Chapter 493: A Crushing Defeat in the Short-Term Decisive Battle (Part 1)

Chapter 493: Chapter 493: A Crushing Defeat in the Short-Term Decisive Battle (Part 1)

Once the incident with The Hale Antique Collection selling a counterfeit was settled, Seraphina Sterling left the venue. The show was over, so there was nothing left for her there. ’After today,’ she thought, ’Mr. Hale is sure to question Justin Hale’s competence. First, the tech R&D company ran into trouble. The software they poured a fortune into developing turned out to have zero commercial value, leading to a total loss on the investment. The most infuriating part was that they’d even done free marketing for someone else! The Hale Family has never suffered such a humiliating failure!’

And now, not even a few months later, The Hale Antique Collection was in trouble again. A single counterfeit scandal had dragged it down from its top spot. From now on, the title of "The Hale Authority" would be history in The Antiques Circle. This was a fatal blow to The Hale Antique Collection. In the aftermath, the reputation of Apex Antique Collections would, in turn, soar to new heights. The young Joel Xavier possessed appraisal skills that surpassed even the experienced Mr. Hale’s. With someone like him running an antique shop, customers wouldn’t have to worry about authenticity.

In truth, many people, especially entrepreneurs, didn’t buy antiques for their personal collections. They usually bought them for two main reasons: as gifts or to impress others. Since they couldn’t determine authenticity themselves, buying a fake for either purpose was incredibly embarrassing. Now that The Hale Antique Collection’s reputation was shot, a significant number of its customers would be looking elsewhere. This indirectly funneled a lot of business to Apex Antique Collections.

With the Hale Group suffering so many setbacks under Justin Hale’s management, Mr. Hale began to doubt his grandson’s abilities. Austin Hale seized the opportunity to secure a position of real power and influence for Zion Hale. Before, Mr. Hale would never have agreed, but after these two major incidents, he had no choice but to consider the Hale Family’s other descendants. Handing the Hale Group over to Justin Hale so prematurely wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Only the strong were fit to reach the pinnacle of success.

From a single birthday banquet, Justin Hale had lost his grandfather’s confidence and gained a powerful rival, leaving his position as heir to the Hale Group precarious. The very banquet he had so meticulously planned had dealt him a devastating blow. And all of this was merely the beginning.

Having let off some steam, Seraphina Sterling was in a wonderful mood, and watching the stock market only made her feel even better. The news from the birthday banquet had been reported first thing in the morning. Word of The Hale Antique Collection selling a counterfeit had already spread throughout the industry. As soon as the market opened, The Hale Antique Collection’s stock plummeted, moving in the exact opposite direction of the stock for Apex Antique Collections. One just kept falling while the other kept rising.

Compared to Fenton Bank, the drop in The Hale Antique Collection’s stock price was still within a controllable range. After arriving at his company that morning, Justin Hale had immediately announced that they would no longer be cooperating with Fenton Bank. Fenton Bank’s stock price had already plummeted disastrously—if it wasn’t a nosedive, it was pretty close. Of course, that announcement alone wasn’t enough to make investors lose all confidence in Fenton Bank and trigger a frantic sell-off. Seraphina Sterling’s hand was in it as well, naturally.

Fenton Bank’s stock price had always fluctuated within a safe range. Trying to make a move on them, even with Seraphina Sterling’s skills, would have been extremely difficult, with a very low chance of success. Justin Hale’s announcement, however, was a massive blow to Fenton Bank, giving her the perfect opportunity to strike. ’Often, a tiny crack is all it takes to bring down a towering mountain,’ she mused. ’Fenton Bank could hardly even be considered a mountain. After this, it won’t be so easy for Zane Fenton to get back on his feet.’

Having holed up at The Retreat all day, Seraphina Sterling watched as Fenton Bank’s stock price nearly hit rock bottom. Only then did she finally shut her laptop.