He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 840

The real estate sector, on the other hand, routinely handled transactions in the billions. The cycles were long, and the movement of funds was incredibly complex—making it the ultimate "washing machine" to convert illegal cash into legitimate assets.

Kane had built his empire in Myanor over the years but had zero foothold in Bay City. Diving blindly into real estate here would be corporate suicide.

And the Flynn Group, as Bay City's leading real estate developer, was the perfect shell.

Kane needed the Flynn Group's legitimacy, and Yardley desperately needed Kane's money.

It was a blatantly dirty, mutually beneficial transaction.

And the fact that Kane was rushing it only proved how radioactive this money really was.

Yardley had been in business for a long time, but he had always stayed strictly on the right side of the law. He had never touched the grey market.

His father, Franklin, had drilled it into him that the absolute red line for running the Flynn Group was staying clean.

"A respectable businessman makes his money cleanly. I'm not touching that kind of dirty money. Period."

"And Sylvia, I strongly suggest you keep your distance from Kane. Don't let yourself become his pawn. The second he goes down, you'll be the first one collateral damage."

Having cleared his head, Yardley delivered the stern warning.

Then, he stood up and said dismissively,

"It's late. I need to sleep. You should head back."

Sylvia hadn't expected him to remain so immovable after she had laid everything out.

She had planned to convince him tonight and set up a meeting with Kane tomorrow. She never imagined Yardley would be this principled about it.

"But, Yardley..."

Unwilling to give up, she tried to argue further.

He just waved his hand, completely shutting down the conversation.

Defeated, Sylvia had no choice but to leave in frustration.

-

"Yeah. So, who do you think Sylvia will run to next?"

Scarlett turned her head, meeting his gaze. A sly glint flashed in her eyes.

"The Flynn Group shot her down, and the Schmidt Family wants absolutely nothing to do with her right now. If I had to guess... the Thorne family is about to become the scapegoat."

A smirk touched Julian's lips.

"Great minds think alike. My thoughts exactly."

Scarlett instinctively stood up, but realized too late that she had been sitting still for far too long. Having been so engrossed in the surveillance feed, her legs had fallen completely asleep.

She let out a startled gasp as her body betrayed her, pitching forward helplessly.

But the expected painful crash against the hardwood floor never came.

A strong arm securely caught her by the waist, pulling her into a broad chest that smelled faintly of pine.

Using his momentum, Julian scooped her up effortlessly, settling her right onto his lap.