Game Over No Second Chances

Sarah was caught off guard. She fumbled for the document and frantically flipped through it. Voyage Group had announced a massive investment with

overwhelming momentum.

Almost immediately, someone leaked online that the funds actually came from Jansen Group. To make matters worse, the financial news outlets had already picked up the story about the disastrous losses from the island project and reported it on various sites.

In just two short hours, panic swept through the market. Shares were dumped at breakneck speed, and Jansen Group's stock price nosedived. It hit rock bottom.

Sarah's eyes widened in shock. A scream tore from her throat. "This isn't happening! They promised us! They swore they'd help us move Serena's money! How could it end up like this?"

Howard rushed over as he was alarmed by her breakdown.

But the moment he finished reading the news, the world seemed to spin around him. And before he could even catch his breath, a group of furious shareholders had already seized him by the collar.

"Howard! Jansen Group's collapse is all because of your incompetence!"

"When things were good, we let you and Sarah run wild, but now? Look at the mess you've made! You'll pay for our losses!"

"That's right! We want compensation! Our money's gone down the drain because of you! If you're not up for the job, get lost!

"Let someone from the Jansen family who actually knows what they're doing take over!"

Howard's blood boiled. Without thinking, he swung and slapped one of them across the face.noveldrama

"Replace me? Over my dead body! I'm the one who saved Jansen Group and made you all rich!

"You're living in your luxury homes, driving your fancy cars because of me! And now you want to throw me away like trash? Dream on!"

"How dare you hit me? I'll kill you!"

The office erupted into chaos as fists flew. Security burst in, struggling desperately to separate the fighting men.

Meanwhile, Sarah was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. She kept trying to call Voyage Group, but no one answered.

In a rage, she hurled her phone at the wall and collapsed to the floor in a fit of hysterical cries.

"What's going on? We had a deal! Why won't they pick up? Aren't they scared I'll sue them?"

The legal and finance teams rushed in to explain, "Cross-border deals involving shell companies aren't exactly clean. Even if you sue, it could drag on for months, or maybe even years. There's no time to recover the funds."

Sarah could only clutch her head and scream in despair. It was over. Jansen Group was finished.

Howard sat there with one side of his face swelling up, but his bloodshot eyes were glued to the free-falling stock prices.

"How did it come to this? What went wrong?"

...

Across the city, on the top floor of Amber Group, Serena stood by the floor-to- ceiling windows and gazed down at the bustling streets below.

She smiled faintly as she replied to Alicia's question.

"Voyage Group? Well, since they were so eager to help Jansen Group set up shell companies and funnel my money, it was easy enough to use my status in the Jansen family to push them a little further.

"Let them swallow the money, invest it abroad, and cut off Jansen Group's cash flow entirely.

"They get to invest without risk, and I protect Amber Group from getting trapped. It's a win-win deal. Of course, they agreed."

Technically, Serena was still a

manager at Jansen Group. All she had to do was assure Voyage Group

that when the time came, she would delay the court proceedings.

By the time the investments matured in about three years, Voyage Group would

return the principal and interest according to the court's orders.

As for the profits from the investments, Serena would split them with Voyage Group, just as the contract outlined.

Voyage Group was more than happy

to watch the Jansen family tear itself apart And Serena was more

than happy to use the Voyage Group as her own offshore vault, storing Jansen Group's money for safekeeping.

Three years... Maybe not even that long.

When the time was right, she would reclaim Jansen Group, and with it, all the money would flow right back into her hands.

Alicia was stunned to the core. "You guys are a family. Was it really necessary to go this far?"

"They've never treated me like family. Since they wanted to play it like business, I just had to be more ruthless than they were to succeed."

Serena slowly turned from the window. A sliver of sunlight broke through the clouds, casting a faint glow across her shoulder.

She smiled warmly. "The business world is a battlefield. You still have a lot to learn."

"Got it!" Alicia nodded fiercely.