After that day, Jude and Seraphina became social pariahs.
The same people who had flattered them relentlessly now avoided them like the plague.
Jude, who had never faced true adversity, tried to prove his worth through business, desperate to show he was better than Cassius.

But he lacked Cassius's talent.
Simple ventures were one thing, but he insisted on pouring money into high-risk investments he knew nothing about, becoming an easy mark for sharks.
He lost a fortune.
Instead of reflecting on his own failures, he blamed Cassius, convinced he had been set up. He launched a series of reckless, vindictive attacks against Cassius's projects.
After a string of humiliating defeats, Grandpa Orson finally had enough.
Jude was summoned to the family estate, stripped of all his executive powers, and reduced to a useless parasite living off his shares.

Meanwhile, Cassius and I formed a powerful alliance.
He expanded my overseas markets while I secured his position back home. I had to admit, Cassius was a genius in business.
He met his annual targets in just six months.
Grandpa Orson, impressed by his ability, began entrusting him with core Mantel family projects, eventually giving him a senior position at the head office to groom him for leadership.

It was clear to everyone that, barring any catastrophe, Cassius would be the next head of the Mantel family.
While Cassius's star ascended, Jude's world crumbled. With no responsibilities, he descended into a life of hedonistic excess, a different woman on his arm every week.
Seraphina, no longer the gentle, demure woman she pretended to be, fought with him constantly over his infidelities.
One day, after catching him in bed with another woman, she finally snapped. She lunged at him, screaming and clawing, but he shoved her away.
She tumbled down the grand staircase.
Seraphina was fine, but the fall caused a miscarriage. She had been pregnant.
They were quiet for a while, until one of Jude's mistresses showed up at their door, pregnant and demanding recognition.
The scandal reached Grandpa Orson, who beat Jude so severely with a cane that he was hospitalized for a month.
Though Jude was a lost cause, his father was still a cunning operator.
I knew securing Cassius's position wouldn't be simple. But a man with a reckless son has a fatal weakness.
After Jude's release from the hospital, his father, needing to save face for an upcoming project bid, forced him to marry Seraphina.
Jude, perhaps finally realizing the gravity of his situation, complied without a fight.
As Cassius's reputation grew, Jude, the former golden boy, was inevitably brought up for comparison.
The praise for Cassius was always coupled with scathing criticism of Jude, and every word reached his ears.
He reportedly smashed half the furniture in his house, swearing he would make Cassius pay.