The Billionaire's Mistake

MISTAKE 152

Chapter 152 Cutting Contact

Chapter 152: Cutting Contact

After hanging up the phone, Martin couldn't shake off the strange, uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. The possibility of getting more business assets was definitely tempting like a shiny prize dangling right in front of him. But years of business experience had taught him to be careful, especially when deals seemed too good to be true. The Smith family had more problems than a math textbook, and Martin wasn't completely sure he wanted to get tangled up in all their secrets and drama..

Across the room, Gina looked up from the thick novel she was reading, her reading glasses perched on the edge of her nose. Confusion crossed her face as she watched her husband's

s excitement. "What's going on?" she asked curiously, placing her bookmark between the pages and setting the book aside on the small table next to her favorite armchair.

Martin leaned back in his chair with a proud smile spreading across his face, like a cat who had just caught a particularly fat mouse. "Looks like our niece Anya married someone pretty important," he said, clearly pleased with himself. His voice carried that special tone he always used when he had particularly good news to share.

Gina's eyes

lit up with interest, the way they always did when there was family gossip to discuss. "Really? What do you mean?" she asked eagerly, leaning forward in her chair. Her reading glasses slipped down her nose, but she didn't bother pushing them back up. "You know about all the trouble the Smith family's been having lately, right?" Martin asked, watching as Gina nodded in recognition. "Well, it turns out Anya's husband is the one behind all of it. He's been pulling the strings this whole time."

"Wow!" Gina exclaimed, clearly impressed by this revelation. Her eyes widened behind her glasses. "He must be really powerful then. To take on the whole Smith family like that..."

"He certainly is," Martin agreed, his excitement growing with each word. He stood up and started pacing the room, unable to contain his energy. "And now the Smiths are practically begging me to help them. They're so desperate, they're even offering us one of their smaller- companies and some ships to make it worth our while. Can you believe it?"

completely forgotten now. "That's amazing! We should definitely take that deal!

very pleased with himself as he stopped pacing to look out the window. "It was too good to pass up.

a moment before asking, "But what did the Smiths do to make Anya's husband so

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know, Anya's sister is getting divorced," he explained. with a heavy sigh, moving to sit on the edge of his desk. "Something really bad happened to her son Henry, and

concern. She had always had a soft spot for the children in their

through his graying hair as he thought hard about what he knew. "But from what I understand, it sounds really serious. Emma told me he got hurt and almost died. She's absolutely determined to make someone pay for what happened to her son. You know how protective she

hell right now. First her marriage falls apart, and then something

them as little girls, running around at family gatherings. "Emma's always been the type to stand her ground. Sometimes she's a bit too stubborn though. Once she sets her mind on

news with his niece. But instead of hearing her voice, he was met with the automated message indicating his call couldn't go through. Confused and slightly worried now, calling Emma next, but the same thing

he tried

- both his nieces had blocked his number. The excitement that had filled him just moments ago drained away, replaced by a

had changed from happy to worried in the span of a few seconds. She set aside her reading glasses, giving him her full

and Emma have blocked my calls," he said, his voice tight with frustration and confusion. "I don't understand why they would do

up and crossed the room to reach over and touch his arm gently. "Maybe they're just-busy right now," she

in his gut that something wasn't right. He shook his head slowly, his jaw clenching. "No, there's more going on here," he said

Martin turned to Gina and held out his hand demandingly. "Let me use