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Theo’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. “It’s Arnold,” he said quickly, picking up. “Yes, Mr. Hall?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Montgomery,” Arnold said bluntly. “We can’t proceed with the deal. It’s off. Since it wasn’t a formal contract, the agreement is terminated effective immediately.”

Theo’s face went pale, and Sienna, standing beside him, stilled in shock.

“Mr. Hall, is there any reason? Maybe we can work something out?” Theo asked quickly.

“It’s just our current financial situation. Please understand—it’s nothing personal. It’s just business.” And with that, the line went dead.

Theo stood frozen, staring down at the phone. His expression was filled with disbelief. Sienna looked at him, concern clouding her face.

Theo turned to her, his face heavy with disappointment. “I really thought this deal would give you the freedom you deserve. That we could both move on after this. But now…”

Sienna laid a hand on his arm. “Theo, it’s okay. This is business. Deals fall apart all the time,” she said softly. “We’ll just work harder and get something even bigger.”

Theo nodded, his frown deepening into a sad, distant stare before he spoke. “You’re right. Let’s just get it over with. I need to leave,” he muttered, his voice tight with tension. “I’ve got to handle the mess at the office—stop the manufacturing, figure out how we can recover the losses. Do you want me to drop you home first?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sienna said softly, patting his shoulder. “You go ahead. I’ll take a cab.”

Theo nodded again, distracted, and walked out first. His shoulders were hunched, his thoughts messy.

Sienna stayed back in the meeting room. Now that Theo was gone, her own worries started swirling.

Sienna remained in the meeting room, now alone, and her own worries began to rise.

“We’d already done amazing work on this deal. It was more than fair. Arnold wouldn’t have gotten better terms anywhere else. So why would he back out? Why reject such a strong offer?” She muttered under her breath, pacing slowly.

She turned toward the hallway, feet moving on instinct. Without realizing it, she found herself heading to Arnold’s office. Maybe she could talk to him. Maybe there was still something that could be fixed.

The floor was quiet. Since the meeting was already supposed to take place there, no one stopped her as she walked straight up to Arnold’s office door.

She walked silently, determined, until she reached the door, then froze.

Arnold wasn’t alone.

Inside, Matthew sat casually in a chair while Arnold stood beside him, visibly tense.

“Matthew,” Arnold began, rubbing his forehead, “just to be clear—why did you tell me to cancel the deal? Everything seemed above board. Did I miss something? Was there something I missed that prompted Mr. Vaughn to step in?”

Matthew sat back calmly, tapping his finger against his lips. “Not just this deal. From now on, any project involving Theo Montgomery will be taken over by Atrium Industries. Mr. Vaughn will cover any penalties and pay double, whatever it takes, to make sure no deal ends up in Theo’s hands.”

Sienna’s body stiffened with rage. Her blood boiled.

‘How the hell could he do this?’ she thought, jaw tightening. ‘How the fuck could he stoop this low?’

Without waiting another second, she spun around and stormed out of the building.

***

A full week passed since the deal with Arnold exploded, and left the Montgomerys bleeding money.

Theo was drowning in debt. Loan penalties from the banks were piling up. Worse, no one in the industry wanted to work with him anymore. Not a single deal had come through since that day. It was as if the entire industry had shut its doors on him.

Furious and desperate, he barged into Atrium’s headquarters.

His shoes echoed sharply on the marble floor as he made a beeline for Adrian’s office.

“Sir, you need an appointment—” the receptionist tried to stop him.