Chapter 25

The Maserati slowly pulled away, and Sierra watched the hotel shrink in the rear-view mirror. She picked up her phone and dialed a number. "Steve, check Butterfield Group's latest financials. I've got a hunch they're in trouble since Aaron left." "I'm already on it," Steve replied. "There are some red flags. Their stock price has been seeing massive fluctuations. I'll have a full report ready by tomorrow." ... The next day at Butterfield Group's headquarters, Zach and Esther sat at the conference table with 20 executives. The performance chart on the screen showed a sharp decline. Stanley Cowell, the finance director, adjusted his glasses. "Our third-quarter profits have dropped by 17%. The main issue is the delay in phase two of the Galaxy Project, which caused costs to spike. On top of that, the failed deal with Skyveil Technologies resulted in a direct loss of 300 million dollars. There's also—" Zach's expression darkened, and he slammed his fist on the table. "That's enough!