“Mr. Ball, what do we do now?”
The shrewd and capable man felt lost as he stared at the situation before him. Even if Alban was currently enraged, he had no other option but to muster the courage and ask.
Alban panted heavily and replied harshly, “This was Jasper’s objective all along. He predicted that this would happen, and we’ve been forced into a dead-end. There’s no way to turn this around, so we can only march forward even if it. spells our end.”
“Which means…”
The middle-aged man had a sour look on his face.
“Even if we know that Jasper and the rest are going to devour our money, we can’t do anything to stop them?”
Alban closed his eyes. His chest felt tight, and he replied painfully, “Jasper, oh, Jasper. I’ve really underestimated this little brat. Is he really just in his twenties?”
“I suppose it’s only right, he did make his first profit through the stock market.”
Alban thought back to the night a few days ago. He remembered how Jasper had told him with vigor, confidence, and decisiveness that he had made his first big money through the stock market.
Everyone there thought that Jasper was a moron, including himself.
Yet, now Alban finally understood. Jasper was truly skilled.
Forced into a corner, Alban clenched his jaw and pulled out his phone to make a call.
The phone ring for a long time before it connected. Alban began with a grim tone, “Gale, something went wrong with our partnership and now Jasper’s coming for my head. You can’t just let me die like this.”
Gale chuckled and replied, “We had agreed before that the partnership was a one-off thing, regardless of whether it succeeded or failed. Whether or not he is coming after you has nothing to do with me.”
Alban was enraged. “Are you really not going to help me, Old Master Hurlbutt? Aren’t you afraid that the person in Harbor City will cause your trouble?”
Gale replied calmly, “My relationship with them goes no further than a mere partnership. One that has nothing to do with you.”
“Moreover, you think he would trouble me because of you? You really think that because I have retired and decided not to involve myself in business matters that you bullsh*t businesspeople from Teo have the power to compete with the Haddock Chamber of Commerce?”
“Alban, as an old man, let me tell you something. Just stop here. You might not believe what I am about to tell you.
“After the forum that night, Jasper had already predicted the events that would unfold today, as well as your attempts at contacting me to further our partnership. Even so, he gave me a little piece of information.”
“You have something to hold over me, yes?”
Alban was horrified by what he heard. Mouth and eyes agape, he stood blankly in place.
“He called me that night. I know that he was trying to pit us against each other and end all possibilities of us cooperating again. But even if he did not do that, there is no way I would work together with you again. This is because you are just a discarded pawn to me.”
After Gale finished speaking, Alban heard the beeping of a disconnected line.
Crash.
Alban’s phone fell to the floor. He was completely stunned.
At that moment, the shrewd and capable man suddenly shouted in a panic, “Mr. Ball! Jasper and the others have made their move!”
Alban’s head snapped over to the market index.
He instantly saw that the column for sell orders was instantly filled, even though it was almost empty mere moments ago. Transactions now filled the column like a swarm of bees.
Seatreasures Group’s share prices had begun to give again, less than an hour after it showed a bullish trend from a low opening price.
Instead of a dive, it would be more accurate to call this a plummet.
The share prices resembled a crashing plane as it plummeted from the heavens.
Without needing to think, Alban knew that Jasper had made his move.
After Jasper had made the first move, the other organizations followed suit.
