The Prison-Made Queen novel Chapter 874

He honestly couldn't comprehend how a simple argument with his son had resulted in a near-fatal accident. And everything he did—the ruthless business moves, the relentless grinding—was all for the sake of their family, wasn't it?

He had assumed Gloria was just blowing off steam. She would never actually leave him over a spat.

He had been completely arrogant about it.

He had even mentally drafted a plan: give her the cold shoulder for a few days, let her simmer down, then buy her a ridiculously expensive piece of jewelry to smooth things over. Boom. Back to normal.

But reality had just backhanded him across the face.

She was dead serious. The divorce papers were printed, signed, and sitting right in front of him.

She had packed her bags and walked out the door without a single parting word.

The night outside the window was as dark and oppressive as his mood.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated against the mahogany desk. An encrypted number flashed on the screen.

He instantly recognized it. The Benefactor.

Taking a deep breath, he answered. "Hello?"

The heavily distorted, mechanical voice cut through the silence. There were no pleasantries, just a cold, sharp plunge straight to the point. The irritation was palpable.

"What is going on on your end? Why is the Sloan acquisition stalling?"

Already drowning in anxiety over the very same issue, Fitch felt a surge of defensive panic.

"I... I don't know where the leak is!"

"Everything was moving perfectly, but someone came entirely out of left field and started quietly buying up all of Sloan's retail shares. Whoever it is now holds a solid fifteen percent. I can't close the margin, so the whole takeover is gridlocked. My hands are tied!"

True to form, Fitch immediately tried to pass the buck, completely unwilling to admit any strategic failure on his part.

The Benefactor sounded thoroughly unimpressed.

If the Langley Group had set their sights on this, Fitch suddenly felt very unsure if he'd ever get his hands on the Sloans.

The Benefactor clearly had zero patience for Fitch’s panic, but considering they were still business partners, he offered a cold explanation.

"He stepped in because of that little girlfriend he's so obsessed with. Leilani."

"She's best friends with your daughter, isn't she?"

"You've had a front-row seat to the bad blood between Leilani and the Sloan family. Callahan is making a move. He's either acting as her attack dog to settle some old scores, or..."

"He's thinking long-term, clearing the board so he can take total control of the Sloan Group and hand it to her as a shiny new toy."

"Regardless, now that Callahan is at the table, you can't just slowly bleed them dry like you planned."

The mechanical voice dropped an octave, dripping with a lethal warning. "The longer you drag this out, the more variables come into play. You know what happens when you leave a loose end dangling."

To be perfectly honest, before the name 'Callahan' had entered the chat, Fitch had been wildly confident. He held all the right cards; swallowing the Sloans was supposed to be a sure thing.