Outside the club, Liam saw Theo off with a wide, cheerful grin, but the moment Theo’s car disappeared down the drive, his smile vanished. 

He stomped upstairs, face twisted in frustration, and snapped at Soren, “That guy’s out of his mind. You offered him a ridiculous salary and he still refused to leave UME. I’ve never seen anyone so stubborn in my life.” 

Once Soren realized UME wouldn’t be accepting their investment, he’d had Gregory dig up the details on UME’s technical director. 

They’d spent the whole night trying everything–threats, promises, whatever 

leverage they could muster. At one point, Soren even offered Theo triple his current salary to jump ship to Fawkes Enterprises. 

But Theo wouldn’t budge. 

No matter what they said, Theo stuck to his line: “I watched UME grow from nothing. It’s like my own child. I can’t just abandon it for someone else’s, no matter how much better they might be. And I won’t walk away just because my kid isn’t rich.” 

Liam had met stubborn people before, but never anyone quite this inflexible. 

He kept hammering away, spelling out all the advantages, but Theo wouldn’t even flinch. 

At one point, Liam was so exasperated that he actually reached for his pocketknife, but even the threat of violence didn’t make Theo change his tune. 

Finally, he had to admit defeat. 

Soren just quirked an eyebrow, silent as ever. 

Liam, getting angrier the more he thought about it, suddenly narrowed his eyes and made a slicing gesture across his throat. “Maybe I should just have him taken care of tonight. If you can’t have Theo, then UME shouldn’t get him either.” 

Soren gave him a lazy glance. “Sure.” 

Liam hesitated. “…Are you serious, Soren?” 

Soren’s tone was almost amused. “You’ve already made up your mind. It’s not like I could stop you.” 

Liam fell silent. 

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Chapter 94 

He hadn’t been serious–just venting–but seeing Soren’s calm reaction, he started to realize something. He lowered his voice, “Wait, you’ve got another plan, don’t you?” 

Soren stood and walked to the tall windows, looking out over the city lights. “Theo said something interesting–he wasn’t the one who developed UME’s core tech and algorithms. That means there’s someone even more talented behind the scenes.” 

Liam rubbed his chin, frowning. “That doesn’t make sense. If UME had someone that good, Gregory would’ve found them by now. And why would they stay hidden for years without even a whisper?” 

Gregory, who’d been quietly listening, offered, “Maybe they left UME a while ago and joined another company.” 

Liam’s eyes lit up and he smacked his fist into his palm. “That’s it!” 

Soren nodded. “Start looking into UME’s employee turnover over the past few years. Track where everyone went.” 

After all, UME had survived in an incredibly harsh environment, and after moving overseas, they’d immediately caught the eye of the biggest investors around. At the end of the day, it all came down to that unique technology and those algorithms. 

If Fawkes Enterprises couldn’t work with UME, then they’d just have to find the mastermind behind it all. With the right person, they could build their own version of UME from scratch. 

Liam, catching on to Soren’s train of thought, added, “Hey, I remember Poppy worked with UME’s tech team when she was abroad. She’s got experience in this area. Why not bring her onto your team? I bet she’d make a huge difference.” 

Of course, Liam had his own reasons. Soren had transferred Poppy to one of Fawkes Enterprises‘ satellite offices recently, but that meant the two of them barely saw each other. If she came back, maybe something more would finally happen between them. 

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