Antoney ground his teeth. "Star is his own daughter. How could he treat her so coldly?"


    Nicolle replied, "Skyler has more than a few children, and Ste barely grew up around him. There was never much of a bond to begin with."


    She shrugged. "Besides, families like theirs care about power and profit, not emotions. Skyler''s the worst of the lot. Remember when Nora waited years for him, running thepany for his sake? As soon as he recovered his memory, he couldn''t toss her out of Williams Enterprises fast enough."


    Antoney''s lips parted as if to protest, but in the end no words came. He knew deep down that Nicolle was right.


    She continued, "I didn''t call you here so you could stick up for Ste. Right now, you''re in no position to help her—and honestly, she doesn''t need you interfering."


    A faint, approving smile curved Nicolle''s lips. "Ste handled things brilliantly this time. You should take a page from her ybook, see how she managed to stand her ground alone against both family heads."


    “Sure, after all this, Williams Enterprises'' stock will take a hit. But it''s the best shot she''ll ever have to break into thepany''s leadership. Without the ipetence of Skyler and his son, even as Skyler''s biological daughter, Ste would be nothing but an outsider. The wholepany might unite against her."


    "This time, yes, she rattled thepany''s interests—but Skyler and his son handled it so poorly, they''ve only made themselves look worse. Sometimes you have to take a risk if you want to gain anything; you can''t have your cake and eat it too. Ste understands that perfectly. If she yed it safe and tiptoed around their precious profits, she''d always be under their thumb. Now, after this, I doubt either Skyler or his son will dare to mess with her again."


    Antoney finally saw the picture. Ste''s move, which seemed impulsive on the surface, was actually ast resort-full of heartbreak and helplessness. If she had any real support, why would she choose such a difficult path? With the Williams family turning their backs on her, she had no one left to rely on. This was the only way she could mount aeback.


    As Nicolle finished her analysis, Antoney felt himself slowly calming down.


    He understood now: even though Abby started the livestream, she would never have gone ahead with something so risky without Ste''s approval. Abby''s impulsiveness had brought Ste plenty of trouble before; she wouldn''t dare cross that line again.


    Nicolle, still listening to the


    broadcast, chuckled. "Once today is over, Skyler and his son are going to be running around in circles-trying to clean up the mess Ste left behind, scrambling to contain the stock market chaos... I can''t wait to see the look on their faces when the storm hits."


    The Williams family''s media room was outfitted with the finest, state-of-the-art equipment. The surround sound was wless, clear as if the speakers were right beside you every word crisp, every nuance magnified.


    Viewers online could hear everything; for those present in the room, it was impossible to miss a single detail.


    As the family reyed the moments


    when they''d been publicly


    humiliated, the mood soured. Even Aurora, ever poised, struggled to keep herposure. Leonard, who usually prided himself on his poker face, felt a surge of irritation listening to his own words echo back at him.


    No one dared speak. An awkward silence settled over the room—a tension so


    thick it seemed to press on their chests.


    Suddenly, a sharp knock shattered the quiet.


    The butler, clutching the house phone, stood at the door, anxiety etched across


    his face. "Mr. Williams, there''s an urgent call for you. You need to take this."


    The butler had served Skyler for years and would never risk interrupting at such a moment unless it was truly important.


    Skyler frowned and reached for the phone. "What''s got you so worked up?"