Betrayed by the Father Reborn in His Rival's Arms novel Chapter 56

Cyrus had the call on speaker, so Madeline heard every single word crystal clear.

She had zero desire to speak to Lucius. His definition of a 'talk' was just psychological warfare designed to force her submission. She was done letting him walk all over her.

She gave Cyrus a firm shake of her head.

"Mr. Whitman, anything you wish to say, you say to me," Cyrus fired back smoothly. "There is absolutely no need to bother my client. The revocation process is already finalized. She engineered the patents, and she retains the ultimate right to reclaim them. That ship has sailed. Now, why don't we discuss the future of Lightning Interactive?"

Lucius turned ashen.

He couldn't believe Madeline was refusing to even acknowledge him.

And her absolute refusal to bend was unnerving.

He had been entirely convinced this was just a childish tantrum. He thought that, just like the thousand times before, she would instantly surrender whatever he demanded.

Lightning Interactive was currently riding a tidal wave of success. It was pulling rave reviews globally and dominating the domestic markets.

Lucius desperately needed this game. But Madeline had surgically struck right at the core tech, effectively shutting down his entire operation.

Just as Cyrus had threatened, the patent holder had officially rescinded authorization. The Whitman Group was mandated to wipe the game from all servers the instant the legal notice arrived, or else face catastrophic financial penalties for illicit profiteering.

It wasn't just copyright infringement—it was a fast track to ruinous corporate fines.

And that exact legal notice was what had just landed in the Whitman Group's legal inbox, triggering his frantic call from the office.

A dull roar built in Lucius's ears. It was a terrifyingly brilliant power play.

She had completely ambushed him.

They were dime-a-dozen assets. Completely replaceable.

If Madeline seized control, her sheer technical prowess would allow her to relaunch the game without breaking a sweat. She was the one who hand-picked the skeleton crew to build the international version—a version so vastly superior that domestic players were actively using VPNs just to access it.

Madeline's brilliance was the true, irreplaceable engine of the game. She was a visionary architect, the sole creator of the patents holding it all together.

If he could have easily replaced her, he wouldn't be sweating over losing the IP.

The tragic reality was, he was realizing this far too late.

Cyrus hung up the phone, letting the unspoken threats echo through the silence.

Taking her phone back, Madeline finally spoke, her voice laced with tension. "Will he actually cave? The Whitman legal team is practically an army. Do we really have a chance?"