She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 848

Lucian didn't repeat himself. He just stood there, his gaze fixed steadily on Nathan. There wasn't a trace of humor in his eyes.

"Are you out of your mind?" Nathan finally choked out, genuinely stunned. "Do you think Stellar Trust is some mom-and-pop shop? You think you can just snap your fingers and hand it over?"

"Do you want it, or not?"

Nathan stared at him, realizing the man was dead serious. "Why?"

"Because I already have a wife."

The pieces clicked together in Nathan's brain. He took a step back, shell-shocked. "You and Sigrid... the whole thing was an act? You just did it to push me over the edge?"

"And it worked, didn't it?" Lucian replied smoothly. "Being stripped of your power isn't exactly a fun experience, is it?"

The humiliating ban at the club. The doctors suddenly refusing his mother. His sister's tuition. The property taxes on his condo. In the span of a few days, Nathan had experienced a catastrophic free-fall. Every closed door was a glaring reminder that without Stellar Trust, he was nobody. He was going to spend the rest of his life drowning in debt and mediocrity.

Did he want to live like that?

Nathan looked down at his shaking hands. He had nothing left to lose. He couldn't afford to play the moral high ground.

He took a slow, deep breath to steady his racing heart. "What do you need me to do?"

"I may have poached your major accounts, but you still have the master directory for the core clients, don't you?" Lucian's tone was incredibly casual, as if they were discussing the weather. "You've been sitting in that director's chair for eight years. You've handled every transaction, vetted every client, pushed through every piece of dirty money. You kept backups."

Nathan's pupils dilated.

He didn't say a word, but the sudden rigidity of his posture told Lucian everything he needed to know.

Lucian smiled—a thin, razor-sharp smile that sent a shiver down Nathan's spine.

"Smart man," Lucian said. "Always good to have an insurance policy."

Nathan swallowed hard, his voice gravelly. "What exactly are you planning?"

"It's not about what I'm planning." Lucian leaned in slightly, locking eyes with him. "It's about what you're planning."

He let the silence hang for a second before continuing, his voice dropping low.

"Look at that client list. How many foreign dignitaries are on it? How many billionaire CEOs? How many untouchable, self-righteous elites use Stellar Trust to launder their cash and hide their offshore assets?"

Nathan's breathing hitched. "I don't have access to the identities behind the shell accounts. If I did, Sigrid would have never treated me like garbage."

"You're a veteran. You know exactly where those files are kept," Lucian said softly, each word hitting Nathan like a hammer. "If those files go public, what do you think those clients are going to do to Horace?"

The realization slammed into Nathan.

Lucian was going to use the cartel to kill the boss.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify