The Alliance No One Expected
765 Words
The boardroom fell into stunned silence.
Every eye was fixed on the man standing at the entrance.
Damien Black.
The billionaire who had spent the last seven years fighting Adrian Knight in every major business deal.
Yet...
Chairman Edward Knight had just called him...
"My oldest business ally."
Even Isabella looked confused.
Damien walked into the room with his usual calm confidence.
He nodded respectfully toward Edward.
"Chairman."
Edward smiled.
"You're late."
Damien glanced at his watch.
"By thirty seconds."
A few directors chuckled nervously.
Only Adrian remained expressionless.
His voice was cold.
"What game are you playing?"
Edward answered instead.
"No game."
"The truth."
He looked around the boardroom.
"Most of you only know Damien Black as Adrian's rival."
"But very few know..."
"...that Blackstone International helped save Knight Group twenty years ago."
Gasps spread across the room.
One elderly director stood up.
"Chairman..."
"Are you referring to the financial crisis?"
Edward nodded.
"When the Knight family was on the verge of bankruptcy..."
"The Black family quietly invested in us."
"They never asked for recognition."
"They only asked that the partnership remain confidential."
The director slowly sat back down.
"So..."
"The Black and Knight families were never enemies?"
Damien smiled faintly.
"Our families weren't."
His eyes shifted toward Adrian.
"But he and I..."
"Chose different paths."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"I never knew."
Edward looked at him sharply.
"You never asked."
Silence.
...
Sophia could feel the room slipping away from her.
Every announcement pushed Isabella higher.
While everything she had worked for...
Was crumbling.
She forced herself to smile.
"Chairman..."
"I'm sure everyone appreciates Miss Isabella's return."
"But isn't promoting someone with no business experience..."
"A little risky?"
Several shareholders exchanged glances.
It was a fair question.
Edward was about to answer—
"I disagree."
Damien's voice cut through the room.
He walked toward Isabella.
Then placed a slim leather folder in front of her.
"This belongs to you."
She frowned.
"What is it?"
"Open it."
Slowly...
She did.
Inside were dozens of fashion sketches.
Business proposals.
Competition certificates.
Design awards.
Every achievement she'd earned before marrying Adrian.
Her eyes widened.
"I thought these were lost."
"They were."
Damien nodded.
"I had my team recover them."
She picked up one of the certificates.
It was from the National Young Designers Competition.
First Place.
The date...
Three years ago.
The same week she married Adrian.
"I never attended the final."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"I withdrew."
Damien looked at her.
"No."
"You didn't."
She frowned.
"What do you mean?"
He handed her another document.
"It wasn't your signature."
The room fell silent.
She looked closely.
Then her breathing stopped.
The signature withdrawing her from the competition...
Wasn't hers.
It had been forged.
A wave of disbelief crashed over her.
"Who..."
"...would do this?"
Damien slowly turned toward Adrian.
"So..."
"Would you like to explain?"
Every face in the room shifted toward Adrian.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
He recognized the document immediately.
Three years ago...
The competition organizers had contacted him.
They wanted Isabella to travel overseas for six months after winning.
He had panicked.
He didn't want her leaving.
He didn't want the media discovering she was his wife.
So...
He had withdrawn her application.
Without telling her.
His silence was enough.
Isabella stared at him.
Her eyes shimmered with tears.
"You..."
"You did this?"
Adrian stepped forward.
"I can explain."
"You gave up your dream because of me."
"I thought..."
"I thought I was protecting our marriage."
A bitter laugh escaped Isabella.
"Our marriage?"
She held up the forged document.
"You stole my future."
"You stole my family."
"And now I find out..."
"You stole my dream too."
Every word echoed through the boardroom.
Adrian couldn't lift his head.
For the first time in his life...
Success.
Power.
Money.
None of it mattered.
Because the woman standing before him...
Looked at him as though he were a complete stranger.
Edward slowly rose to his feet.
His voice was heavy with disappointment.
"I once believed you would become the greatest chairman in the history of this family."
He looked at Adrian.
"But today..."
"I only see a man..."
"...who destroyed the person he claimed to love."
The boardroom remained deathly quiet.
Just then...
Lucas hurried into the room.
His usually calm expression was filled with urgency.
"Mr. Black..."
Damien turned.
"What happened?"
Lucas swallowed hard.
"Our legal team has just uncovered another file."
"It concerns Miss Isabella."
Damien frowned.
"What file?"
Lucas looked directly at Isabella.
"The one..."
"...about the baby."
The entire room froze.
Adrian's face turned white.
"What... baby?"
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD