THE DISABLED HEIRESS, MY EX-HUSBAND WOULD PAY DEARLY.

At that moment, William leaned back slightly in his chair, his calm yet sharp demeanor cutting through the tension that had been building in the VIP room. Then his fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, his eyes fixed on James with an intensity that made it clear he had already weighed every angle of this conversation. Finally, his voice broke the silence, low, steady.

"Well," William began, his tone almost casual but with an edge that demanded attention, "I've heard what you've said. I've considered it carefully… and I'll accept your deal."

Hearing what William just said, James's eyes narrowed slightly, cautious optimism flickering in his expression. William could see the flicker of satisfaction there the arrogant kind of satisfaction a man feels when he believes he's just manipulated someone into his game. William, of course, had no intention of letting James control anything, but for now, he played the part perfectly.

"We're going to do it like this," William continued, leaning forward now, his forearms resting on the table as his voice hardened into something more commanding.

"The first step will be your first condition. I'll withdraw every bit of support I've been giving Cora on ZXZ. Completely. No strings, no half-measures. Once that's done, you're going to give me what you have, that thing you claim will make her submit, the leverage you're dangling in front of me."

Then his eyes sharpened as he emphasized the next words. "You hand it over immediately after I withdraw. No delays. No excuses. That's how this will work."

Immediately James straightened his posture, his hands resting on the table as a grin tugged at his lips. He had been waiting for this exact response. "Good," he said, nodding once, his tone holding that smug satisfaction. "That's enough of a deal for me. The moment I see the support has been withdrawn and I have what I lost back in my hands, I'll deliver what I promised. Then you can handle the second part of the agreement however you want convince her, manipulate her, whatever it takes i want full control of ZxZ."

He paused, letting the weight of his words hang in the air before adding, "Once that's done, we both get what we want. And everybody walks away happy."

However William gave him a long look, his expression unreadable. But deep down, his mind was already running several steps ahead considering how to turn this arrangement into something far more beneficial to himself and far more devastating for James.

"Fine," William said at last, his voice soft but laced with finality. "Then we understand each other."

At that moment, the meeting ended with an almost eerie silence. However William remained seated, his arms folded, eyes following James as he strode confidently out of the VIP room. The heavy door shut behind him with a muted thud, leaving William alone with his thoughts though the silence didn't linger long, because James's mind was already running ahead, consumed by his own schemes as he made his way down the corridor.

James kept his expression calm as he walked out of the building, but inside, his thoughts churned with calculated deceit. He didn't have anything solid on Cora again not a single piece of leverage worth the promises he'd just made to William. The only thing he'd ever had, the shred of information that could have truly tipped the scales, had been stolen from him days ago. That night still haunted him: the figure who had broken into his house, taken his flash drive, and wiped his laptop clean. The evidence he had spent months collecting had vanished overnight.

The memory alone tightened his jaw. That flash drive was his ace, and without it, he had been scrambling ever since.

But there was still one glimmer of hope Lovi.

James's pace slowed as he stepped into the cool evening air outside the building. He let out a long breath, forcing himself to stay calm. Lovie had promised him that the situation wasn't beyond repair. The man was a genius when it came to these sorts of things, hacking, recovering wiped data, pulling information from places most wouldn't even think to look. If anyone could retrieve what was lost and rebuild the leverage James needed, it was Lovi.

That promise was the only reason James had dared to bluff his way through the meeting with William. He had gambled everything on Lovi's ability to deliver. Without him, James had nothing, no card to play, no hold over Cora, and no way to manipulate William into giving him what he wanted.

'He'll fix it,' James reassured himself, his hand tightening briefly at his side. He has to. Once Lovie pulls that data out, I'll have the leverage I need. Then I can sell it to William, force him to hold up his end, and finally take ZxZ back.

A faint, almost satisfied smirk crossed James's lips as he walked toward his car. He could already see the path ahead Cora stripped of her advantage, William believing he'd won, and James reclaiming what was rightfully his. And when that happened, he'd make good on his promise to Lovi, cutting him in on a percentage of the shares as payment.

**

Inside Cora's house, the evening felt unusually calm. Cora was seated comfortably on her couch, one leg crossed over the other, her gaze absentmindedly fixed on the glass of water sitting untouched on the coffee table.

For once, her mind wasn't clouded with panic or rushing through multiple plans at once. Robert had already stepped in to handle the most pressing issue, the 20% share, that needed to be secured. If there was anyone she trusted to carry that out without complications, it was Robert. He had proven himself reliable before and his family background, and this time would be no different. That knowledge alone allowed her a small measure of comfort she hadn't felt in days.

Still, beneath the surface of that calm, another battle simmered James.

The very thought of him drew a subtle frown to her face. He still held on to pieces of ZxZ through his allies, fragments of power she couldn't allow him to keep. It wasn't enough for her to simply have the majority; she wanted everything. Every loose end tied up, every leverage James might cling to stripped away until he was left with nothing. That was her endgame.