"If a family like that could be destroyed in just a year or two, The Burton Group would have been finished long ago. It wouldn''t deserve its reputation at the top. Not even a TV show would dare write a plot like that."


    It was a feat beyond even Ste''s capabilities, and likely beyond Joshua''s as well.


    Families like the Williams, the Watsons, the Chapmans, the Burtons, and the Lermans were so established that unless they did something catastrophically self- destructive, bankrupting them would be an immense challenge, even if the head of the family died. Moreover, the power structures within these families wereplex and decentralized. To prevent a single leader''s poor decision from jeopardizing the entirepany and family, almost none of them operated with one person having absolute authority.


    Ste nodded. "Exactly. So, instead of wasting time trying to bankrupt them, it''s better to chip away at their market share. There''s a lot of room for us to seize resources from them. Without the core assets Mr. Burton gave me, I would have had no chance of getting a piece of the pie while The Burton Group dominated the


    market.


    "The Burton family made me, and the Burton family could break me. Ultimately, we started with their resources. Since we can''t break away from them for now, we''ll create a sub-brand. The advantage is that we can leverage The Burton Group''s reputation to get started and expand our operations. Even though we''repeting with them, we have Mr. Burton''s help, which keeps him out of a difficult position."


    "That all sounds great. So what''s the downside?" Abby asked.


    Ste smiled. "The downside is that we can''t just make them go bankrupt overnight. On the surface, it feels like we''re holding back."


    Abby blurted out, "So what if we are? You can''t look a gift horse in the mouth. Mr. Burton is willing to help us out of respect for his old friends, not so we can tear down the family he built."


    No matter how vicious Sellers


    Burton was, Mr. Burton had been nothing but good to Ste. That was true in the past and even more after Stelle returned to the Williams family, when he handed over some of his most valuable assets to her. That was what had made the other Burtons so jealous that they targeted her with such ferocity.


    But as kind as Mr. Burton was to Ste, he would never help her destroy the business he had worked so hard to establish and leave his own descendants destitute.


    Ste looked out at the bustling


    crowd in the ballroom and said to


    Abby, "Actually, that was Mr. Burton''s true intention all along when he gave me those resources and offered his support. just happened to understand what he meant."


    "Just understanding his intentions is impressive enough," Abby said. "And the fact


    that he was willing to entrust them to you shows he trusts you."


    Of course, if Ste had gotten


    carried away and tried to stir up trouble with the wild idea of bankrupting the Williams family taking for herself, Mr Burton would have immediately withdrawn his support.


    Abby smiled. "We''re building our sess on the foundation The Burton Groupid.


    If Sellers ever found out, he''d probably have an aneurysm. This isn''t holding back— this is karmaing full circle!"


    Ste was about to say more when she felt a piercing gaze on her from somewhere on the second floor.


    Her brow furrowed slightly as she looked up in that direction. But when she raised her head, the spot was empty.


    Noticing her change in expression, Abby asked, "Star, what''s wrong?"