"What?" Rina exclaimed in disbelief upon hearing the staggering amount she had earned from the crash.

Her surprise was evident in her tone as she sought confirmation. "Are you sure?" she asked, still struggling to grasp the magnitude of her earnings.

Ava, maintaining her composure, responded calmly, [Yes, that's what Mother sent me,] she replied, displaying the impressive figure on the screen, leaving no room for doubt.

As Rina's eyes remained fixed on the screen, her appreciation and gratitude towards Aron swelled within her. It was his ingenuity and efforts that had made this incredible feat possible. Overwhelmed by these thoughts, she reached for the phone he had given her during their first meeting and dialed his number, wanting to express her gratefulness.

After a brief period of ringing, Aron picked up the call and greeted, "Hello."

"Hello, Aron. How are you?" Rina asked, trying to maintain her composure despite the excitement bubbling within her, having been left thrilled by the sight of her share.

"I've been doing well," Aron responded, his voice calm. "And how about you?"

"Thanks to you, I'm doing even better," Rina replied with gratitude in her voice.

"You didn't just call to check up on me, did you?" Aron asked playfully, indicating for Rina to go to the point.

"No, I called to express my gratitude for all the help you've been giving me," Rina said sincerely.

"No problem. I'm doing this because I know that in the future, I'll be receiving something from you in return. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement," Aron responded with a chuckle.

"I understand that, but I truly believe that whatever you may ask of me in return will never be enough to match the immense value I've gained from your assistance. So, I want you to know that I'm sincerely grateful for all that you've done," Rina insisted.

Following their conversation, they continued discussing various topics. After a few more minutes, Aron spoke up, saying, "If you encounter any other problems or need assistance, don't hesitate to ask me."

"Sure, I will remember that," Rina replied. After exchanging a few more goodbyes, they ended the call, promising to meet again once they had completed their current endeavors.

The moment the phone call ended, Ava interjected and said, [Rina, the family head has called for an emergency meeting and you are among the attendees. It will be held in three hours to ensure all board members can attend.]

"Since he called for me despite not being a board member, it looks like the competition is finally going to continue," Rina said, feeling very happy that she would have another opportunity to compete with Arieh.

[Yes, it certainly seems that way,] Ava replied.

"But this time it's going to be different," Rina said with a smile as she shifted her focus back to her computer. She began discussing with Ava their plans for the upcoming meeting. With Aron's assistance being sustained only until the market crash, which had concluded half an hour ago, Rina knew that from now on she would be on her own. However, instead of feeling worried, she felt a surge of excitement as she welcomed the complete control that was being returned to her.

.....

2 hours later.(Board meeting room)

"Why is she here?" Arieh asked, pointing at Rina, for not being a board member and still being in the meeting room.

"The family head called for me," Rina answered simply, before redirecting her attention back to her tasks.

As Arieh processed her response, a sinking feeling enveloped him. He realized that he was in trouble or, at the very least, that he stood to lose something while Rina had the potential to gain.

"Did you lose the personal loan you had taken from the banks?" Arieh asked, strategically aiming to plant a seed of curiosity in the minds of other board members. His intention was to pave the way for the topic to be raised in the meeting by the board members he still believed are on his side, hoping to minimize the time spent discussing his own losses.

However, all of Arieh's hopes were shattered when Hebel, one of the board members, interrupted and said, "Since everyone is here, let's begin the meeting. We don't have to waste any more time." His timely intervention derailed Arieh's plan completely, as it appeared that no one had even heard his question.

With the family head nodding in approval, the board members' words were acknowledged, and the meeting secretary took the podium to commence the proceedings.

As it was an emergency meeting, the meeting secretary bypassed the usual formalities and promptly delved into the main topic. "Three hours ago, the stock market experienced a significant fall, but after fifteen minutes of continuous fall, it returned to normal. However, in the aftermath, our family businesses and other ventures have incurred heavy losses amounting to approximately 1 trillion dollars. It will take approximately a week to calculate the full extent of the losses," the secretary announced.

Upon hearing the estimated loss, Arieh and the other board members couldn't help but take a deep breath. While they had anticipated significant losses based on the decline of the hedge funds they each controlled, the fact that the preliminary calculations amounted to over a trillion dollars was staggering. It indicated that the final loss figure would likely surpass the current estimate.

