Chapter 1739: Drawing attention to myself

Headline: CEO of Prime Group Allegedly Involved in Stock Market Manipulation!

Teddy, Shawn, Hayley, and Patricia stared at Teddy’s computer screen, reading the article that had been posted just a minute ago. Yet, the news was already spreading fast, with multiple outlets uploading similar headlines.

In a matter of minutes, the story was climbing the trending charts as more sites began reposting the article.

Their faces paled slightly more in just a minute, eyes wide.

"Market manipulation?" Hayley scoffed. "Are these people not afraid of being sued for defamation? How could they just write everything and then use freedom of speech as an argument?"

"This is not good," Shawn muttered in disbelief. "An allegation as serious as this will not end well."

"Forget that for now," Teddy said, glancing back at the others. "Get ready. Our phones are going to start ringing any second now."

RING!!!

As if on cue, the office phone rang. The three of them exchanged glances before turning their eyes to Teddy, then to the telephone.

RING!!

Another call followed a second later.

Without hesitation, the four jumped into action. They hadn’t heard from Penny directly yet, but they’d seen her head into her office with Wild, Yugi, and a few others. It was clear the situation was already being addressed at the top.

For now, they had their roles to play.

Not just their department, but other departments were being bombarded with calls from all sorts of people.

---

Meanwhile, inside the CEO’s Office of Prime Group...

Everyone was seated on the couches.

Wild and Yugi, each holding a tablet, silently read the article about Prime Group. Not only was the company being accused of stock manipulation, but since the Miller Corporation was a subsidiary, it was dragged in as well. The accusation was serious, and if Penny were proven to be involved, she could be facing over two decades in prison.

After all, this was a criminal offense.

But despite the gravity of the situation, Penny, Zoren, Mint, and Hugo remained calm. All eyes were on Wild and Yugi as they finished reading.

When Wild finally looked up, he met Penny’s gaze.

"Why would you do this?" he asked, gesturing to the article. "Penny, leaking this isn’t exactly a brilliant marketing strategy."

Yugi nodded in agreement. "Bad press is still press, but this? This is dangerous. Especially with the Citadel auction about to launch. You’re risking everything."

"I know." Penny’s voice was composed. "But I had no choice. I needed to make a move."

"A move for what?" Wild frowned.

Penny let out a shallow breath, her eyes drifting to Mint, Hugo, and Zoren before returning to Wild. The two men shared a glance at her shift in tone.

"Uncle Wild, do you remember when I told you about the orphanage?" she asked. Wild’s brows furrowed. "There are people out there waiting for a chance to destroy everything we’ve built."

"So your answer is to destroy yourself first?" Wild replied bluntly.

"Not quite," Penny said, shaking her head. "I’m putting this out there because it’s the easiest accusation to recover from. Even if people start twisting the narrative, this is still more manageable than if someone else threw a different scandal my way."

Yugi frowned. "That doesn’t make sense. If you put this out, you’re inviting your enemies to pile on. You’re giving them momentum."

"Exactly," Mint chimed in casually, earning a sharp look from both men. "Just saying."

"They’ll join in, of course," Penny acknowledged. "But they won’t waste stronger ammunition yet. If this story is already dominating the headlines, any additional accusations will be seen as exaggerated or opportunistic."

"In other words, they’ll stick to this angle—business liability. Not personal scandals like the orphanage. They won’t risk looking ridiculous to the public."

Despite her reasoning, neither Yugi nor Wild looked satisfied.

"I know it’s not the smartest play, especially with Citadel’s launch so close," Penny continued, "but that’s the point. I want them to make a move now, not later."

"And Yugi," she added, looking at him, "you now have a reason to speak up. You can publicly defend us by claiming this is an orchestrated attack meant to derail the launch."

Yugi raised an eyebrow.

"You want me to frame this as sabotage?" he asked. Penny nodded.

"It won’t convince the public entirely, but it’ll be enough to assure our investors and business partners. Plus, it’ll shift the suspicion toward rival companies."

She paused, a glint in her eye.

"And it’ll make our real enemies cocky. They’ll believe no one suspects them at all."

Yugi and Wild stayed quiet. What she said made sense—but it was risky, even for her.

It didn’t feel like the Penny they knew. Normally, she never drew attention to herself unnecessarily. Then again, this was the same woman who once gambled her entire company on a friendly basketball game.

After a beat, Yugi sighed. "Penny... I get what you’re saying. But be honest with us."

Wild nodded beside him. "What you just told us... that’s only a small part of the plan, isn’t it?"

Penny hesitated for a second before he let out a weak laugh. "You caught me."

She wasn’t lying, but it was only part of it. Nathalie had lit the first match in Anteca. This was her answer: a smokescreen and a trap.

"It’s part of a joint operation between these two," she admitted, gesturing to Mint and Hugo. "If you’re aware of Cassandra Smith’s case, this is tied to that—and to several companies that are about to make headlines."

Companies tied to the Pierson Corporation.

There was going to be a major shift once it all came crashing down, and this was her attempt at damage control. Every strategist (Atlas, particularly) on the Pierson side hated this plan, but it was the best they had.

"Also..." Penny leaned back slightly, eyes steady. "I need to draw attention to myself to keep them from looking."

Wild and Yugi both looked sharply at her. "What does that mean?"

"I’ll be gone for a while," she continued. "And I don’t want the wrong people to know I’m not here."