CHAPTER 12
1233 Words
CHAPTER 12
HEAVEN
He didn't know what was coming for him.
This was the moment I had been waiting for all these years. During our marriage, I had been forbidden from going to the company, but this time, I was not only stepping into the company but the highest room ever. The boardroom.
And I was going to seal his fate.
As I stepped into that boardroom, the air shifted. I could feel the heavy tension in the room but as all heads turned, the tension escalated.
Some with confusion. Others with recognition and surprise. Of course, who wouldn't be surprised to see their CEO's ex wife and most of all, the one competitor they despised. The rival they couldn't surpass now unlike before.
Who would want to see a business rival in their boardroom? Usually, Belmont had been the leading shoe brand but in the past few months, we had taken over and Belmont had probably been pushed to the last because even other companies were doing better than them.
Why? Atlas always prided himself as the best businessman and I knew his father loved his company more than his son, yet he allowed them to backslide. Makes it look like fate was biased.
Anyway, that was my win.
And Atlas face? It was carved in disbelief and surprise. He definitely wasn't expecting me just like every other person in the room. At this rate, I would become his worst nightmare and that was definitely what I wanted. He had haunted me in my sleep all these years, made me feel unworthy and insecure. He literally ruined my life if not for therapy and this was payback time.
He sat upright at the other head of the table, hands clenched around the polished wood as if the ground beneath him had cracked.
He hadn’t seen this coming.
"Miss Vallore," the secretary announced. "As a verified shareholder, your vote counts."
A smirk tugged at my lips and gasps echoed across the room. Who would have thought their archenemy would be one of their shareholders?
Atlas rose from his seat. “How? That's not possible!" He slammed his fist on the table and a smile curved out of my lips.
"Well, it's possible if you're a clever businesswoman. I guess I learned from the best." I shrugged, directing the last statement at him.
His eyes widened. "What are you doing here?”
I smiled. “The secretary already announced it but if you want me to repeat myself, I'll do you the honors. I'm exercising my rights as a major shareholder.”
"Major shareholder? What the hell are you talking about?" He shouted, veins popping out of his forehead.
I ignored him and turned to the boardroom screen. It displayed a deadlock. Half for his suspension and other half against.
This was the scenario I had always imagined.
I was the tiebreaker. The one with the power to decide his fate.
And just like he had shattered me five years ago, I was going to do the same.
Turning slowly at him, he stared at me with wide eyes.
“I vote… in favor of the suspension,” I said, voice clear and steady, my eyes not leaving him for a second.
The room erupted in murmurs. Atlas staggered back slightly, as if the words had physically struck him.
The secretary called it. “Motion passed. Effective immediately, Mr. Belmont is suspended from all executive duties pending further review.
The gavel fell.
And I didn’t blink.
It was the best ever. The look on his face warmed my heart and I knew I was hungry for more.
I turned to leave, but not before meeting his eyes one last time. They were burning...with confusion, betrayal, disbelief. Good.
The heavy door swung shut behind me, but I barely made it six steps before I heard his voice. Of course, he would come running over.
“You really did it.”
I turned slowly
.
Atlas stood there in the hallway looking stressed. His once-pristine suit looked crumpled, his tie undone, his eyes... storming.
A man with no power. An ordinary man that had just been stripped of his throne.
“Don’t act so surprised,” I said coolly, turning to leave but his voice stopped me again.
"Why are you doing this?" He asked in a low tone this time, his face dropping and I let out a chuckle.
"Have you gotten so retard that you can't understand things anymore?" I asked with a tight lipped smile.
He took a step closer. “You manipulated your way into the company, into the board...”
I scoffed. “I shouldn't have to do that if you have done the right thing by giving me some shares as alimony.”
His eyes bulged. “Is this what this is about? You never asked for alimony.”
I let out a huff. “That's because you forced me to sign the papers. I didn't have any say.”
He ran his hand through his hair. “That's not true!”
I raised my palm. “Save all this till our first trial. You can lay out your points in court.”
He shook his head. “Is that why you forced yourself into my boardroom?”
I wagged my index finger, my beautiful pink nails pointing at me. Hmm, the nail designer had done a great job.
I smiled. “I bought my way in.”
“It’s not possible, and…”
I cut him off. “With my own damn money. Unlike you, I earned every cent I own.”
His jaw clenched. “How the hell did you get involved with the Vallores?"
I shrugged. "The news is not far from you. You have a phone for a reason," I snapped.
He shook his head. "This is revenge, isn’t it? You planned all of this...”
I smiled slowly. “No, Atlas. This is justice. Revenge would’ve been easier. Quicker. But this?” I leaned in just enough to meet his eyes. “This is you watching everything you built, everything you took from me, slowly fall apart. The same way you left me.”
He stared at me in silence for a long moment. Then, something darker flickered across his face.
"You were never like this."
I let out a chuckle, stepping away. "You taught me a good lesson."
I turned to leave, but after taking a step, I turned back to meet him still staring at me.
"Won't you come begging?"
He lifted his brows. "What are you saying?"
"Can you handle the divorce fraud charges and assault at once? Don't you think you can do both with the issue at your company?"
His brows furrowed. "Are you trying to tell me to beg your lover?" he asked in disbelief and I let out a huff.
"To survive, you need to do anything, even if it means stepping on your ego. We'll be expecting your apology and if not, I guess we'll meet in court. I wonder what the verdict will be," I concluded.
I watched his face hardened as his fists clenched before giving him one last look.
And then I walked away, my heels clicking down the marble floor, echoing like a countdown.
Because he wasn’t just losing his position.
He was losing everything.
And he doesn't know what would hit him.
- Writer
