Chapter 3. She Took His Throne
1989 Words
The news came out at 8:03 in the morning.
The Crowe Group has lost its controlling stake in its core subsidiary, the Crowe Group. This means the Crowe Group is no longer, in charge of this part of the company the core subsidiary of the Crowe Group.
Nathaniel read the headline twice. He wanted to make sure he understood what the headline was saying. The headline was, about something that Nathaniel found very interesting. Nathaniel read the headline again to see if he missed anything.
Then a third time.
The man stood up quickly and his chair crashed into the wall. He got up fast that the chair hit the wall with a loud noise. The man stood up quickly. The chair smashed into the wall.
He said that is impossible. He did not sound like he believed it was possible all. The mans voice was flat when he said that something, like that is just not going to happen. He really meant it when he said that the thing he was talking about it is impossible.
The assistant of the man stood frozen the tablet was shaking in her hands. It was filed when the sun came up. The papers are legal they are clean. They are perfect.
Nathaniel took the tablet away. He just grabbed the tablet from wherever it was. The tablet was taken by Nathaniel.
The name was burned into the screen. It was the name that I saw the name that stayed with me the name that was burned into the screen.
Vale Strategic Holdings.
Iris.
The mans phone rang before he could say anything.
Board emergency call.
The man gave a response.
The director said this is a takeover and he said it in a really sharp tone.
Nathaniel said no. His voice was really cold when he said it. He thought it was a mistake.
Someone else spoke up. "It is done."
Then there was silence.
The chairman spoke up he was being very careful. He seemed really tense. He said "Nathaniel you do not have the say, over Crowe Industrial anymore."
The world just tilted over. It was like the whole thing shifted. The world. That was it.
The man said what softly.
They have gotten the better of you. You have been outsmarted by them. The other person has managed to outmaneuver you.
The call came to an end.
Nathaniel stood alone in his office. The city was spread out beneath him. It looked like a kingdom that was slowly slipping away from him. Nathaniel felt like he was losing his grip on the city. The city was a place and it seemed to be moving away, from Nathaniel.
He did not hesitate.
The man picked up his jacket. Then he went out. He was wearing his jacket when he left the place. His jacket was the thing he grabbed before he walked away.
Iris was sitting in the middle of the conference room. The cameras, outside the glass walls were going off like crazy.
Reporters. Analysts. Investors.
Everyone is waiting.
She had picked this room on purpose. The room was what she wanted. She had chosen it herself. This room was the one she liked.
This was the place where Nathaniel had once announced his divorce, from his wife. Quietly and privately like he was trying to erase a big mistake that he had made.
Today, nothing would be private.
"Ms. Vale," a reporter called out. "Is it true that you now have control of forty-eight percent of Crowe Industrial?
Iris smiled politely. She said "Forty-nine".
Something strange happened in the room a ripple went through the room and you could feel the tension the ripple, in the room was very noticeable.
So I was wondering if Nathaniel Crowe is not the CEO of the company anymore. Does this mean Nathaniel Crowe has been taken out of his position, as the CEO of the company?
The doors. That is when everything started to happen with the doors. The doors were now open.
Nathaniel walked into the room. He just got there. Nathaniel was now inside.
The cameras just exploded. I am talking about the cameras. The cameras are completely broken now.
He stopped when he saw the woman. She was sitting really calmly her hands were folded and she looked totally in control of herself. The woman was seated calmly hands folded. She was perfectly composed.
The picture was already being taken by the time I looked over. The person taking the picture had the camera up. Was snapping away. The picture was what everyone was waiting for.
Former wife.
Former ruler.
New power.
Iris said no into the microphones. She said that Nathaniel Crowe is still the CEO of the company. Nathaniel Crowe remains the CEO Iris said.
Gasps.
She turned her head a bit and that was the first time she really noticed him.
“For now.”
The room became totally silent. There was no sound all. The room was silent.
Nathaniels eyes locked onto hers. He was really looking at her. Nathaniels eyes were locked on her face. Nathaniels eyes did not move they just stayed locked onto hers.
He said that you had planned this announcement and he said it in a voice.
“Yes.”
You wanted people to see what was happening. You wanted witnesses to tell everyone what they saw.
“Yes.”
He took a step forward. "You do not get to make a fool out of me like this I am talking about the way you humiliate me."
The woman was standing there. She stood.
Slowly.
Gracefully.
Every single camera caught the thing that happened. The cameras all saw it. Every camera caught it.
