Revenge is best served cold

Sophie froze when she saw Angelo's name flash on her phone screen.

"Why haven't you guys come back yet?!" Angelo's voice was frantic on the other end. "It's been ages! I've called a million times, and no one answered! I thought something terrible happened!"

"Mr. Angelo, what's going on?" Sophie asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Don't you know? The Mintons have a new successor! Overnight, this guy convinced all of The Mintons' shareholders to make him the new CEO!!"

Sophie's heart skipped a beat.

The Mintons?

She immediately locked eyes with Colby, who seemed just as startled as she was.

Colby wasted no time in waking up Adler and Jenna. "Something's up. We need to get back, now."

Jenna and Adler, still half-asleep, stumbled into a taxi with the others back to the Burke Estate.

As they walked in, the TV was blaring news about The Mintons' new CEO.

Adler, still trying to make sense of it all, asked, "Wasn't Odie the biggest shareholder? How could someone replace him?"

"It's the person pulling the strings," Sophie muttered, her brow furrowed.

But... why so fast?

Jenna chimed in, "Odie's incapacitation news just broke, and already someone is replacing him. Could this puppet master be powerful enough to control The Mintons entirely?"

"Angelo," Sophie turned to him, urgent, "how's Odie?"

Angelo looked lost. "I don't know. He's been out cold, and I can't tell if he's dead or alive!"

Harold descended from upstairs, his eyes locking onto the TV screen.

"I asked around, but no journalist knows who this new CEO is," Angelo said, hisnoveldrama

confusion deepening. "It's all super hush-hush. The person's not even in Summerfield. Could the new CEO be the puppet master?"

Sophie glanced at Colby.

Colby had spread the false news about Odie's critical condition to bait the mastermind. And now, it looked like the plan had worked.

This confirmed that the mastermind had deep ties with The Mintons, enough to pull all the strings.

The new CEO was the obvious suspect.

Even if the CEO wasn't the mastermind, they had to be a close ally.

This was a breakthrough in their search.

But...

How did they manage to unseat Odie, the major shareholder?

Odie held the majority of the shares.

"The Mintons have hidden shares," Colby revealed, shocking everyone.

"Hidden shares?" Angelo looked bewildered. "What's that?"

"James never mentioned it!" he added, baffled.

Jenna asked, "So, you're saying The Mintons have some assets hidden from the public?"

"It's The Mintons' core assets," Colby explained, his brow knitted in thought.

He had always sensed something was off about The Mintons' finances. With all their shady dealings, their assets should have been much more substantial.

It was clear now. The mastermind controlled these hidden shares, giving them the power to dominate Summerfield.