Chapter 90
The call was from Cole. His voice was tight with urgency. “Mr. Zucker, two companies just moved to terminate their contracts with us. We’re looking at over five billion dollars in total losses
“They’re even willing to scrap the infrastructure that’s already been built and pay 50 million dollars in penalties–post to end the deal.”
Over five billion dollars in total losses
Miguel felt the blood rush to his head so fast it nearly knocked him out.
Zucker Group had built its reputation on a model where partners only provided initial funding, and the Zucker family covered the rest–offering full–scale investment so their collaborators didn’t have to worry about long–term risk.
it used to be their golden strategy, the ace that drew in all the big contracts. But now, that golden edge had become the knife cutting their own throat.
This was the third contract terminated in a row. With billions of dollars already poured in, the so million dollars in penalty fees was a joke–barely a dent in the massive losses piling up.
He didn’t even spare another glance at Rohana. He toosed out a single sentence. “Go home and wait. Tell Mom not to make another move.”
Then, he stormed into a cab.
“Downtown. To Zucker Group. Now,” he ordered
That night, no one in the Zucker family or Zucker Group slept a wink But across town, Enrica slept like a baby.
She had no idea she’d been drugged the night before. When she woke up, she just felt well–rested, as it she’d finally gotten the deep sleep she needed. She had no clue that both she and Charles had narrowly escaped disaster.
Zayne didn’t want to scare her, so he never mentioned any of it. By the time she woke up, breakfast was already on the table–something he’d picked up “on the way back” She ate it without a second thought, then left for work in high spirits.
That morning, her monthly commission bonus hit her account. With her base salary included, she pulled in an incredible 13 thousand dollars. Her team lead even gave her a shout–out in front of the whole department.
Enrica knew this was just the beginning
She kept three thousand dollars for herself, then transferred the remaining ten thousand dollars–along with another 30 thousand dollars she’d already saved–to
Zayne
at she had some breathing.
He had lent her 100 thousand dollars when she was at rock bottom, with no interest, no questions asked. She never forgor that. Now that room, paying him back was the first thing on her list. She didn’t want to keep him worrying about her.
She figured it she kept worlding hard, she could continue supporting her dad and pay off the rest of the loan soon.
What she didn’t expect was that the Zucker Group’s court–ordered settlement came through that very afternoon.
It was a whopping 900 thousand dollars. It hit her like a brick just that moming, she’d been stretching every dollar. Now, she was sitting on nearly a million dollars In her account. She supposed she had to be thankful for unexpected blessings.
She immediately paid off the rest of her debt to Zayne. Then, she wired a chunk to Lawrence for legal fees. After that, she took the remaining eight hundred thousand dollars–plus, locked 700 thousand dollars into a fixed deposit, and left the rest in her checking account–just in case.
Meanwhile, across the city, on the top floor of a landmark skyscraper, a man stood in his expansive corner office, staring at the messages lighting up his phone.
“Here’s to thousand dollars-partial repayment of the hundred thousand dollars loan.
“I just got the Zucker Group settlement. Sending the remaining 60 thousand dollars now,
“And here’s four thousand dollars for the rent for the past two months.”
Each transfer notification read like she couldn’t wait to clear her debt–and, with it, any remaining tie between them.
Zayne stared at the transtess for a long time, trying to think of a better way to reject her, but he couldn’t. In the end, he accepted them with stinging eyes and a
heavy heart.
Chapter 1
(worked so hard to build and Ent