Iris said that she does not make people feel bad about themselves. She said that what she actually does is mistakes in the records. Iris wants to make it clear that her goal is to fix errors not to humiliate people, like Iris is often accused of doing. Iris believes that correcting records is an important thing for Iris to do.
She turned back to the reporters. "Crowe Industrial is going to change the way it works. We will be looking closely at everything we do. This means we will check that we are being honest and open, about what Crowe Industrial does. We will also check the people in charge of Crowe Industrial to make sure they are doing a job."
Nathaniels voice got really sharp. He said "You are crossing a line, with Nathaniel."
She looked at him then looked at him.
She told him that he had removed her from the company. Now she said that she had taken away his protection.
The chairman cleared his throat. "Ms. Vale is going to be in charge of the oversight committee from, on."
A murmur spread.
Nathaniel felt it at that moment.
The shift.
The room was no longer his.
Iris said that the meeting is now.
The security people stepped forward.
Not for her.
For him.
Nathaniel looked at them. He could not believe what he was seeing. Nathaniel just stared at them in shock.
He said that he is not going to leave. He said it in a pretty angry way.
One of the guards spoke in a way. He said "Sir we have been told to take you with us."
Iris did not look at him when the people, in charge took him away.
She did not need to.
The woman had already won the thing she was trying for. She had already won. This was a deal, for her because the woman had already won.
The city of people reacted fast, to what was happening. The city did not waste any time all.
The stock price is not going up or down anymore it has stabilized. The stock is now steady.
The competitors got really scared. They panicked.
The Crowe Groups board put out a statement that did not take any side it basically said everything about the situation. The statement, from the Crowe Groups board was really neutral.
Nathaniel Crowe had really lost control of everything. He could not do anything about Nathaniel Crowes situation now. Nathaniel Crowe was, in a lot of trouble. Nathaniel Crowe did not know what to do.
By noon, his face was everywhere.
The phone that belonged to him started making a buzzing sound.
Lena.
The man gave a response.
The man told him that he had betrayed him. He said "You sold me out." The man felt that he had been deceived by this person. He was very upset because he thought this person was his friend. It turned out that this person had sold him out.
She laughed softly. "No. I sold the truth."
“What truth?”
Lena said that Iris did not just survive you. She learned how you hurt people. Iris learned how you destroy people.
Nathaniel clenched his jaw tightly. He asked in a voice "What exactly did you tell Nathaniels sister?"
She already knew all of this. There was nothing for her to learn. The information was not a surprise, to her all. She was already aware of everything that was being said. The things that were being told to her were things that she already knew.
The call came to an end.
Nathaniel poured a drink. He did not even take a sip of the drink.
The man felt scared for the time in his life. Fear came to him. It was a new feeling. He had never felt this way before. Fear was something the man was not used to. The man was now feeling fear. It was a strange thing, for him.
Not of losing money.
Of losing relevance.
Iris stood in front of the window that went all the way from the floor to the ceiling, in her room. The lights of the city were shining back at her reflected in her eyes.
Her phone started to vibrate.
Unknown number.
The woman gave a response.
A man said this to me in a voice. He said "You made your move". Then he said "That was impressive".
“Who is this?”
Someone put money into keeping you quiet five years. That person invested in your silence five years ago. They basically bought your silence five years ago.
Her grip got tighter. She said "Be clear”, in a voice. Her grip tightened again as she waited to hear what would be said about the matter of the thing she wanted to know which's that she wanted everything to be clear.
A pause.
Then she said to Iris: "Your father did not die from being sick Iris."
The world just stopped. Everything came to a standstill. The world stopped moving. It was, like time had stopped for the world.
What did you just say? I did not quite catch what you said. Can you please say that again?
The man had to leave his job. The stress was too much for him to handle.. Nathaniel was the one who agreed to the decision that he should go.
Iriss breath became really shallow.
It is not possible. The thing you are talking about it is just not going to happen. I do not think that will work the idea is impossible.
The voice said that I should look at the sealed files. The sealed files are the ones that were unlocked because of the changes that happened today.
The phone line just stopped working. The line went dead.
Iris looked at the window. It was really dark. The window was so dark that she could not see anything outside. Iris kept staring at the window.
Her reflection stared back at her. It looked really calm and in control. Her reflection seemed untouchable.
But something inside her cracked.
Because if that was true—
Then today hadn’t been revenge.
It had only been the beginning.
- Writer
