The more Michael thought about it, the angrier he got.


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    For Michael, Amelia was like a needle that had been lodged deep in his heart for decades, tormenting him day and night. He hated her with every fiber of his being, but he just couldn’t force her out of his life.


    “All these years, Grandpa never mentioned her or tried to find out about her, but Oliver would sometimes chat with him about how Reba was doing,” Max said, seeing right through everything. “If you ever mess with Reba’s kid, Grandpa definitely won’t let you get away with it.”


    The use in the agreement letting Reba’s child buy back those shares at the original price was Grandpa’s way of making up for what he owed Reba.


    Grandpa never said anything outright, just to save face.


    But for Michael, as Grandpa’s son, not realizing this is kinda weird.


    “Max,” Michael said, his eyes sharp as a hawk’s as he fixed his gaze on him.


    Max met his eyes head–on.


    He stood his ground, not a hint of fear in his eyes.


    “Just be straight with me. Are you trying to help Amelia and Reba?” Michael’s eyes were like daggers, ready to strike if Max so much as admitted it.


    Max didn’t answer. Instead, he shot back, “What do you think?”


    Michael’s face darkened. “Better not be!”


    Max stayed silent.


    No one could tell what he was thinking.


    “If I ever find out you’ve got even a shred of mercy for Amelia and Reba, you can forget about ever marrying the person you love,” Michael warned.


    Max’s eyes were unreadable, showing no emotion at all. “Who?”


    “You know exactly who,” Michael replied.


    A trace of confusion shed in Max’s eyes.


    That reaction made Michael start to doubt himself. ‘Wait, did I guess wrong? Maybe Max doesn’t actually like her? But if that’s true, then why has he carried a school photo in his wallet for more than ten years?‘


    “If that’s all, I’m heading out,” Max said, rising to his feet and giving his suit a quick, crisp adjustment. For a moment, the chill he carried seemed to seep into every corner of the room–somehow, that icy vibe was just part of who he was. “I’ve got an early meeting tomorrow.”


    “Go ahead,” Michael replied.


    Max gave a brief grunt in acknowledgement, then strode out of the study without another word.


    Just as Max reached the door, Michael suddenly called out, “Max”


    Max turned around. “Is there something else, Dad?”


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    “As long as you keep thepany running smoothly and make sure Reba and her people don’t get their hands on those shares, I won’t meddle in your marriage,” Michael said, testing the waters. “You can even marry someone with no family background if you want.”


    Max gave him a nd look, said nothing, and strode out without a change in expression.


    A minuteter, Max slid into his car.


    As the door shut with a solid thud, his expression frosted over, eyes turning pitch–ck and unreadable. For a moment, the ice in him seemed to chill the whole interior. Then he whipped out his phone and fired off a message to Winston: [Dig up info on someone.]


    Once he hit send, he scrolled through his photos and shot over an old school pic–definitely had some years on it, a girl in uniform.


    Max: [I want her location. One week, max.]


    Winston: [Sure thing.]


    Half an hourter, Max pulled up to his ce, the weight of the day still heavy on his shoulders.


    He stepped inside, the familiar silence of his home doing nothing to thaw the chill in his heart.


    After mulling it over for a long while, Max finally shot a message to Amelia. <fnce0e> Get full chapters from F?nd-Novel</fnce0e>


    Amelia saw the message the next morning.


    Max: [Aunt Amelia, if Reba wants to buy back the shares you once held at the original price, Quinn family rules say anybody inheriting shares has to pass a capability test first—you know how it goes.]


    “Mom,” Reba called out as she came downstairs for breakfast, seeing Amelia totally absorbed in her phone. “What are you looking at?”


    Amelia Jensen handed her the phone.


    Reba read the message, word for word.


    After she finished, her expression didn’t change much. She just asked, “What’s the skills test?”


    “Usually, they hand you some dyingpany and want to see if you can pull it back from the brink,” Amelia exined, knowing this wasn’t just them trying to make things hard for you.


    “Do I get a deadline?” Reba asked.


