Veronica carved out some time in her afternoon schedule to update Dario on the morning's incident. After explaining the situation in detail, she gave him a meaningful look.

"We need to redirect the focus of this conflict," she said pointedly.

Dario paused briefly, his sharp mind quickly grasping her intention. A slow grin spread across his face as understanding dawned. "Got it. I know exactly what needs to be done."

Not long after their conversation, Dario's phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he saw Niall's name flashing on the screen. He answered with deliberate casualness.

"Mr. Reid," Niall's voice came through clearly, "I wanted to discuss this morning's unfortunate incident with you."

Dario chuckled, the sound deceptively light. "Ms. Crystal, are you referring to the incident where your family blatantly disregarded facts and accused my staff of incompetence? If I recall correctly, they also made unfounded claims that my employees weren't fulfilling their contractual obligations."

"I apologize, Mr. Reid," Niall replied, her tone measured. "Bonnie was clearly in the wrong today. I promise I'll—"

"Furthermore," Dario cut her off smoothly, "I understand my staff member explained the situation to you and defended our company's position, yet you accused her of exaggerating the incident. Would you say that's an accurate assessment of what transpired?"

He continued without waiting for her response, "So tell me, Ms. Crystal, how do you intend to address this matter?"

"Mr. Reid, we acknowledge our mistake," Niall attempted again. "I give you my word that I'll keep Bonnie in check. This won't—"

Dario interrupted with another calculated chuckle. "Ms. Crystal, I'm afraid Bonnie isn't the only issue here. After being informed about what happened, you still maintained that my staff member was exaggerating when she was simply defending our company's reputation."

His voice hardened. "You clearly believed my staff was incompetent and failing to fulfill their professional responsibilities. What you've done constitutes slander against DataPulse Enterprises We entered this collaboration in good faith, yet you couldn't extend even basic respect toward us."

The final blow came swiftly. "I regret to say I cannot continue collaborating with someone who behaves this way. I expect compensation for the damage to my company's reputation and immediate termination of our contract."

Niall's expression transformed as Dario's words registered. She had dismissed the incident as minor, assuming at most he would seek some small concession for Veronica before moving on. The last thing she had anticipated was for him to bypass Bonnie entirely and hold her personally accountable.

"Mr. Reid, this situation really isn't—" she began desperately.

"I have pressing matters to attend to," he said with finality. "I trust you'll provide a satisfactory resolution, Ms. Crystal." Without giving her a chance to respond, he ended the call.

Immediately, he dialed Veronica. "Mission accomplished, and I've recorded the entire conversation."

"I appreciate your help," she responded, her voice calm but satisfied.

Veronica had strategically directed Niall to discuss the matter with Dario for specific reasons. She had anticipated that Niall would adopt a more conciliatory tone when dealing with him directly and would mistakenly focus on Bonnie as the core issue.

Dario had accurately represented the incident during the call. If Niall admitted wrongdoing and apologized to him personally, she would effectively be acknowledging that she had ignored truth and deliberately defamed a business partner.

With the recorded conversation now in their possession, Veronica and Dario had gained significant leverage in determining how to proceed.

"It was easy," he said dismissively. "Barely required any effort at all."

He scoffed before adding, "Ultimately, Cullen bears responsibility for this entire mess. He knew about our collaboration with Stellar. With all the companies he owns, he could have assigned any other business to Niall. Why specifically choose Stellar? What prevented him from selecting literally any other company?"

Cullen had clearly given no thought to the uncomfortable position he was placing Veronica in, or how she might feel about working with Stellar in the future given their complicated history.

Though she understood exactly what Dario was implying, Veronica maintained her composed expression and said nothing, letting the weight of his words hang in the air between them.