Chapter 261: An Ignorant Dead Man

Chapter 261: Chapter 261: An Ignorant Dead Man

Several hours earlier, inside the quiet rear cabin of the Maybach as it glided toward the Hotel, Jake held his encrypted satellite phone to his ear, looking out at the passing Swiss dusk.

"Mr. Rivers," Alice Chase’s precise voice came through the receiver. "The Capital Sentinel dropped the piece twenty minutes ago. It’s already trending across every major news portal in Veyra. The PR team is currently on standby, awaiting your explicit authorization to launch a counter-statement and execute takedown notices."

Jake’s expression remained entirely flat, his eyes unblinking as he watched the streetlights flicker across the window. "Yeah I just saw that. Tell the PR team to stand down. They can go enjoy their weekend."

A rare moment of hesitation broke through the line before Alice spoke again, her tone tightening with professional concern. "Sir... if we let this sit without a response over the weekend, the speculation could severely damage your public reputation and rattle potential investors."

"Let them talk," Jake said smoothly, a subtle, cold edge entering his voice. "I have a plan in mind for this. Don’t worry about the gossip." He paused, adjusting his cufflink. "Contact Samuel Carter immediately. Tell him to shift his full analytical focus to the Newman Enterprise Group. They are our next target."

"Understood," Alice responded without missing a beat. "Anything else?"

"Coordinate directly with Silas Thorne. I have already sent him instructions," Jake instructed calmly. "And lastly, pass a message directly to Richard Newman. Tell him... since his company does not seek peace, it shall cease to exist very soon."

"I will deliver it personally," Alice replied.

"Good. Enjoy your evening, Alice." Jake ended the call, sliding the phone back into his inner jacket pocket without a second thought.

---

Thirty minutes later in Aurelia, the executive suite of the Newman Enterprise Group building was suffocating under a thick blanket of tension.

Richard Newman sat frozen behind his heavy mahogany desk, his knuckles turned ghost-white as his fingers gripped the polished wood edge. Opposite him, his two elder sons, Finn and Ray, stood staring at the wall-mounted screen displaying the afternoon’s explosive headlines. Images of Jake Rivers and Elizabeth Roys dominated the screen, surrounded by sensationalist commentary detailing wild, high-society scandals.

Ray let out a low whistle, a nervous smirk tugging at his lips. "Man, the guy deserves all the praise in the world. Bagging the Roys heiress on top of Catharine? Jake’s basically become the envy of every man in Veyra overnight."

Finn didn’t share his brother’s attempted levity. His brow furrowed deep into a scowl, his arms crossed so tightly his muscles strained against his suit jacket. "This isn’t standard tabloid digging. The timing, the coordinated release across six major outlets simultaneously... this is a targeted hit-piece. Someone paid heavily for this."

Richard’s head snapped up, his bloodshot eyes locking onto his sons with a lethal intensity. "Did either of you have a hand in this?"

Ray immediately threw his hands up in mock terror, his eyes widening as a sudden sweat broke out across his forehead. "Dad, please! After Sam’s stupidity, I already had to surrender most of my personal stake in the company just to soothe Jake’s anger! Why on earth would I poke the bear again?! I value my life!"

"I haven’t touched anything related to Rivers," Finn said, his voice tight, though his chest heaved with rising anxiety. "If there’s anyone in our family stupid enough to harbor a grudge big enough to go after Jake, it would be Uncle Troy. But even Troy isn’t reckless enough to poke at Jake without a fallback plan."

Richard slumped back into his leather chair, a long, raspy breath escaping his throat as he rubbed his temples. "I hope to God that’s the case. If it’s just some external corporate rival trying their luck against Rivers, we stay completely out of the splash zone."

Ray swallowed hard, trying to regain his composure as he leaned against the corner of the desk. "Right. Relax, Dad. Just sit back and enjoy the show. For once, someone else is about to feel what we felt when Jake came after us."

Before Richard could respond, the sharp, shrill chime of his personal phone shattered the quiet room.

Richard reached out casually, but the moment his eyes registered the caller ID, every drop of color drained from his face. His posture locked up instantly, his breathing halting mid-draw.

"Dad?" Finn stepped forward, his heart skipping a beat at his father’s ghastly expression. "What is it? Who’s calling?"

Without uttering a single syllable, Richard slowly rotated the phone. Glowing brightly against the dark screen was a single name: Alice Chase. ℯℯ𝑙.

Ray blinked, his forehead knotting in confusion. "Who... who is Alice Chase? Why are you guys looking like you just saw a ghost?"

Finn’s throat constricted, a cold knot forming in his stomach as he stared at his brother with sheer terror in his eyes. "That’s Jake Rivers’ personal assistant."

Ray’s jaw dropped. The playful air around him dissolved in an instant, replaced by a suffocating weight that made it hard to breathe.

Richard swallowed the dry lump in his throat, forcing his trembling hands to steady as he swiped the screen and hit the speaker button, placing the phone gently onto the mahogany desk. He took a shaky breath, trying desperately to mask the sheer dread clawing at his chest.

"Miss Chase," Richard said, his tone strained in a desperate bid for authority. "To what do I owe the call?"

