3

The next day, at the Vanderbilt Group headquarters, at 10:00 AM.

In the spacious conference room, Selena sat in the chairperson's seat, a smug smile on her face, reporting yesterday's "achievements" to the board of directors.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that the Asia-Pacific project has been fully taken over by our in-house team." Selena elegantly opened a folder. "Oliver's performance has been outstanding, proving that we don't need to rely on outsiders at all."

Oliver, sitting in the corner, also had a smug smile on his face. The achievement he had "stolen" from Arthur yesterday had made him extremely confident.

"Data shows that the project's profit expectations are 15% higher than originally planned," Selena continued. "This proves my judgment was correct—"

"Ring ring ring—"

The emergency bell rang suddenly, and the CFO pushed open the conference room door. He was ashen-faced and holding a stack of emergency reports.

"Something terrible has happened, Ms. Selena!" The CFO's voice trembled. "There's a huge problem with the Asia-Pacific project!"

Selena's smile froze instantly: "What's the problem?"

"The cash flow has completely dried up! All three backup funding pools are experiencing problems simultaneously, and the accounts of all seventeen agency companies have been frozen by regulators!" The CFO slammed the report on the conference table. "A deficit of fifty million US dollars! The regulators have launched an investigation!"

The air froze instantly.

The faces of all the directors turned ashen. The seventy-year-old chairman, William Vanderbilt, slammed his fist on the table: "What?! Fifty million dollars?!"

"Impossible!" Oliver jumped up from his seat. "All the data was normal yesterday! How could this be—"

"Shut up!" William roared, turning to Selena. "This is what you call 'outstanding performance'? This is what you call 'not needing to rely on outsiders'? Don't think I don't know you're talking about Arthur! "

"I—I don't know—" Selena's voice began to tremble.

"Fifty million dollars!" another shareholder roared, standing up. "That's three quarters' worth of net profit! Now it's all gone down the drain!"

"And there's the regulatory investigation!" the third shareholder roared. "If they find any irregularities, the entire group will be implicated!"

All eyes were like knives piercing Selena and Oliver.

Selena felt a suffocating feeling she'd never experienced before. In the past, when problems arose, Arthur would always quietly clean them up for her, allowing her to bask in the glory of success. But now—

"It's all Oliver's fault!" Selena suddenly turned and pointed at Oliver. "It was the project he was in charge of!"

"But...but Arthur gave me all that information!" Oliver's face turned deathly pale. "He must have done it on purpose! He must have given us the problematic project!"

"Enough!" William's roar shook the entire conference room. "This isn't the time to shirk responsibility! Find a way to plug this hole immediately! Otherwise, the company is finished!"

Selena gritted her teeth, her inner arrogance shattering completely: "I'll contact Arthur and have him come back to handle this—"

"Arthur?" William sneered. " You'd better still be able to order him around! "

One sentence left Selena speechless, her face turning from rosy to ashen .

Ten minutes later, Selena rushed out of the conference room, with Oliver close behind her.

Her makeup was ruined, and her haughty mask shattered completely.

"Find out where Arthur is!" she roared at her assistant. "Right now! Immediately!"

The assistant nervously made the call, and ten minutes later reported: "Miss Selena, we found him. Mr. Arthur is dining at Le Bernardin restaurant."

Selena's eyes lit up with renewed hope. She grabbed her bag and rushed out: "Let's go! To the restaurant right now!"

Inside a private dining room in the restaurant .

I sat in the main seat, with a bottle of 1982 Lafite in front of me.

The men sitting around me were all core executives of Blackstone Group—Executive Director Smith and Investment Director Johnson, who were seen by outsiders as the top financial giants on Wall Street.

"Mr. Arthur's risk management model is truly amazing," Smith said, raising his glass. "With your addition to Blackstone, it's like a tiger with wings."

I took a sip of red wine: "It's just a win-win situation. This project design can be considered a small lesson for some people."

