Chapter 19
1113 Words
"This is bullshit!" Declan's voice thundered through the boardroom.
The Marketing Director stood at the front beside the projector screen, his presentation still frozen on the last slide. The proposal he'd spent weeks preparing displayed behind him.
His assistant remained rooted beside him, laptop still open in her hands.
Silence settled heavily over the room.
No one dared to move. No one interrupted.
No one even breathed too loudly.
"What the hell is this?" Declan continued. "You've had two months. Two months, and this is the best you could come up with?"
Bene looked up from the laptop in front of him, momentarily pausing as he typed down the meeting notes.
He sighed inwardly.
Compared to some of the campaign proposals they'd rejected in the past, this wasn't even bad.
The concept suited the project.
It appealed to the target consumer market.
In fact, the entire presentation had been almost flawless.
But that didn't seem to matter anymore.
This was what the company had been dealing with for the past two weeks.
The boss's temperament had changed completely.
Declan had gone from being the quietly intimidating boss everyone respected to the one who snapped at the smallest mistake.
In just two weeks, five employees had already been fired over what most people considered insignificant mistakes.
According to Declan...
It was incompetence.
"But, sir... we..." the Marketing Director stammered.
"Redo it," Declan cut him off coldly. "Or you can pack your things."
He shoved his chair back and stood.
Bene immediately rose with him.
As Declan strode out of the boardroom without another glance, Bene fell into step behind him.
The door had barely shut behind them before murmurs swept through the room.
"We might as well pack up and leave right now," someone muttered.
Another person let out a long sigh.
No one understood what was going on.
Declan took long strides through the hallway as Bene struggled to keep up.
Every employee they passed greeted him.
He either responded with a low, distracted "Hmm," or ignored them completely.
The moment he reached his office, he pushed the door open and walked in.
As soon as the door shut behind him, he dropped into his chair with a quiet sigh and closed his eyes.
"Any news?" he asked.
Bene didn't answer immediately.
If he gave Declan the answer he didn't want to hear, he might very well be the next employee carrying a cardboard box out of W Holdings.
Declan slowly opened his eyes, a frown settling on his face.
"I just asked you a question."
As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door.
The person outside didn't wait for permission to enter.
They probably knew they weren't going to get it anyway.
"Good morning, Mr. Windsor," a young red-haired woman greeted as she stepped into the office.
Ashley Fisher.
Declan's secretary. A shy young woman.
"Hmm..." Declan replied absentmindedly.
She was probably here with information that still wouldn't solve any of his problems.
It had been two weeks since he'd last shaved.
A noticeable stubble had grown across his jaw, the kind that immediately told you he wasn't sleeping and that something was weighing heavily on him.
His mother hadn't spoken to him in those two weeks.
She had ignored every one of his calls and refused to see him whenever he went back to the family home.
Ever since he'd broken the news of Victoria's pregnancy to her, she had completely shut him out.
Victoria, on the other hand, hadn't stopped calling.
For two weeks straight, his phone had been flooded with missed calls and messages from her.
He hadn't returned to the new villa he'd bought for them. Nor had he moved back into his parents' house.
Elysia was still missing.
And on top of that, everything else seemed determined to drive him insane.
"There's someone here to see you, sir," Ashley said politely.
Declan didn't respond.
He didn't want to see anyone right now.
And if it was Victoria who had somehow tracked him down, he was fully prepared to jump out of the window.
He simply didn't have the energy to deal with her.
Over the past two weeks, her messages had become increasingly demanding, swinging from pleading to accusations.
She'd accused him of cheating and every other ridiculous thing she could think of.
"Tell them Mr. Windsor isn't seeing any visitors right now," Bene said, finally stepping in.
Ashley, however, didn't leave.
She remained where she was.
"He said it's important," she said quietly. "His name is Mr. Bronwyn Ansley, and he's here on behalf of Miss St. Laurent."
At the mention of the name St. Laurent, Declan sat upright.
Bronwyn Ansley.
A slight frown settled on his face.
He knew that name.
Bronwyn Ansley was the St. Laurent family's lawyer.
What was he doing here? Had he found Elysia?
Or did he know where she was?
Ever since his father had announced the reward for information on Elysia's whereabouts, every lead had turned out to be a dead end.
"Send him in."
Ashley nodded, took a step back and turned toward the door.
A few moments later, she returned with the man.
Bronwyn Ansley looked to be in his early fifties. He was dressed in a well-tailored charcoal suit with a crisp white shirt and a deep burgundy tie. His neatly combed salt-and-pepper hair and rimless glasses gave him a composed, professional appearance. A black leather briefcase rested in one hand, and his expression remained calm and unreadable.
"You can return to your duties," Declan said, dismissing Ashley with a small wave.
She nodded once before quietly leaving the office.
The moment the door clicked shut behind her, Declan turned his attention to Mr. Ansley.
Declan gestured toward the chair opposite his desk.
"Please, have a seat."
"Thank you."
Bronwyn sat down calmly and placed his leather briefcase on his lap.
Declan leaned forward.
"So..."
His voice carried more impatience than he'd intended.
"You said you're here on behalf of the St. Laurents."
"I am."
"Have they found Elysia?"
Bronwyn didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he quietly unclasped the locks on his briefcase. The metallic clicks echoed through the office.
Declan's chest tightened.
Bronwyn withdrew a neatly sealed brown envelope and placed it carefully on the desk between them.
He rested a hand lightly over it before finally looking up.
"I'm afraid I'm not here regarding Miss Elysia's whereabouts, Mr. Windsor."
Declan's expression hardened.
"Then what is this about?"
Bronwyn held his gaze.
"I'm here representing my client, Mrs. Elysia Windsor."
A beat of silence followed.
Then, in the same calm, professional tone…
"Mr. Windsor... my client has instructed me to formally begin divorce proceedings."
- Writer
