Chapter 208

Clifford glanced up at him. "Does my father know?"

"If he hasn't called you, then probably not yet. But it's only a matter of time."

Clifford's expression didn't change. "I see. You can go."

Santino lingered. "Is Renata's plan really going to work?"

In truth, Renata hadn't mentioned a plan; he was just fishing for information. Even Santino couldn't figure out what Clifford's endgame was. Without knowing, he was forced to be reactive, and any rash move could land him right in one of Clifford's

traps.

Clifford's lips curved into a faint, humorless smile. "Santino, you're a smart man. Do you really need me to tell you if her method will work?"

Santino fell silent.

"You're too hasty, Santino," Clifford said, his tone layered with meaning. "You're showing your hand."

Santino suddenly chuckled. "You're right. After causing such a disaster, I suppose I've lost my head a bit. I'll leave you to it." With that, he backed out of the office.

Clifford's smile vanished. He picked up a file from his desk and began to flip through it.

News of the Lambert Group's stock crash spread like wildfire, dominating headlines. Even Latisha received a news alert on her phone.

She tapped the headline and saw a chart displaying the stock's trajectory. In less than half a day, it had hit its trading limit, plummeting straight down.

Latisha was stunned. She had no idea what was happening, or why the Lambert Group was suddenly facing such a massive crisis.

Before lunch, she received a text from Clifford telling her to meet him in the parking garage. Not daring to disobey, she immediately shut down her computer and took the elevator down.

He was already waiting in the car. Seeing the headlights flash, she

walked over and slid into the passenger seat. He was on the

phone one hand on the we

and

the other holding his mobile to his

ear as he pulled out of the parking space.

“It's not time yet,” he said into the phone. “Let it fall for another two days."

Latisha instinctively turned to look at him.

Clifford didn't spare her a glance, ̧ continuing his conversation without reservation. "Once it breaks the 20-day moving average we should. be able to buy back most of the scattered shares."

The person on the other end replied, "Isn't that too risky? If it drops too severely, Santino will get suspicious. We can't let him get the jump on you."

"Wouldn't that be perfect?" Clifford said coolly "He made this mess. Let him use his own money to patchi up we don't lose either way have Renata's shares now. Even if

Santino buys up all the loose stock,

he's no threat to us."

After a moment of silence, the voice on the phone chuckled. "Mr. Lambert, your strategy is brilliant."

"Just handle your end."

"Of course."

Clifford ended the call and tossed the phone onto the console. He rested his head against his hand, driving at a leisurely pace.

Sensing her gaze, he glanced over. "What are you looking at?"

Latisha quickly averted her eyes, turning to stare out the window. Although she

didn't understand the financial jargon, she grasped the gist of it: he was in a battle of wits with Santino.

The sky outside was a bleak, uniform gray, threatening rain. This winter felt exceptionally long.