Chapter 861

Nikolas' eyes flew wide, raw disbelief flooding his face

"What are you saying? Are you suggesting my father set me up? You think he played some kind of mind game with me?"

His voice cracked with anger and denial. "That's impossible. He told me this project was beneath him -he mocked me for even bothering with it. Why would he ridicule me and then turn around and compete for the same deal?"

He clung stubbornly to his faith. "He's my father No matter what happens between us, at the very least,we'd compete fair and square. There's no way he'd..."

Daniela unlocked her phone, tapped quickly, and slid it across the table.

Nikolas' words trailed off as he glanced down "Besides, he told me to go home and..."

But then he saw it: McCoy Group's name right there on the bidding results. In that moment, Nikolas' world seemed to tilt.

As Nikolas fixed his eyes on the results, a wave of despair crashed over him.

A heavy,sick lump formed in his throat. He stared at the screen, suddenly unable to swallow another bite

Without a word, he stood and stormed out, heading straight for his father's.

The moment he burst in, he showed the bidding results to Hamilton. His voice shook with hurt and fury as he demanded, "Dad, what is this supposed to mean?Didn't you say McCoy Group had no interest in a small project like this? Yet you reviewed my cost estimate -and now your final bid is just one dollar higher than mine You're not just humiliating yourself. You're humiliating me!"

Nikolas' world shattered, leaving him numb with disappointment

He had pinned all his hopes on this one victory.desperate to prove himself, but in the end, the person he trusted most had betrayed him.

Hamilton snorted, his tone dripping with arrogance "This is what it means when people say all's fair in love and war. You're still so naive. How can you expect to survive in business? You need to leam to watch your back. Haven't I taught you anything after all these years?"

Nikolas returned, having gained nothing but a reprimand from Hamilton, feeling utterly defeated

Carol shot a pointed look at Daniela and asked quietly."He's just been humiliated. Are you going to do something about it?”

Daniela's gaze lingered on Nikolas, but she offered no response.

Later that evening, Nikolas came to find Daniela,who was watching TV in the living room.

"This is all on me," he said quietly. "I never saw it coming. I let you down, and I wasted Cedric's hard work. I'm sorry for letting everyone down."

He sounded utterly defeated, a shadow of the ambitious man he'd tried to become.

Daniela studied him. "You think you let us down?"

Nikolas looked up, startled by her question.

Daniela continued, "You didn't let us down-you let yourself down.You threw away all those hours of hard work. But if you can take this loss and turn it into a lesson, it won't have been for nothing."

Nikolas had no answer. The weight of her words settled heavily on his heart. leaving him lost in thought.

Daniela shot him a cool look, chin tilted in mild annoyance. "Alright, go entertain yourself. You're blocking my view."

Nikolas blinked, not sure what to make of her attitude."That's it? You're just letting it go?"

A sharp laugh slipped from Daniela. "What else do you want? Should I rough you up instead?"

Conflicted, Nikolas hovered in the doorway,torn between embarrassment and relief.

Without sparing him another glance, Daniela fixed her attention on the TV. "I've said everything that needed saying. There's no use repeating myself. Besides,your father hijacking your bid only proves he sees your worth-whether he admits it or not. He talks a big game, but trust me, he's watching you. Take the warning, learn from it, and move on."

She clicked the remote and switched the channel with a flick of her wrist.

Nikolas lingered in the living room, wrestling with his emotions, then finally steeled himself and stormed out the door

A quiet laugh slipped from Daniela as he vanished

Across the room, Cedric barely looked up from his business book, engrossed as ever.

Carol leaned in to Daniela, dropping her voice. "We've traced your mother's last trip before she died-she went to Oiscoll. She even visited the McCoy family and saw Hamilton!"

A flicker of steel lit up Daniela's gaze

Carol,catching the shift in her expression, asked."Should we tell Cedric about this?"

Daniela glanced thoughtfully at Cedric, weighing her options.

Cedric had been relentlessly exploiting every vulnerability among McCoy Group's shareholders,landing each blow with surgical precision and leaving himself barely a moment to breathe.

"There's no need to involve him. Just set up a meeting with Hamilton for me first." Daniela's tone was steady.her mind already a step ahead.

Carol was ready to respond, but her phone vibrated with a new message. Glancing down. she spotted a new message from the secretary about an appointment

Without a word, she passed the phone to Daniela.

Daniela's eyes narrowed as she read the screen.Hamilton had invited her to meet tomorrow at noon -right when Cedric would be tied up with his big press conference. Carol huffed disdainfully, "He picked that time on purpose so Cedric couldn't tag along, didn't he?What's his game?"

A wry smile curled on Daniela's lips. "Hamilton used to look down on Cedric, didn't care what Cedric thought.Now he finally sees Cedric as a threat. He wants to confront me without Cedric there to back me up."

If Cedric was around,how could Hamilton say those threatening words?

Carol rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Hamilton is so cunning! He really is the worst. Let's just refuse to meet him."

Never taking her eyes off the TV, Daniela answered nonchalantly, "Tell the secretary I'll meet him."

Hamilton cared about saving face in front of Cedric.

As for Daniela, she didn't want Cedric tangled up in petty power plays.

Carol straightened up, determination flashing in her eyes. "Alright then! Tomorrow,we'll show Hamilton exactly what we're made of.