Chapter 334 The Gambler

Paul stiffened. He hadn’t expected Yunice to be this exceptional.

Linda said calmly, “Even if Yunice is that good, her loyalty is with Wyatt. Otherwise, why didn’t she ever help you build your career?”

Paul’s face darkened. He didn’t like the sound of that.

Linda went on, “Taylor is no less capable than Yunice. If you two worked together for real, things would go twice as smoothly.”

But Paul wasn’t listening. His mind was still stuck on the idea that Yunice had helped Wyatt, but never once helped him.

The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced—Yunice’s obedience all those years must have been an act. She never really loved him.

If she had, why wouldn’t she fight for him?

Even Elsie, who started from nothing, had tried every trick in the book to improve herself for his sake.

Yunice, on the other hand, had been so quick to write that breakup letter. She let the world believe she was useless, and never once revealed her own strengths—not even to change his mind.

But for Wyatt? She gave it everything.

The guilt Paul had occasionally felt about falling for Elsie? Gone.

Now he was convinced—Yunice had played him.

Taylor? He didn’t care to even pretend with her. Mr. Randy and Linda could nag all they wanted—he wasn’t going to team up with Taylor.

He had other plans.

The latest round of investment payouts had just landed. When Paul saw the 320 million transfer hit his account, his confidence soared.

Who needed the Powell family? He’d turned 10 million into 320 million all by himself.

What were grades? What was intelligence? What mattered was seizing the right opportunity.

Riding high, Paul reached out to the investment group to reinvest all 320 million.

But this time, they turned him down.

A calm male voice answered on the line. “Apologies, sir. Due to increased administrative complexity, we’re shifting our focus. Going forward, we’ll only be working with high-net-worth clients.”

Paul’s face soured. “Oh, you guys are getting cocky now?”

The man replied evenly, “Well, Mr. Paul, you just earned three hundred million. Surely you wouldn’t want to go back to investing peanuts. We’re scaling up—only taking premium accounts from here on out.”

Paul asked coldly, “What’s the new buy-in?”

“Starting at five billion,” the man said smoothly.

Paul nearly choked. “Why don’t you just go rob a bank?”

The man didn’t flinch. “You’re welcome to walk away, Mr. Paul. We’re expanding overseas. Once we launch, domestic clients will be phased out anyway. Best of luck with your future investments.”

Paul didn’t answer, but a wire tightened in his chest.

The money train screeched to a halt, and Paul found himself in a fog.

He didn’t rush to find a new opportunity.

Instead, his first thought was: How do I come up with five billion?

The Powell family’s total assets ran into the hundreds of billions. Five billion wasn’t impossible.

But for Paul—whose assets were frozen—it was very much out of reach.

What he didn’t know was that on the other end of the investment, Yunice had gone all-in.

If Paul didn’t take the bait, she’d lose everything—and end up deep in debt.

It was a high-stakes gamble between them.

Yunice capped her pen and leaned back, completely unbothered. Investment always came with risk. That was true for everyone.

No one wins every hand.

But she wasn’t afraid to lose.

Could Paul say the same?

While all this was unfolding, news of the SAT valedictorian finally reached the Saunders family.

Even though high-scoring students were normally kept anonymous, someone still managed to dig up Yunice’s info.

Carl had already fielded several calls from reporters trying to find out where Yunice was planning to go to college.

He denied all of them—doing his best to protect her privacy.

Oddly enough, the first person in the Saunders family to learn about Yunice’s score was actually Elsie.

She rushed home and blurted out, “Did you guys know Yunice took the SAT?”

She’d been swamped at the hospital and hadn’t had time to keep tabs on Yunice. She’d figured Yunice was just hiding out somewhere, licking her wounds.

And now she was being named valedictorian?

Watching your lifelong enemy succeed—really succeed—was one of the most unbearable feelings on earth.

But when she brought it up, neither Owen nor Lily looked even remotely surprised.

“You knew? And you didn’t tell me?” Elsie’s voice rose.

Then she caught herself, quickly softening her tone. “Owen, am I not part of this family anymore?”