"Mr. Newman," Alice’s voice echoed through the room—ice-cold, precise, and completely devoid of warmth. "I am calling to pass along Mr. Rivers’ words directly to you."

Richard’s heart hammered violent strikes against his ribs. "What... what words?"

"Mr. Rivers asked me to inform you," Alice stated plainly, "that since the Newman Enterprise Group does not seek peace, it shall cease to exist very soon."

The air was sucked right out of the room.

A wave of pure, unadulterated panic surged through Richard. His blood ran cold as his mind reeled. "Wait! Miss Chase, wait! Please, there’s been a catastrophic misunderstanding! We had absolutely nothing to do with those trending headlines! We don’t know anything about it! I swear on my family’s name—"

"Mr. Newman—"

"Please, put me through to Mr. Rivers!" Richard pleaded, his voice cracking as his regal composure shattered into desperate begging. "Let me clear this up with him directly! Please!"

"Mr. Rivers is currently out of the country," Alice cut in smoothly, completely unbothered by his hysterics. "He will be attending to the Newman Group matter first thing Monday morning."

"Miss Chase, listen to me!" Richard pressed, cold sweat pouring down his neck. "Why are you jumping to the conclusion that the Newman Group is behind the leaks? On what possible basis—"

"I am simply passing along a message, Mr. Newman," Alice interrupted, her tone dropping into a final, clinical chill. "Have a good evening."

’Click.’

The line cut out, leaving behind a silence so absolute it felt heavy enough to crush them.

The three men stood paralyzed, staring at the dead phone on the desk. The grim truth settled over them like a death sentence. There was only one person in their bloodline foolish enough, arrogant enough, and blind enough to do this.

Troy Newman.

"That miserable, brainless bastard!" Richard screamed, his sanity snapping completely. With a furious, wild swing of his arm, he snatched the phone and hurled it across the office with all his strength.

The device shattered violently against the reinforced glass wall, raining plastic and circuit boards down onto the expensive carpet.

Richard gasped for breath, his broad shoulders shaking as his face turned a dangerous shade of crimson. Veins bulged along his neck as he gripped the edge of his desk so hard the wood groaned. If Troy had been standing in front of him, Richard would have torn him apart with his bare hands.

Finn moved quickly, pulling his own phone from his jacket with trembling fingers, his breathing rapid and shallow. "Dad, stop! Calm down! Let me call Troy right now! We need to confirm this!"

Finn frantically dialed Troy’s private line, slamming the speaker button. It rang four agonized times before picking up. Immediately, the thumping bass of heavy electronic music and the loud, obnoxious laughter of women flooded the office.

"Finn!" Troy’s slurred, heavily intoxicated voice bellowed over the music. "What’s up, nephew?!"

"Troy!" Richard roared, lunging toward Finn’s phone like an enraged animal. "Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!"

Troy let out a boisterous, arrogant laugh that echoed mockingly through the speaker. "Oh, you saw the headlines, didn’t you?! Relax, brother! I was just celebrating a refreshing victory! Unlike you and your cowardly boys, I don’t hide under the bed! I took matters into my own hands!"

Finn’s eyes stretched wide in utter horror. "Troy... you actually leaked those photos?"

"I gave that arrogant little peasant a taste of his own medicine!" Troy bragged drunkenly, slurping on a drink. "I’ll explain my brilliant strategy to you losers in the morning when I sober up! Right now, I’ve got a celebration to get back to—"

"Troy, listen to me, you fool—" Richard bellowed, but the call disconnected with a harsh beep.

The line went dead. The thumping club music vanished, leaving the office in a state of absolute, horrifying quiet. Sheer, stunned disbelief paralyzed the room.

Ray was the first to break, his mind snapping under the pressure. He rounded on Richard, his eyes bloodshot, his voice wild and frantic. "Dad, sell your shares! Sell everything right now before the market opens on Monday! We need to liquidate every asset we have left so we can survive this!"

Finn grabbed Ray by the shoulder, shoving him back. "Ray, pull yourself together! Shut up! Now is not the time!"

"NOW IS THE ONLY TIME!" Ray screamed, shoving Finn back with violent desperation, tears of pure anger and terror welling in his eyes. "When I gave up my personal stake to Jake last time, Dad swore he would leave me a suitable inheritance! How the hell can there be an inheritance if Jake destroys everything we own?! Even if Rivers doesn’t ask a single ally for help, his liquid reserves alone are enough to short our stock into absolute zero by Wednesday morning!"

"ENOUGH!" Richard thundered, slamming both palms onto the mahogany desk with a deafening crash that echoed off the walls.

Ray froze, his chest heaving as tears spilled down his flushed cheeks, but his desperate gaze remained locked on his father.

Richard stood tall, breathing heavily through his nose as he forced the wild panic back down into the darkest corner of his chest. His posture straightened, his bloodshot eyes hardening into a cold, terrifying mask of survival.

"Control yourselves," Richard hissed, his voice dropping into a low, lethal whisper. "We still have the entire weekend before the market opens. I am not going to stand by and watch my father’s legacy burn to the ground over Troy’s suicidal stupidity. We fix this... or we go to war. But we do not crumble."

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