Chapter 262

Una coughed up blood and fainted, while Stanley looked at her with undisguised disdain. He had someone send her to the nearest hospital. Feeling the mocking and schadenfreude-filled gazes around him, Stanley felt utterly humiliated. But he couldn’t leave just yet.

Because of Una, the company had suffered a direct loss of 50 million dollars. Worse still, not a single emerald had been uncovered. This was a devastating blow to the company’s plans for the upcoming year. Without emeralds, what would they use to create their high-end jewelry line?

Now, he had no choice but to request additional funds from headquarters to purchase emeralds on-site from other bidders. However, high-quality, top-tier emeralds were scarce. Even when available, the asking prices were far beyond expectations, forcing him to give up. If someone sold them, the price would be much higher than they had expected. They could only bear with it and give up.

With a 30-million-dollar loss already tightening the company’s cash flow, Stanley’s efforts to acquire emeralds were proving ineffective. His resentment toward Una had reached its peak. The senior executives of the Woodward Group also looked grim. Not only had they suffered a major setback at the public auction, but they had also become the laughingstock of the entire industry.

Meanwhile, the Vaughan Group had made a decent profit this time, finally returning to the level they had maintained three years ago. Emmett watched as Phoebe’s chosen rough stones yielded several high-quality emeralds. Smiling, he asked, “Phache, are you selling these emeralds? If you are, sell them to our company—in other words, a price higher than the auction house’s rates.”

His admiration for Phoebe only grew. Phoebe shook her head with a smile. “Not selling. I have plans for these emeralds.” Remy asked, “Are you planning to use them for emerald protection talismans!” Pisoebe nodded. “Yes. This way, the cost is lower than buying emeralds elsewhere, and the quality is better.” Remy chuckled. “Phoebe, when you finish making the emerald talismans, be sure to save a few for us.” Hoche smiled. “We’ll see when they’re done.”

By now, it was already late at night. The large number of emeralds uncovered had kept them busy until now. Emmett offered to have security guards help safeguard the emeralds overnight and arrange for their transport the next day. Phoelie agreed. With so many emeralds, it was impossible to carry them back to the hotel by herself. She then drew several talismans and placed them on the safes containing her and Maddox’s emeralds. She even placed talismans on Emmett’s company’s sales. These would prevent any attempts at tampering.

On the ride back to the hotel, Emmett turned to Phoebe and said, “Phoebe, I’ve noticed something. Una’s so-called legendary ‘stone gambling skills’ only seem to work when Claire is around. Am I right?” Phoche was surprised that Emmett had figured it out. After all, Una’s strange behavior over the past two days was obvious to anyone with a sharp eye. She replied, “Yes, without Claire, she doesn’t have that ability.”

Emmett’s curiosity grew. “Does that mean Claire is actually the real gambler? Could it be that Una was just using her?” Phoebe clarified, “No. Claire herself doesn’t have this ability either. But her luck was siphoned away by Una using a special method. That’s why Una was so dependent on her.”

Chapter 202

Emmett immediately understood. So Una’s incredible stone gambling abilities were nothing more than trickery. He asked again, “So as long as Claire doesn’t go back, Una will stay like this?” Naturally, he didn’t want Una to regain her power.

Phoebe reassured him. “Don’t worry. The shady method they used has already been broken. Whether Claire is with Una or not, Una will never have that ability again. And since she stole luck from others and used underhanded tricks to win so many times, she will now suffer the consequences. She’s already facing the backlash; just look at how she failed at both the public and private auctions, unable to uncover a single emerald. That’s her karma.”

Emmett asked, “So she’s going to continue being unlucky!” Phoebe nodded. “Yes, from today onward, her luck will only get worse.” Borrowing luck wasn’t easy, but repaying it was far more painful. And she didn’t deserve any sympathy—she had brought this upon herself. Hearing this, Emmett finally felt at ease. With a smirk, he said meaningfully, “Sounds like it’s time to kick her while she’s down.”

Una had almost killed his younger brother. If he didn’t personally take revenge, he wouldn’t be able to let it go. Phoebe added, “Not only can you strike her while she’s down, but you can also stir up some chaos within the Woodward Group.” Knowing Una and the people behind her, without her stone gambling ability, the only way for her to acquire emeralds was through a power struggle. Now that she had lost her edge, Una would undoubtedly return to the Woodward family to fight for control.

Emmett could take advantage of the situation and pit Una against the Woodward family, ensuring mutual destruction. The Woodward family had used shady dealings to expand the Woodward Group. Now, it was time for them to face the consequences. The Woodward Group was the biggest emerald supplier for the person backing Una. This time, they needed to sever that outstretched claw.

Emmett immediately understood and smiled knowingly. “The Woodward Group could definitely use some internal chaos.” In his previous conflicts with the Woodward Group, he had held back out of consideration for Giselle’s family ties. Now, he no longer had any reason to restrain himself.

“Will Claire go back into the Woodward family?” he asked after a moment of thought. He had already guessed that Claire’s sudden disappearance and escape from Una’s control were connected to Phoebe. Phoebe replied, “No, she won’t.”

Meanwhile, Durand and Sienna regained consciousness. Una looked weak and subdued, feeling an overwhelming sense of emptiness. Culy’s assistant was in the hospital. She asked, “Where’s Stanley!” The assistant answered, “He went to buy emeralds.” At the mention of emeralds, Una almost coughed up blood again. She instructed, “I’m hungry. Go get me something to eat.” She had no appetite, but she needed an excuse to send the assistant away.

Chapter 262

“Okay.” The assistant immediately left. Now alone, Una grabbed her phone and checked her messages. The company’s executive group chat was in complete chaos—full of accusations and demands for an explanation. Una sneered. When she had won them so many emeralds in the past, worth far more than 50 million dollars, no one had anything to say. But her focus wasn’t on their complaints. She opened her unread messages.

Claire is gone. The connection between you and Claire has been severed. Even if you find her, she is useless to you now. The spell on Claire has been broken, and most of the luck you stole from her will return to her. You will start experiencing misfortune.

What the hell are you doing! You failed in the public auction, and you failed completely in the private auction too. You will never be able to gamble on emeralds like before.

Your mission now is to return to the Woodward Group and seize control. Take over the Woodward Group and cultivate several top-tier stone gamblers to work for us.

I will send you a talisman to suppress bad luck. Keep it with you at all times.

Remember, you must gain control of the Woodward Group within three months.

The messages had been sent at different times. Una clenched her teeth. The thought of never being able to gamble on stones again filled her with deep regret and frustration. But she had no choice but to accept it. And because of this, she now harbored an unrelenting hatred for Phoebe and Claire. If she ever got her hands on them, she would make them wish they were dead. She sent a reply. Understood. I will return and take over the Woodward Group. This was her only chance to stay on top.