"Do we know what caused it?" Yoel asked the secretary.

"At the moment, we aren't sure," the secretary replied. "However, the losses we incurred during the fall seemed to be concentrated in areas where most of our known investments were located. As a result, we suspect some of our known enemies, but our primary suspicion is on the Morgans."

"Why would you primarily suspect the Morgans?" Uria asked after hearing the secretary's reply.

"If they attacked to recover from their previous losses, then it is understandable," Rina interjected, offering her reasoning. Her comment earned her a side-eye from Arieh, and if looks could kill, it would have been her third death today.

Immediately after Rina gave her opinion, the meeting secretary resumed her statement. "The entity that had the largest losses in our hedge funds is Hedge Fund One, which lost more than half of its value due to mistakes made by the team in an attempt to reduce losses," she explained.

Arieh, hearing this, lowered his head in embarrassment as Hedge Fund One was under his control.

The secretary, indifferent to his reaction, pressed on. "This is followed by Hedge Fund Seventeen, then Funds 43, 10, 4, 23, 8..." She went on to list all the funds until each one had been accounted for, and then moved on to other losses that had been incurred.

When the secretary concluded her report, the family head, who had remained silent throughout the meeting, finally spoke up. "What is the cause of different funds experiencing varying losses?" he asked.

The secretary promptly responded, "It all boils down to how the teams managing those funds reacted to the crisis."

The family head's eyebrows furrowed as he processed the information. "So, you mean to say that our largest publicly known fund, Hedge Fund One, lost more than half of its value simply because the team in charge panicked and made poor decisions? Who is responsible for overseeing that fund?" he questioned.

"Father... I mean, family head... I assure you, I will ensure that such a problem does not repeat itself," Arieh responded, his voice laced with nervousness. He was acutely aware that any misstep in handling this situation will have dire consequences for his future.

"Why weren't you prepared before the crisis occurred? Will you always wait until something goes wrong before implementing any countermeasures?" the family head questioned, his tone conveying feelings of disappointment.

"No, sir. I always strive to simulate various crises in order to be prepared. However, the specific situation we faced was not accounted for in our crisis manuals," Arieh tried to provide a justification for not being fully prepared.

Rina interjected, seeking to expose his lack of preparedness. "So, you're suggesting that despite simulating different market crises, you failed to develop countermeasures for an immediate market fall?"

Arieh attempted to shift the focus away from himself by pointing out that others also experienced losses. "Everyone incurred losses. Why are you singling me out?"

Rina countered, highlighting the severity of Arieh's losses compared to others. "But you're the only one who lost more than half of your funds. While others may have been less prepared, their losses were limited to around 25 percent. As the leader of our largest publicly known fund, your significant losses indicate a lack of readiness on your part."

Arieh, on the verge of losing his temper, attempted to respond "You" but caught himself and regained control. However, his outburst had already occurred.

"Enough," the family head said, commanding everyone's attention and putting an end to the ongoing banter. The room fell silent as all eyes turned towards him, awaiting his decision.

"Since the losses were a result of the team leaders' lack of preparedness, everyone will face consequences proportional to the extent of their losses," the family head announced, his calm demeanor sending shivers down everyone's spines. The attendees knew that the more composed he appeared, the more serious the situation was.

Without hesitation, the family head continued, "As you incurred the largest loss, your punishment will also be the most severe. You will be relieved of your position and demoted to your previous role." The weight of his words sank in as the family head's gaze fell upon Arieh, leaving no room for negotiation or appeal.

Turning his attention to Rina, the family head addressed her directly, "With his demotion, the position is now vacant, officially reinstating the competition for my successor. To ensure fair competition, you will be reinstated as a board member and assigned to a company of similar size to the one Arieh will be transferred to."

The family head shifted his gaze to the center of the table, his voice carrying a sense of finality. "The remaining member's punishments will be announced one week from now, once the full extent of the losses has been tallied. On the same day, we will also discuss the countermeasures and plans for recovering from the loss. You have one week to prepare strategies for the recovery." With that, the family head promptly stood up and left the meeting room officially ending the meeting.