chapter1120

Stella recounted the call she'd just received from the shareholders to Joshua, laying out every detail. By the time she finished, she could practically piece the entire scheme together.

"I'm almost certain this is my brothers' doing," she sighed.

As for Skyler, she doubted he'd ever get his hands dirty or leave any evidence behind, but he certainly wouldn't lift a finger to stop them, either.

Stella's gaze drifted to the stack of acquisition documents on the table. "Haynes really does have vision," she mused.

Joshua leaned in with a suggestion. "Maybe we should reach out to that Jake guy first. If he's for real, not only will we have nothing to worry about financially, but we'll even have leftover funds to invest elsewhere."

"My thoughts exactly," Stella replied. "Jake was my first choice, too. Still, we need a backup plan. If he turns out to be a fraud, we can't afford to be caught completely unprepared."

Right now, selling off their original shares had hit a snag.

Their options were clear: Jake, or scraping together loans from various sources.

She trusted Haynes, Foreman, and the others implicitly. They would never cheat her; if it came to it, relying on them as a last resort made the most sense.

But she'd owe them-big time.

With the contract signing looming, this wasn't the moment to dwell on favors owed.

After a moment's thought, Stella decided to contact Jake herself.

Almost as if he'd been waiting for her call, Jake answered right away. As soon as she explained her purpose, he set a time and place for them to meet.

She made sure the location was private-a discreet club outside the city center- far from the Williams family and anyone who might try to meddle.

Stella arrived half an hour early, but when she opened the door, Jake was already there, waiting.

He was alone-no assistant, no entourage.

Jake stood and greeted her with a warm smile as she entered.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he slid the contract across the table to her.

Stella had only brought Joshua along. She wasn't ready to trust Aicken just yet, so she hadn't told him about the meeting with Jake.

Aicken, for his part, didn't believe anything would come of it. In his mind, Jake was just another con artist.

After all, five billion dollars wasn't pocket change. With that much on the line, nobody would just hand it over without a catch.

Joshua, however, was well-versed in business: Once Stella had reviewed the Contract and found no flaws, she

I it to him for a second look. s

He read it over carefully, then nodded. "It's all solid." This text is hosted at f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?.net

On the final page, Stella signed her name.

She glanced at Jake's signature just a single letter: R.

Could a signature like that really be legally binding? The thought flickered across her mind.

Just then, her phone buzzed in her pocket.

She pulled it out and blinked in disbelief-a payment notification.

The string of zeros after the five made her head spin.

Stella counted them, twice, then a third time, before finally accepting that the full five billion had landed in the account.

Upfront. The entire amount.

She looked from the signature on the contract to the confirmation on her phone, a strange sense of unreality settling over her.

He'd signed with an alias-wasn't he afraid she'd just take the money and run?

Joshua turned to Jake. "Now that the contract's executed, we're free to transfer the funds to other accounts, correct?"

Jake maintained the same polite, customer-service smile. "Of course, Ms. Cameron. Do as you see fit."

Stella exchanged a glance with Joshua, then excused herself to make a call.

She wasn't about to risk any

last-minute tricks-if Jake tried to reverse the payment now, they'd be sunk. As soon as the funds landed,

she intended to move them to safer account. s

The moment Stella stepped out of the private room, Jake spoke qui

"Mr. Gardner,

matter with

Foreman it's settled." s.net>

"Did he suspect anything?" Joshua asked.