to let Joshua have the last word. With a cold smile, he turned back toward the group, his composure snapping back into place as though the earlier humiliation had never happened."Since we're all respected investors here," Damien announced loudly, his voice carrying across the deck, "why don't we settle this the way businessmen actually understand? Talk is cheap. Numbers don't lie."He proposed an impromptu investment challenge, claiming that each of them should evaluate several upcoming business proposals prepared for the yacht gathering. "There are proposal packets being prepared for tonight's session anyway. Let's put them to use early. Real evaluations, real judgment calls. Let's see whose instincts actually hold up under pressure."The guests immediately became interested, murmurs of curiosity spreading through the crowd, knowing Damien had built his reputation on his sharp business instincts and rarely lost such contests."He's not wrong to be confident," one inve

Damien could not help but laugh, loud and dismissive, drawing several eyes toward him. "Are you serious? You had three options in front of you, and you picked the one that makes the least money?" He openly mocked Joshua for making such a conservative decision, shaking his head as though genuinely disappointed. "That's adorable, honestly. Truly. I almost feel bad for you." "Confidence is important, Mr. Hart," Damien continued, spreading his hands with exaggerated pity, playing to the crowd now, "but so is actually understanding what you're looking at. This isn't a savings account. It's an investment. You're supposed to chase growth, not hide from it." He turned fully toward the surrounding guests, his voice rising slightly. "I think we already have our answer here. Only someone lacking real confidence would reject the most profitable opportunity sitting right in front of him." A few guests chuckled uncomfortably, some glancing at Joshua with faint pity, others simply enjoying the sp

Natalie, standing at the edge of the crowd, felt her stomach tighten at Damien's words. Even she flinched slightly at how far he'd taken it, some old, buried instinct rising in her that recoiled at the cruelty of the remark. Beside her, Mark simply watched with open, gleeful anticipation, hoping Joshua would finally crack under the weight of it. Joshua smiled faintly before replying. "Family background might determine where a person starts," he said, his voice calm and unshaken, "but it can never determine where they finish." He let the words settle for a moment before continuing. "You're proud of your great-grandfather. That's fair. He clearly built something worth being proud of. But pride in what someone else accomplished isn't the same as accomplishing something yourself, Damien. And history is filled with once-powerful families that disappeared entirely because their descendants were too arrogant to improve themselves. Too comfortable coasting on someone else's work to notice