Charlene nced up without thinking and caught the unmistakable look of disdain and arrogance in Vesta''s eyes.


    The moment their gazes met, Vesta''s expression turned cold. She looked away without a word.


    Stewart made a face. "She''s really full of herself, isn''t she?"


    Charlene''s knuckles whitened around her ss as she watched the guests swarming around Vesta and Henley, eager to win their favor and strike a deal. She lowered her eyes and said quietly, "When someone''s got enough backing, a little arrogance is only natural."


    She paused, then added, "The Hawkins family has picked up some impressive talenttely."


    Stewart knew Charlene had been looking to make a move against the Hawkins Group. He also suspected she didn''t want him getting involved, maybe to keep him out of trouble if things went sideways. So he hadn''t pressed her for details.


    But hearing her bring it up now, he could tell things weren''t going as nned. He leaned in, keeping his voice low. "Not going well?"


    "No."


    She''d tried hacking into the Hawkins Group systems a few times already, and it was obvious their defenses had leveled up in a big way.


    Despite her skill and subtlety, the Hawkins Group''s new cybersecurity experts- brought in by Thorne himself—had still managed to detect traces of her intrusion. Granted, all they knew was that someone had tried to break in. They hadn''t managed to trace it back to her.


    But getting around those new experts and doing what she needed to do was proving anything but easy.


    It didn''t escape her notice that these high-level tech hires had alle through Thorne. Which meant Thorne was actively shielding the Hawkins family from her.


    And with his deep pockets and extensivework, Thorne could pour endless resources into the Hawkins Group.


    So whether it was a technical breach or any other tactic to take the Hawkins Group down, none of it would work-not with Thorne in their corner.


    The reason nobody in the Henderson family could rein him in was simple: Thorne owned morepanies than anyone could count. A few years back, a finance magazine had tried to tally up his assets and concluded Thorne alone was worth more than the entire Henderson Group.


    PrimeStar was doing well, sure, but when it came to personal wealth, she and Stewart weren''t even in the same league as Thorne.


    Which made it child''s y for Thorne to prop up both Neural Nexus Tech and the Hawkins Group. As long as he was around, taking either of them down was a pipe dream.


    The thought made Stewart grit his teeth in frustration.


    Worried Charlene might do something reckless, he tried to reassure her. "Don''t rush. We''ll get our chance."


    "I know."


    Neither of them had any desire to linger at the party.


    After another half hour, they made their way out.


    Downstairs, as they headed toward the parking lot, they spotted Thorne, Vesta,


    and Henley standing together not far off.


    Thorne hadn''t even bothered to show up at the party.


    There was only one reason he''d be here now: to pick up Vesta.


    At that moment, Thorne and his group noticed Charlene and Stewart too.


    Vesta''s face was unreadable, but Henley frowned as soon as he saw Charlene.


    Thorne, on the other hand, simply


    nodded


    their direction.et


    and Charlene both looked


    pretending not to notice.  s


    Their cars were parked just a few spots apart.


    So, their guess had been right-Thorne really was here to pick up Vesta.


    As they reached their car, they saw Thorne and Vesta wave goodbye to<fn00fc> ??? ????? ???????s ??? ?????s??? ?? fin?novel</fn00fc>


    cy before climbing into Thorne''s


    and driving off.


    to s


    Showing up thiste just to pick her up... odds were, they were already living together.


    With that thought, Stewart let out a sigh and said, "Let''s just get some rest."


    Charlene nodded.


    Without another word, they each got into their cars and left.


    The next morning, with a project deadline looming, Charlene and Stewart met up with several PrimeStar engineers at the airport ready to link up with the Henderson Group team for a system triatin Jade City.  s


    As soon as they arrived and joined the others, they spotted Thorne and Vesta in


    the crowd.