chapter1019

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 Stella 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 the company 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 Stella. 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. "Stella handled things brilliantly this time. You should take a page from her playbook, 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 the company's leadership. Without the incompetence of Skyler and his son, even as Skyler's biological daughter, Stella would be nothing but an outsider. The whole company might unite against her."

"This time, yes, she rattled the company'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. Stella understands that perfectly. If she played 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. Stella's move, which seemed impulsive on the surface, was actually a last 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 a comeback.

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 Stella's approval. Abby's impulsiveness had brought Stella 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 Stella 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 flawless, 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 replayed the moments

when they'd been publicly

humiliated, the mood soured. Even Aurora, ever poised, struggled to keep her composure. 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?"