The CEO's Mischievous Little Bride
Chapter 596 Sharp Questions

Nobody saw it coming when The Rossi Family's raw materials got yanked back. Even The Rossi Family was floored.

They had this grand plan to corner the market, flood it with their stuff, and leave customers desperate for their raw materials, all while blocking the Olteran Group from selling theirs. The idea was to make Olteran's second division bleed at least seven billion dollars.

To dig themselves out, Olteran would have to scramble for new business, leaving them wide open. The Rossi Family figured they could swoop in, hit Olteran where it hurt, and get their revenge. "Congrats, Mr. Rossi," said an ex-Olteran employee who'd jumped ship to The Rossi Family.

Cole raised his wine glass, "We owe it to Mr. Stewart for joining us."

But just as the party was getting started, a phone call killed the vibe.

Who spilled the beans that their goods were from shady sources?

Cole didn't even get to sip his wine. His eyes went from cloudy to sharp in a second, "Who ratted us out?"

They'd moved the goods through the Dark Web, dodging all the checkpoints. But now, after everything was sold, someone had snitched. The Dark Web's supposed to be airtight; how did this leak?

That morning, The Rossi Family cleared out their warehouse. By evening, they were gearing up for a thank-you bash. But in the afternoon, the cops showed up, "Mr. Rossi, we need the sales list for this batch of goods, including their source." Cole's eldest son, Leroy Rossi, a middle-aged guy, stepped up to handle the cops, "Our goods are legit. Why the sudden visit? We'll cooperate fully. I'm tight with your boss, Ralph Dixon, you know..."

"You might know a lot of people, but it won't help. The order for this investigation came from someone even Mr. Dixon can't touch," the cop said, all business.

Then he told his team to start digging.

Cole sat in his big boss chair, his eyes sharp and full of malice, like an eagle ready to strike.

Cole's fists clenched, knuckles popping. Patrick was still watching them!

If it was just about checking the source, they could handle it. The goods were with the customers, so they had time to deal with the cops. Even if they had to confiscate them, the customers would've already used them, and no one could stop that.

But now, they were going after all the goods he'd just sold.

If everything got recalled, hundreds or thousands of customers would sue them for breach of contract.

If they didn't pay the breach fees, their reputation would tank. If they did, The Rossi Family couldn't even fathom the fallout.

They were being played.

Over at the Olteran Group President's Office, the overseas second division called Patrick. The person in charge was buzzing, "The market's recalling all of The Rossi Group's orders." Patrick saw it coming and just smirked, "Keep it rolling."

The person in charge hung up, and Patrick switched on the office display, tuning into live news from Donnicia.

More and more financial reporters and buyers were swarming the entrance of The Rossi Group.

Cole's eldest son, Leroy, got hauled in by the cops for questioning, while his younger son, Wyatt Rossi, stayed back to help Cole manage the chaos.

The camera zoomed in on Bradley Stewart, the guy who jumped ship from Olteran to The Rossi Family.

A mic was shoved in his face, "Mr. Stewart, you were doing great at Olteran. Why'd you suddenly switch to The Rossi Family with your team?"

"I'm not giving interviews," Bradley muttered, pushing the mic away and keeping his head down.

The reporter didn't back off, "Since you don't want to talk about that, let me ask, your move didn't help The Rossi Family win this deal. What do you have to say about that?"

Bradley dodged the questions and bolted back to The Rossi Group's lobby, avoiding the press.

Wyatt faced the reporters. One of them shot a sharp question, "Mr. Rossi, during your price war with Olteran, you slashed prices by forty percent but still had to clear inventory. Does this mean your goods were illegal or had quality issues?" As soon as the reporter finished, the others pounced, "Answer us! Are these goods illegal or problematic?"

The nearby customers, hearing this, started to believe the goods were dodgy too.

Wyatt snapped, "NO! Shut up, all of you! Our goods are fine."

"Then why did the police order them to be handed over? Every batch of raw materials is labeled at the checkpoint. If it's proven you forged the labels, how will The Rossi Family handle this?" the reporter pressed. "Shut up! What rag are you from?" Wyatt yelled.

The reporter flashed his badge, "Financial Horizon, not a rag."

Patrick's phone buzzed with a message from his Facebook group chat.

Ian: [Financial Horizon is a solid paper. Anyone up for buying it?]

Scott: [Why does that name ring a bell? Did one of you buy it?]

Patrick: [It's under my company.]

The reporter knew the score, which is why he was grilling Bradley so hard. He knew Financial Horizon was linked to Olteran, and with his parent company under fire, he was letting it all out. Ian: [Later.]

Scott: [Catch you later.]

Joshua saw the news and messaged Patrick: [Does Cole think he's untouchable?]

Owen: [Doesn't Cole have three sons? Why are only two in the picture?]

Patrick put down his phone and kept watching the news on TV.