EchoWave… Dalton Ramirez’s company.

Vesta hadn’t seen or heard from Dalton since Dr. Lucas’s disastrous gala.

When the other investors had started threatening to withdraw, she had wondered if Dalton would follow suit.

She swallowed hard. “What exactly did EchoWave say?”

“Mr. Ramirez’s secretary said they’ll send a representative over later to discuss the withdrawal terms.”

Send a representative…

That meant Dalton wasn’t coming himself.

In the past, he had handled every single negotiation with her in person.

Vesta pulled herself together. “Understood.”

By that afternoon, Vesta was drowning in damage control.

Henley and the rest of the family had caught wind of the mass exodus.

Neural Nexus Tech was valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, but it wasn’t publicly listed yet. With investors fleeing and equity frozen, if the company couldn’t stay afloat, all that value would evaporate into thin air.

Every dime they had poured into it after taking over would be gone.

If Neural Nexus became worthless, Hawkins Technology would be saddled with

debts they couldn’t pay, even if they sold everything they owned.

Henley’s expression was grim. “Vesta, we can’t drag this out any longer.”

No matter what, they desperately needed an answer from Thorne.

If he was truly cutting ties with them, they had to start mitigating their losses immediately to save whatever they could.

If they kept waiting…

Vesta knew exactly what was at stake.

The entire Hawkins and Spencer households were suffocating under the weight of the crisis.

Suddenly, the sound of a car pulling up outside broke the tense silence.

Maureen and the others jumped up, but before they could reach the door, Jacques strolled in, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

Completely oblivious to the heavy atmosphere, he scowled at them. “I thought we agreed you guys would pick me up at the airport after my camp I landed, and it was just the driver I figured you were all super busy, but you’re just sitting around the house!”

After his exams, Maureen had shipped Jacques off to an overseas training camp.

It was a rigorous program with strictly cut-off internet and phone access, so he had no idea his family had become a public laughingstock.

Before he left, Henley and Vesta had indeed promised to greet him at the airport.

But Vesta was currently swamped, Henley was busy putting out his own fires, and Maureen and the others were practically hiding indoors. terrified of being recognized from the viral photos online.

So, they hadn’t gone. They had just sent a driver.

The mood in the room was incredibly bleak, and even Jacques’s return couldn’t lift their spirits.

Maureen quickly walked over. “Your sister and dad have been swamped with work lately. So many headaches at the office. And I wasn’t feeling well today, so…”

Jacques knew he was the golden child of the family. He wasn’t actually furious.

Hearing they were busy deflated his annoyance, and his focus shifted to Maureen. “Are you sick, Mom? You okay?”

“I’m fine, much better now,” she soothed. “We were just waiting for you to have dinner. Let’s eat.”

“Okay.”

They moved to the dining room. As they sat down, Jacques suddenly remembered something. He looked at Vesta, a hint of complaint in his voice Hey, I came back today and Thorne isn’t even here? Is he on another business trip?”

Vesta and everyone else froze.