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    Amelia Jensen was always straight with her daughter. “Other people do, yeah. But for you? Nope. Since you’re only buying back the shares that were originally yours, you get them whenever you manage to revive the


    But for anyone else in the Quinn family, there’s always a timer ticking.


    The quicker you turn the business around, the more shares you score.


    But if you take too long, you get nothing.


    “Got it,” Reba said, making a mental note before digging into her breakfast.


    Seeing her daughterpletely unfazed, Amelia thought to herself, ‘She’s really destined for something great.‘


    Staying calm when facing big challenges–now that’s a rare trait.


    “Once I move those funds under your name, that’s when things get official,” Amelia Jensen said. “They’ll toss you a dyingpany and see if you can turn it around.”


    She hadn’t mentioned it before since she honestly thought, after all these years, that old rule would’ve just faded into the background.


    But turns out, it’s still around.


    Reba nodded. “Yeah.”


    Amelia Jensen said, “Just tell me when you’re ready.”


    Reba answered decisively, “Once I get the divorce papers next week, I’ll be ready.”


    “That soon?” Amelia’s voice wavered with concern.


    Reba had only gotten into all this a little over a month ago. Even with all the time she’d poured into it, there was still a ton she hadn’t figured out yet.


    “The longer I drag things out, the more I’m going to overthink and hesitate,” Reba said, fully aware of her own tendencies. “Honestly, nobody ever waits until they’re truly ready–sometimes, you just have to dive in once things are settled.”


    Part of it’s just acting on impulse.


    Part of it is having a deadline breathing down your neck.


    Waiting until you’re absolutely,pletely prepared before doing anything? That almost never happens.


    “Alright,” Amelia said, respecting every decision her daughter made.


    Over the next few days, Reba dedicated herself to her studies even more.


    During that time, Jack reached out to her.


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    At first, she didn’t even bother to respond.


    But Jack kept flooding her inbox with emails, and finally messaged, “Cousin Reba, here’s the details of thepany Stephen used to test my abilities back in the day. Take a look—it might help!”


    Reba nced over the info. The wholepany setup was actually pretty tight–they just seriouslycked


    resources.


    Snagging the right partnerships could easily turn things around. For her, that didn’t seem like much of a challenge.


    Jack dropped another voice message. “I flunked my test back then because they sabotaged all my negotiations. So keep your guard up–they’re never gonna let you score those shares without throwing a bunch of obstacles your way.”


    Reba shot back a quick reply: [Got it.]


    Jack saw her reply and shot back right away: “Why are you so cold? Come on, I’m your dear little cousin!”


    Reba nced at the message and didn’t bother to reply.


    She went right back to focusing on her own work.


    She knew Michael and the Quinn family wouldn’t just let her walk away with those shares–they’d throw every obstacle in her path. But she didn’t care; whatever came her way, she’d make it happen, no matter what.


    She was determined to show Michael that even if you use every trick in the book to keep something that was never yours, one day, it’ll still end up back with its rightful owner.


    Time flew by.


    Before she knew it, thest day of the cooling–off period had arrived.


    Reba nced at her nner and crossed out September 29th with her pen.


    Once today was over, she could finally head back to Jsburg and get her divorce papers–the divorce certificate she should’ve gotten months ago.


    Just as Reba was ticking off dates in her nner, her phone lit up–it was Jessica. Knowing how her friend had been cramming knowledge like a wolf on the prowl, Jessica barely dared to text these days, let alone call. She finally picked a moment when Reba might actually answer.


    “Surviving this month okay?” Jessica asked.


    Reba replied truthfully, “Yeah, pretty alright.”


    “Jeffrey hasn’t been stirring up any drama, has he?” Jessica pressed, half–joking, half–curious.


    Reba didn’t even blink. “Nope.”


    Jessica: “Not even a little?”


    Reba: “Nope.”


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    Jessica blinked in surprise. “Honestly, I really didn’t expect Jeffrey to stick to his word. I thought for sure he’d end up embarrassing himself this month.”