Over the next week, ra stayed low-key at home, keeping tabs on the buzz at work. Greysen was on a power trip, swapping out anyone he didn''t like. Most of the top brass backed him, but a few decent folks stayed neutral-and those were the ones who got the boot. Desperate, they reached out to ra.


    "Ms. ra, what do we do now? We''ve been with thepany for ages."


    Switching jobs at their age seemed like a hassle, but leaving the corporate grind altogether felt unsettling. To them, the CEO''s chair was like a throne, where picking the right side meant hitting the jackpot. Clearly, Greysen didn''t care for fence-sitters.


    ra wasn''t a fan either, but at least these folks hadn''t stabbed Johnny in the back. She told them, "Hang tight for two weeks."


    They immediately wondered if she had something up her sleeve. It was obvious that Ryan still had a lot to learn, and ra was the real power yer. But since she rarely showed up at the office, they didn''t know what to expect from her.


    ra kept it vague, just telling them to sit tight. After the call, she even had the luxury of cooking herself a nice meal.


    Three dayster, Greysen tried to push through a bignd development project, hoping to cash in on the Dawson family''s clout by building a hospital. But the moment they submitted the ns, they got shot down.


    Turns out, an underground river made thend a no-go for construction. Greysen was floored and resubmitted the proposal, only to get rejected again.


    As he clung to a shred of hope, news about the underground river spread like wildfire. If it had stayed under wraps, he might''ve sold thend to some unsuspecting buyer. But now, no one wanted to touch it.


    Greysen was in a panic. Victory Capital had financed thend, and now they were staring at a two-billion-dor ck hole. When Darrick called him up, Greysen was sweating bullets.


    "Mr. Darrick, I think ra set us up. Maybe she knew about thend issue and that''s why she sold it."


    Darrick, touching his prosthetic eye, chuckled. "So, you''re saying our two billion is gone?"


    Greysen was terrified of Darrick. He''d once promised to sell his shares if he couldn''t recover the money.


    "Mr. Darrick..."


    Darrick''s voice was icy. "You''ve got two weeks. If I don''t get my money back, you know what happens."


    Greysen was a mess. He owned about twenty percent of the shares, but selling them wouldn''t evene close to covering two billion. The Bradford Group''s shares weren''t worth that much.


    He tried calling ra, but she wouldn''t pick up. Desperate, he turned to Ryan. Ryan had just left Quinn''s ce when he saw Greysen on his knees.


    "Ryan, you''ve got to help me. Your sister''s got it in for me! If I can''t fix things with Victory Capital, Darrick will ruin me."


    Ryan had been diving into the materials ra gave him, aware of the tension between Victory Capital and the Bradford family. He didn''t want to get involved and was ready to leave, but Greysen grabbed his pant leg, begging and banging his head on the ground.


    Blood trickled down his forehead; he looked pitiful. Ryan remembered him from his childhood, seeing Greysen alongside Johnny from their humble beginnings.


    "Ryan, I messed up. I know that now. Can you talk to ra, get her to return the two billion? I''m willing to give up all my shares and leave the Capital. Just help me this once, and I promise I''ll be out of your hair."


    Ryan, sheltered from such chaos, had never seen anything like it. Greysen''s eyes shone with desperation, and he banged his head harder, leaving a pool of blood.


    It was winter, the cold wind biting, making him seem even more pathetic. Ryan took a deep breath.


    "Greysen, this is beyond me. ra''s the one in charge."


    "She''ll listen to you! She has to! Ryan, can''t you see she''s grooming you? For your dad''s sake, help me out. Don''t push me to the edge. I''ll sign over my shares to you right now."


    Ryan saw the fear in Greysen''s eyes and thought of their long history, so he called ra.


    ra listened to his plea and didn''t scold him. Instead, she said, "In business, emotions are a liability."


    A good leader, like Dn, never lets sentiment cloud judgment.


    Ryan hesitated but sighed at the sight of the blood-stained ground. "ra, he''s willing to give me all his shares. Isn''t this what Dad would''ve wanted? I don''t want to be heartless."


    ra was silent, gazing out the window, her breath fogging the ss.


    "If that''s your call, then so be it."


    She would make sure he remembered this: never to show mercy to those who''d turn on you, especially someone like Greysen, who could easily be swayed by his own interests.