CHAPTER 181: CHAPTER 181

At that moment, before James could even say another word on the phone, the line went dead. It wasn’t static, it wasn’t a bad network Cora had simply ended the call. For a second, James just froze, the phone still pressed against his ear as though waiting for her voice to return.

"Hello? Cora? Can you hear me?" he said quickly, his tone sharp and desperate. But the silence on the other end mocked him. When he finally pulled the phone away to look, his heart sank. The call had been cut. No worse it had been ended by her.

A wave of fury shot through him. His jaw tightened, and his hand trembled as he almost hurled the phone to the floor. His chest rose and fell heavily, and curses spilled from his lips as he began pacing the room like a trapped animal. Everything was falling apart, one piece at a time, and now the only lifeline he had his one hope had just turned her back on him.

"What the hell am I supposed to do now?" he muttered under his breath, his voice breaking between anger and despair. He pressed his palm to his forehead, his thoughts spinning wildly. King Stone Investment deadline was already circling like vultures. They would come for him soon, and once they did, everything his reputation, his company, his carefully built facade would collapse in a single blow.

He swallowed hard. "So that’s it? I just lose everything? Like this? Why? How?" He asked the empty room, his words echoing like a curse. He hated feeling helpless, but that was exactly where he was now.

But then, slowly, a thought crept in. Maybe it was because it was just a phone call. Maybe Cora’s heart had hardened only because she couldn’t see him. She couldn’t look into his eyes. If he could just meet her face-to-face, he might still have a chance to twist her heart, to sway her again. Yes, he had to. He had no other choice.

James straightened, his breathing still heavy, but his eyes sharp with a desperate resolve. Without wasting another second, he strode to his wardrobe and began pulling out a clean shirt and trousers. He changed quickly, his movements fast and restless. He wasn’t going to sit and wait for ruin to arrive at his door he was going to find Cora, no matter where she was. She had to listen to him. She had to.

He muttered to himself while buttoning his shirt, "This is my only shot now. I have to see her. I have to."

**

Cora still seated with Oliver. She was still fuming, her face stiff, her hands curled into fists against the table. Oliver, noticing how unsettled she looked, tilted his head curiously.

"Who was that on the phone?" he asked slowly, his eyes narrowing. "It seems the person call, made you look even angrier than before."

At that moment, Cora let out a long sigh, her shoulders dropping as if the weight of James’s name alone annoyed her.

"Well, it’s nothing serious," she muttered with sharp disdain. "It’s that good-for-nothing James again. Can you believe that fool actually thinks he can sweet-talk me into coming back into his already rotten life?" Her lips curled into a bitter smirk, her tone dripping with mockery. "After everything he did after every betrayal, every wound he left behind he thinks a few pathetic words will make me come running? He must be out of his mind."

At that moment Oliver sat back silently, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. He had suspected as much, and hearing Cora speak so bluntly only confirmed what was already gnawing at him. Still, he didn’t let his irritation show. Instead, he kept a neutral expression, watching her with the kind of calm patience that disguised the anger stirring within.

Cora, oblivious to his restrained fury, went on. "It’s all in the past now, and I have nothing to worry about anymore. From the very beginning, I already had a plan for him. I told myself I would not waste my life crying over that bastard. No what I wanted was to destroy him, piece by piece, so he would never rise again." Her voice grew harder, her eyes sharp with cold satisfaction.

She leaned slightly forward, lowering her voice, as though confiding a delicious secret. "And I’ve done it. His company taken over. His allies broken. Every single one of them who dared to help him ended up tasting their own share of punishment. I made sure of that. James thought he was untouchable, but I’ve pulled the ground right from under him."

Oliver clenched his jaw, the truth of her words cutting deeper than he wanted to admit, he was waiting for more. Yet he masked his anger with a faint smile, nodding as though he were simply listening. Inside, though, the confirmation of her cruelty burned.

Cora smirked again, her eyes glinting with cruel delight. "Now, all I’m waiting for is one final trigger, one more strike that will seal everything. And once that happens..." She leaned back in her chair, her voice cool and certain.

"Once that happens, James is done for, like completely finished destroy."

At that moment, upon hearing what Cora just said, Oliver’s brows furrowed in suspicion. He leaned forward and asked curiously, his voice carrying a sharp edge, "What is that thing you’re waiting for, Cora? What could possibly be so important that even the mighty Cora, who can topple companies with one phone call, can’t simply push a button and have it resolved? Don’t tell me you’re suddenly having second thoughts about going easy on that fool. Because if that’s the case, let me make this clear, I won’t forgive you. Not after everything you’ve vowed. Not after everything that bastard did to you."

Hearing what Oliver just said, Cora’s eyes flared with anger, her lips curling in disdain. She turned sharply toward Oliver, her voice low but laced with venom. "Don’t you ever insult me like that. Me? Forgive him? Never. I will never, ever forgive that bastard for what he did to me. Not in this life, not in any other. He ruined me, he mocked me, he thought I’d crawl back after all of it. No, Oliver. I will see to it that he is reduced to nothing but dust under my feet."

She drew in a slow breath, her anger steady but controlled.

"But the truth is, the final trigger isn’t something I can just snap my fingers and create. I’ve tried... oh, I’ve tried many times, but it hasn’t worked out. It’s not that easy." Her voice dipped, almost as though she hated to admit this weakness.

Oliver narrowed his eyes. "So what is it then? What is this mighty thing that even you, Cora, cannot reach so easily?"

For a moment, silence lingered. Then Cora’s lips twisted into a cold smile. "Kingstone Investments," she said deliberately, watching Oliver’s reaction. "James took a massive loan from them. Two years’ repayment. Do you understand what that means? From my calculations, the deadline is nearly here. And with everything I’ve already stripped from him his company, his influence, his supporters tell me, how will that fool ever repay such a debt?"

Immediately Oliver’s face darkened with understanding. "So if Kingstone calls in the loan."

Cora cut him off sharply. "Then it’s over for him. Completely. His house, the few scraps of money he’s managed to hold on to, his cars, his pride everything will be seized. He’ll be left with nothing. And that, Oliver, is what I’ve been waiting for. The one final blow."