Chapter 86
Lovi still seated in his car, the glow of the dashboard lights reflecting off his face. His jaw was still tight, but now his eyes burned with something sharper—calculation. The name "Oliver" kept ringing in his ears like a slow, mocking echo.
He tapped the steering wheel with a single finger, over and over again. It wasn’t just frustration anymore it was disappointment. He had played his cards well. He had spun the perfect narrative, stirred the tension just enough to create panic. He even let go of the money just to build pressure and demand leverage. It should have worked. Cora should have handed him that 20%. He was so close.
But now? Now everything had changed.
Cora was smart. Smarter than he expected. And worse, she wasn’t alone anymore. Now someone named Oliver was in the picture, and if Lovie had learned anything in his career, it was this: anyone new in the picture meant one thing interference.
Then he leaned his head back against the seat and muttered to himself, "Fine... if I can’t get the 20% from her, I’ll just make sure the person she trusts won’t be able to hold onto it either."
That’s when another memory came flashing back—James.
The same James who had called him in a quiet panic, desperate for help, but very, very generous in his promises.
"Give me Cora’s full picture, expose the hand backing her, and I’ll give you 10% of ZSZ," James had said. The words weren’t a suggestion. They were a bargain... a dangerous one.
And Lovi had accepted, so had things gone right, he would have held 20% from Cora and earned 10% from James— that would have been 30% total. A third of the company, without lifting a pen in the boardroom. And with the right moves, he could’ve sniffed out James’ remaining 20% too. Piece by piece, until ZSZ belonged to him.
But Cora didn’t take the bait, now, Lovi had a new plan.