After Darleen left, Thorne turned to Vesta with a curious look, “Had a chat with Darleen?”

Vesta chuckled softly, “Yeah, I did.”

Judging by Darleen’s expression, it seemed like her patience with Charlene was wearing thin.

The whole mess between Neural Nexus Tech and PrimeStar, Darleen had known about it for a while. Stewart had given her a heads up. During their recent conversation, there hadn’t actually been a call interrupting her. Darleen had recorded the entire exchange with Vesta, and as she walked away, she sent the recording over to Stewart.

Stewart and Charlene were still at work. When Stewart listened to the recording, he grinned and headed over to Charlene’s office to share the news.

After hearing the details, Charlene leaned back in her chair, a confident smile on her face, “Looks like we’ve got this lawsuit in the bag.”

“Exactly,” Stewart replied.

Their lawsuit to terminate the contract wasn’t just about cutting ties with Neural Nexus Tech; it was a strategic move to corner Vesta into making a mistake. They wanted to push her into trying to stop the termination, hoping she’d trip up and give them the evidence they needed.

As long as Vesta tried to reach out to the Ross family or Stewart’s side to achieve her goal, there was a good chance she’d slip up or cause further rifts, handing them just the leverage they needed for the lawsuit.

The more Vesta tried to fix the situation, the more likely she was to stumble. If she’d just stuck to apologizing and showing genuine intent to cooperate, their case against her might not be so strong. Even if they managed to break the contract, the penalties wouldn’t have been significant.

But things had changed. The initial conflict was Vesta’s fault, and now she was painting the narrative that Charlene was manipulating Stewart due to some personal vendetta. Charlene was a key tech figure at PrimeStar and a crucial part of the Neural Nexus project. Vesta’s disrespect for the facts and her baseless accusations only fortified their case.

Moreover, if it came to court and the judge questioned the supposed personal vendetta, Vesta would have to worry about Charlene revealing their history in full detail. If it got to that point, Vesta might find herself more worried about their personal issues going public than the contract itself. Under such pressure, she might just agree to terminate the contract and pay whatever hefty penalty they demanded.

Stewart’s grin widened at the thought.

As Stewart left Charlene’s office, her phone buzzed. It was Jasmine Henderson.calling. Jasmine had already called earlier that morning, but Charlene hadn’t picked up. Tomorrow was Jasmine’s big fencing competition, and she was likely calling to confirm whether Charlene could come along.

Then again, Jasmine might have changed her mind, preferring the company of Thorne and Vesta instead. It wouldn’t be the first time. With a sigh, Charlene decided not to answer, opting to finish her work before heading home.

Meanwhile, Jasmine, disheartened by the unanswered calls, sat curled up on the couch with a forlorn

expression, clutching a plush tomet

When Thorne walked in that evening, he immediately sensed something was off. “Did Mom not pick up again, or is she busy?”

Jasmine pouted, fiddling with the toy’s floppy ears. “She didn’t answer.”

Thorne watched her for a moment, waiting for her to make a decision. After a pause, Jasmine looked up, her voice quiet but determined. “Since Mom’s busy, can you and Ms. Hawkins come to the competition tomorrow?”

Thorne smiled warmly, “Of course.”

“I’ll let Ms. Hawkins know.”

“Alright.”

“Goodnight, Dad.”

With that, Jasmine hugged her toy and headed upstairs, leaving Thorne to feel both a pang of sympathy and a bit of pride for his daughter’s resilience.