?Chapter 626:


    Isabe huffed, her eyes sparking with defiance. “I’ve never had to speak before a crowd like that! Do you have to be so harsh to me? You’ve berated me for hours—enough already!”


    She clung tightly to Denis’s arm, who cleared his throat like a seasoned diplomat and said, “Rosie, take it down a notch. Isabe was trying to help, but with the Harper Group’s stocks already bouncing back, she didn’t want to risk looking like a fool.”


    He gave Isabe’s hand a reassuring pat. “Next time, she’ll step up.”


    Rosie let out a sharp snort. “Denis, I don’t understand what you see in her. She is utterly useless.”


    Isabe gave a soft hum, leaning into Denis like a cat curling up in a sunbeam. The stocks she held? A gift from Denis. Ever since Jade’s death, Denis had taken the reins of the Ward family’s ventures in Vand. With Edward gone too, there was no one left to check his books, so Denis funneled all the profits straight into his own pockets.


    Flush with cash, he had tossed Isabe some stocks as a little thank-you for keeping himpanytely. More than that, he swore she was his lucky charm; business had been smooth as silk since she had been by his side. He wanted to spoil her.


    As for the small benefits of working with Rosie, he no longer cared about that. Especially since Rosie seemed to be on a losing streaktely, he figured it was best to keep his distance from her.


    “Watch your mouth,” he snapped. “Isabe’s not your punching bag.” He slung an arm around Isabe’s shoulders and guided her out. “Let’s leave.”


    Rosie called after him, “What about those Harper Group shares? You don’t want to buy them anymore?”


    Denis didn’t even nce back. “If I want them, I’ll find sellers myself. I don’t need you to help me.”


    Rosie, fuming, flipped the table with a crash. Everyone was brushing her off like she was nothing.


    Inside the room next door, five Harper men were hunched over their phones, eyes locked on the stock market’s pulse. The eldest was Luther’s cousin. The others were his sons and nephews.


    The four younger men were glued to their screens, tracking every twitch of the Harper Group’s stock price.


    “It’s not tanking anymore. Maybe we shouldn’t sell our shares.”


    “And risk losing even more? We should sell now before the price dips again!”


    Just then, Rosie entered the room, holding up two fingers. “My final offer.”


    The younger Harpers exchanged looks. With the stocks creeping up, they were holding better cards now. They could afford to wait.


    Aldin Harper shed a cocky smirk. “Ten times that, and we’ll talk.”


    Juan Harper, cool as ice, understood the situation and said to Rosie, “Stock’s bouncing back. Yesterday’s price is not gonna cut it.”


    Rosie shrugged. “Take it or leave it. You can watch your shares turn to pocket lint.”


    She spun to leave, but the younger Harpers started to sweat. Their elder spoke up, his voice calm. “Let her leave. With everyone dumping shares, we’ll find buyers who’ll pay better.” His eyes glinted with a sly edge. “Bet Mr. Mitchell would cough up triple her offer.”


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