The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 168

Her finger hovered over her father's contact for a long time.

The Xavier family would never help her.

Nora knew Mr. Xavier far too well. For years, the Xavier family had survived solely by clinging to The Hayes Group. Her father spent every waking moment plotting how to siphon more resources from the Hayes family.

Currently, Gideon had only blacklisted Lawrence Atelier; the news hadn't fully reached the Xaviers yet.

If the Xavier family found out she had offended Gideon and upset Giselle, Mr. Xavier would absolutely rush over, slap her across the face, and drag her to the main estate to force her to grovel at Giselle's feet.

To the Xaviers, her only value lay in maintaining their ties to the Hayes family. The moment she lost that value, she would become collateral damage.

They wouldn't spare a single dime to fill this financial sinkhole, let alone dare to defy Gideon's orders.

Asking her family for help was nothing short of inviting humiliation.

Lucia Xander?

Lucia ran a small PR firm. She was fiercely loyal and would undoubtedly empty her pockets if she knew Nora was in trouble.

But the Xander family's assets were a drop in the ocean compared to a behemoth like The Hayes Group. Even if Lucia drained her company's cash flow, it wouldn't make a dent in the massive deficit of The Solaris Project.

Furthermore, even if Lucia wanted to help, the elders of the Xander family would never allow her to publicly cross The Hayes Group for an outsider.

Dragging Lucia into this would only enrage Gideon and drag the Xander family down with her. She couldn't pull her best friend into a swamp where they would both be crushed.

Nora leaned back in her chair and exhaustedly closed her eyes.

Gideon knew she was backed into a corner. He was using this to force her submission, to make her face reality and yield to Giselle.

She couldn't let Janie's brutal beating be for nothing, nor could she let her own blood, sweat, and tears be trampled on so carelessly. She had to find a way out. She had to deliver the project on time.

But looking across the entire corporate landscape, who had the capital and the sheer audacity to publicly defy Gideon's blacklist and fund her?

It had to be someone with an incredibly formidable background, someone utterly unafraid of Gideon's ruthlessness.

Nora's eyes drifted to a business card holder on the desk.

The scent of agarwood in the tearoom, the warmth of the porcelain teacup, and the trench coat that still carried his body heat.

A single name surfaced in her mind.

Julian Pierce.