Chapter 4

In my past life, Wyatt was the one who stood up and demanded the real pricing sheet. Julian publicly fired him on the spot and blacklisted him from the industry.

This time, I wasn't going to let him make himself a target.

Right after I hung up, Harvey pushed my office door open.

"Chloe, we have a massive crisis!"

Harvey's face was pale, sweat dripping down his forehead.

"The teams just drew their numbers. The finance team pulled a bid that is ridiculously below our actual cost!"

"It doesn't even cover manufacturing. The moment we submit that, the seller's legal team can sue us for predatory pricing and anti-competitive practices!"

"The head of finance begged Sienna to let them redraw, but Sienna just said 'it's a trade secret' and had security drag him out of the building!"

I scrolled through the emails on my phone, my expression entirely blank.

"So, why are you telling me?"

"Chloe, you're the actual director of this merger! Just say the word, and we will bypass Julian to upload the real pricing data!"

Harvey slammed his hand on my desk in frustration.

"Upload the real data?"

I let out a cold laugh.

"Julian made it very clear: anyone who touches Sienna’s pricing sheet will be treated as an insider threat and fired."

Harvey’s eyes were bloodshot.

"So we just sit here and watch?"

"The negotiation is tomorrow! If we submit these numbers, we won't even get to see their board. We'll be laughed out of Wall Street, and our stock price will tank before lunch!"

I looked up at him, my voice dangerously calm.

"Harvey, listen to me carefully."

"From this moment on, lock down Vance Group's core proprietary data. Make sure our team’s independent legal channels are secure. No one is to touch our original models."

"As for the rest of them? Their survival has nothing to do with us."

Harvey opened his mouth to argue, but the sheer coldness in my eyes shut him up.

He grit his teeth, turned around, and walked out.

Outside the window, night had fallen. There were less than ten hours left.

Over a hundred employees, running on the whims of an influencer's blind box. What a beautiful disaster.

In my past life, I bled for these ungrateful bastards, only to be thrown out like trash.

This time, I was going to enjoy the show.

Suddenly, a barrage of celebratory emojis and notifications popped up in the company Slack.

I walked to the glass window and looked down at the open office floor.

Sienna, dressed in a head-to-toe designer outfit, was standing on a desk in the middle of the room.

She held a gold envelope high in the air, laughing hysterically.

"Attention everyone! My Silicon Valley mentor has given the final green light! The blind box bids are officially locked!"

"We are submitting our destiny-approved bids directly to the offshore board!"

Hundreds of employees cheered, throwing paper into the air like they were at a college frat party.

Julian stood right beside her, looking at her with eyes full of adoration.

The first round of bidding emails was officially sent out.

Ten minutes later, the Director of Offshore Operations came sprinting down the hall, slamming Julian’s office door open.

"The sellers just rejected our first round of bids! They said our numbers are completely incoherent and insulting! They're accusing us of wasting their time!"

"Worse, two of our pricing brackets are so low that their legal counsel just sent a formal warning. They are preparing to sue us for commercial fraud!"

It was the exact chain-reaction collapse I had predicted.

Julian stood up, the smile fading from his face, but he immediately turned his fury onto the Director.

"Incompetent! This must be because your operations team failed to execute Sienna’s strategy correctly!"

He turned to Sienna, his voice carrying a hint of desperation.

"Sienna, didn't your mentor say this was a guaranteed win? Why are they threatening to sue us?"

Sienna’s face turned slightly pale, but she quickly covered it up, twisting her fingers and looking incredibly victimized.

"Julian, you have to trust the process. My mentor said we must break things down to rebuild them! This is a classic Silicon Valley tactic."

"Their aggressive response is just a test. If we stand our ground, they will back down!"

"This is just a minor bump in the road. Once we push through, we win!"

I almost burst out laughing at her absurd logic.

Using a multi-billion dollar lawsuit as a "test of faith"?

And Julian, the brilliant CEO, actually nodded. He waved his hand and roared,

"Order the legal department to fight back! Crush their attitude!"

"Anyone else who dares to question Sienna's strategy is fired immediately!"