"I heard it's been bombed over there?" Johnson laughed.

"A hole of fifty million should be enough to wake them up for a while," I replied calmly.

Just then, the door to the private room was violently pushed open.

"Arthur——"

Selena's voice trailed off. She stood in the doorway, her face filled with shock.

Those Wall Street legends she could never reach on ordinary days were now treating me with utmost respect, while I sat in the main seat, my powerful aura making the entire private room pale in comparison.

I glanced at her briefly, then continued discussing hedge fund strategies with the people around me: "Regarding the Asian market, I think we should adopt a tiered investment approach..."

It was as if she didn't exist at all.

"Cough cough—" Selena cleared her throat forcefully, trying to get attention.

I still ignored her and continued, "The first phase involves an investment of 500 million to establish a basic position..."

"Arthur!" she finally couldn't help but raise her voice.

The private room fell silent instantly.

Everyone turned to look at the doorway, their eyes filled with displeasure—who was so rude as to interrupt Mr. Arthur's conversation?

I slowly turned my head, looking at her as if she were a complete stranger: "Is there something you need?"

Cold, distant, and devoid of emotion.

Selena was stung by that look, but she maintained her last shred of pride: "I need to talk to you alone."

"There's nothing to talk about." I turned back to continue eating. "If there's nothing else, please don't bother us."

Selena felt humiliated like never before, but thinking of the company's crisis, she gritted her teeth and insisted, "Arthur, there's a problem with the Asia-Pacific project; you have to go back and handle it!"

I put down my glass, a cold smile playing on my lips: "Oh? Didn't you say you could do without me?"

"I—" She hesitated for a second, but then forced herself to save face, adopting a condescending attitude, "As long as you come back and cover the 50 million deficit, I'll immediately make you executive vice president! We'll hold our wedding next month!"

Her tone was clearly condescending, as if this were a tremendous favor bestowed upon me.

The financial tycoons in the private room exchanged glances, their eyes flashing with mockery—this arrogant woman actually dared to speak to Mr. Arthur in such a tone?

I chuckled softly, a smile that was icy and chilling.

I gestured behind me, and my private lawyer immediately stepped forward, took a document from his briefcase, and slammed it down in front of Selena without any politeness.

"Joint Trust's Statement of Complete Withdrawal," I said calmly. "All my investments and collaborations with your company are hereby terminated, effective immediately."

Selena picked up the document with trembling hands, her face turning deathly pale as she looked at the dense legal text on it.

"What does this mean?" Oliver asked in a low voice behind her.

The lawyer coldly replied, "That means Mr. Arthur will not only refuse to help you cover your losses, but he'll also withdraw his last bit of funding—twenty million dollars."

Looking at the despair on Selena's face, I felt nothing. In my past life, when she used false evidence to send me to prison, did she ever hesitate for a moment?

"Arthur, you can't do this!" her voice shrill. "Between us—"

"There's nothing between us." I stood up, straightened my cuffs, and looked at her with eyes that remained icy cold .

then nodded to the financial giants and said, "Gentlemen, let's continue our discussion somewhere else."

As I passed Selena, I paused for a second, my voice as cold as ice: "Next time we meet, please make an appointment in advance. My time is precious."

A group of people filed out, leaving Selena and Oliver standing in the empty box.

Just then, her assistant rushed in: "Ms. Selena, the invitation to the annual Wall Street gala has arrived. The organizers say there will be many heavyweight investors attending this year, perhaps—"

Selena suddenly raised her head, a spark of hope rekindling in her eyes.

The dinner party! This was her last chance!

Selena felt that in that situation, I would definitely not embarrass her too much.

As long as she takes the initiative to humble herself and even apologize to me in front of everyone, I will definitely go back to help her !

"Prepare an evening gown," Selena said through gritted teeth, "the most luxurious one."

What she didn't know was that this dinner was held to officially announce my joining Blackstone Group .