?Chapter 716:


    Thinking along these lines, Kolton grew more convinced that Zoey had yed no part in Maia’s change behind bars.


    “I might’ve been reading too much into it,” Kolton muttered, snapping hisptop shut.


    Still, a flicker of doubt lingered in his eyes.


    Just then, a knock echoed on the door.


    A gentle voice called out, “Dad, it’s me — Mariana.”


    Kolton turned his eyes toward the door, his tone sharp andmanding. “Come in.”


    Mariana slowly opened the door, her body trembling like a leaf in the wind. Her lip quivered as she stepped inside, clearly anxious.


    She crept forward on shaky legs, her hands clenched tightly in front of her. She didn’t dare lift her eyes to meet his.


    Outside, a streak of lightning split the sky, briefly lighting up Kolton’s face and revealing the frost in his expression.


    Under that harsh sh, his features looked carved from stone — cold, severe, and filled with a simmering rage.


    A low roll of thunder echoed across the distance.


    Though Kolton had yet to say a word, Mariana’s fear overwhelmed her. She copsed to her knees with a loud smack against the floor.


    Tears poured down her cheeks as she sobbed, “Dad, I messed up. I didn’t mean for it to go this far. I only wanted to reim what should’ve been ours from Maia. I didn’t think—”


    “Enough!” Kolton bellowed, suddenly rising to his feet and mming his hand onto the desk, the impact echoing like a gunshot.


    your failure? Today’s productunch conference sent our stock plummeting to the maximum allowable drop. In just a few minutes, we lost one billion in market value! This downward spiral isn’t stopping either. Over the next few days, our stock will likely keep hitting those limits, and we could end up losing over ten billion!”


    Feel the thrill on gα?ησν????s?c?m


    Every trace of color fled from Mariana’s stricken face.


    She knew that her father would be livid and had prepared herself for his explosive anger over today’s mess. But never in her wildest nightmares had she imagined that her scheme would bring such ruinous losses to the Cooper Group.


    Terror gripped Mariana’s heart. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking, and hot tears poured down her cheeks like a broken dam.


    “Dad, I had no clue things would go this wrong. I honestly didn’t… What am I supposed to do now? Can we somehow fix this?”


    Kolton gazed at his daughter’s miserable state. Though rage still burned in his chest, he felt his heart soften despite himself.


    Just this afternoon, he’d actuallyplimented her on handling things so well.


    If he was being honest, part of this disaster was his own doing forpletely underestimating Maia.


    He released a long, tired breath and rubbed Mariana’s back soothingly, wiping her tears with gentle fingers.


    “That’s enough crying. Since we’re already in this deep,


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