Chapter 3

He scoffed, marched over, snatched the wine glass from my hand, and downed it in one gulp.

"What do you know about business?"

"Just stick to being the quiet Mrs. Sterling and keep kissing up to those old society ladies."

"Stay the hell out of my corporate affairs."

I finally looked up, my gaze steady and calm.

"I just came to give you a friendly reminder."

"The Vance family will not provide a single dime of backing for this bid."

"Furthermore, my father has already spoken to all the banking executives tied to our family. Not a single bank will approve your bridge loans."

Julian's face instantly darkened.

He glared at me, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean," I smiled faintly, "Julian, you won't be able to secure the funding."

"You!"

Furious, he lunged forward and grabbed my wrist in a vice-like grip.

"Scarlett! Are you threatening me?"

"You think I can't run this company without the Vance family?"

"Let me tell you something: that South District bid is mine, no matter what!"

He shove me away with disgust and stormed into his study.

Seconds later, he came out with a thick stack of documents and slammed them onto the floor right at my feet.

Papers scattered everywhere across the hardwood floor.

"Take a good look! This is my finalized proposal!"

"Even without your family, I'll still win! Open your damn eyes and look at it!"

I let out a soft laugh.

With bloodshot eyes, Julian glared down at me furiously.

"What the hell are you laughing at?"

I lowered my eyes to the scattered pages—pages I had spent countless sleepless nights helping him revise and refine.

"I'm laughing at how stupid you are."

"Julian, I've reviewed this pitch dozens of times."

"To you, it's your trump card, your ultimate masterpiece."

"But to me," I looked up, locking eyes with his raging stare, "it's full of fatal flaws."

He looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

"Flaws? Scarlett, don't you forget that the core structure of this pitch came from what you taught me!"

"Yes, it did," I admitted smoothly.

"I taught you how to frame the narrative, how to polish the data, and how to anticipate your competitors' moves."

"What I never taught you," I paused, a cold smirk touching my lips, "was the real strategy."

The color slowly drained from his face.

"You only learned the surface, never the essence."

"You think risking every cent of your liquid reserves is bold and brave?"

"Let me tell you what that really is: gambling."

"You think mortgaging your offshore assets shows banks your unyielding determination?"

"No. All they see is an absurdly high financial risk and Sterling's crumbling cash flow."

"And those government connections you're so proud of?" I let out a mocking laugh.

"Julian, have you forgotten who introduced you to those officials and who maintained those relationships for you?"

"Do you honestly think they gave a damn about Julian Sterling?"

He stumbled back a step, leaning against the wall, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"You... you..."