Chapter 172 The Collapse Begins
“Dad, we can hire our own lawyer!” Naomi said in a panic. “I don’t believe they can twist the truth just because they’re rich!”
“What good will that do?! The Hayes family only hires the most elite attorneys. We’d lose the case before it even begins!”
Nolan’s move was ruthless–it wasn’t about law. It was domination.
Just then, Nathan’s phone rang.
Seeing it was the company line, he quickly answered.
His secretary’s voice trembled with urgency: “Sir! Something’s wrong! The company’s in trouble!”
Nathan’s heart sank. “What are you talking about? We were stable just yesterday!”
“We don’t know where they came from–some outside firm suddenly swooped in and stole our clients. Several major projects have been pulled. Even our trusted partners have backed out. We’re now deep in debt. If we can’t find emergency funding… we won’t last half a month.”
The line went silent.
Nathan staggered, reeling as if the floor had dropped out beneath him.
This couldn’t be happening.
“Darling!”
“Dad!”
Evelyn and Naomi rushed to support him as he collapsed, his world crumbling.
Meanwhile, Eliza sat quietly in Nolan’s car.
Her assistant had just messaged her: their firm had successfully overtaken all of the Rivers family’s business interests.
If they didn’t get an injection of capital within two weeks, the Rivers family would face total bankruptcy.
Their fate would mirror the Holt family’s–swift and irreversible.
“Where do you want to go?” Nolan’s low voice broke through her thoughts.
“Home,” she said quietly.
She felt utterly drained.
Not even during SAT prep had she felt this kind of bone–deep exhaustion.
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Chapter 172 The Collapse Begins
The family she had longed for all her life–turned out to be a complete joke.
None of them had ever been her family.
With a bitter smile, Eliza murmured, “I must look really pathetic.”
Nolan didn’t reply immediately.
Finished
“I used to think it was because I was born first. That Mom didn’t like me because I was older. They always told me an older sister had to give way to her younger sibling. So no matter what Naomi did, I had to yield. Eventually, I even started to believe that was right.”
She thought of her past life, when she took the fall for Naomi.
Zayden had divorced her, her parents begged her.
She
gave in–she’d been raised to think it was her duty.
She spent her life cleaning up Naomi’s messes, believing that was love.
Naomi was radiant. She was the cloud floating high in the sky.
Eliza never went to college. She was the mud beneath Naomi’s feet–easily ignored.
Even when she went to prison, she convinced herself it was worth it–her ruined life traded for Naomi’s brilliant future.
But then she heard Naomi’s scorn. Her parents lobbying for her execution.
That’s when the illusion shattered.
It was all just her own pathetic delusion.
“I don’t know how to comfort people,” Nolan said after a pause. “But if you want to make them pay, I’ll do
it.”
“You?” Eliza turned to him.
She knew Nolan had the power. But she shook her head.
“My revenge is mine to carry out. Besides… they won’t last long.”
The Rivers family was already crumbling from the impact of the recent flu outbreak.
They were like a toppling skyscraper. She just gave it one final push.
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News of the Rivers family’s crisis spread quickly in elite circles.
With the pandemic still causing chaos, many investors became hyper–cautious–pulling out at the first signs of instability to avoid losses.
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Nathan called contact after contact from his office, desperate.
“Come on! We’ve known each other for over a decade. You know I’m good for it! Just invest–I swear I’ll get your money back within the year. Hello? Hello?!”
Another call dropped.
His face darkened with each rejection.
That was the 20th call today.
Even his old friends were backing away.
The Rivers family was finished.
Just then, the office door creaked open.
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