Chapter24
1447 Words
CHAPTER 24
Adam strode into his office with the calm arrogance of a man who knew how to control a room before he even stepped into it.
One of his boys greeted him with a nervous smile. “Good morning, sir.”
“Morning,” he replied, not slowing down.
Over the past few weeks, he’d been quietly convincing a select group of stakeholders to sell off portions of their shares. All he needed was to wait until Belle was officially signed in as CEO, and the bye-law restriction would lift. The door would swing open — and he’d walk right in.
Only now… that door had already been opened.
And slammed shut in his face.
“Sir,” his finance director said as soon as he walked in. “We… we may have a situation.”
Adam didn’t flinch. “What kind of situation?”
“It’s about Bailison group. Some of the stakeholders you were in talks with — they’ve already sold. Quietly. All in the past 48 hours.”
Adam’s gaze sharpened. “To whom?”
The man shifted uncomfortably. “We don’t know. The buyer used a proxy trust. All legal, but extremely discreet.”
Adam’s fingers clenched around the edge of the desk. “How many shares?”
“Roughly seventeen percent.”
That number hit him like a slap.
Seventeen.
Seventeen percent.
He struggled to gather twelve percent to buy after the signing in ceremony (which he is no longer able to buy) but someone else bought seventeen percent when it's not even up to 24 hours since Belle became CEO?
His voice dropped. “And not one of them mentioned they were backing out?”
“They said the offer came fast. Too good to pass up. Most assumed… it was from you.”
Adam stared blankly, mind working at a thousand miles an hour. No. This wasn’t random. This wasn’t coincidence.
Someone had known.
Someone had beaten him.
He hated being beaten.
He turned abruptly and stormed into his office, slamming the door shut behind him. He pulled out his phone and dialed without hesitation.
“Rufus.”
The man on the other end answered instantly. “Boss.”
“I need you to find something, quietly.”
“Name it.”
“There’s been a mass share buy-out,” Adam said, pacing. “Seventeen percent, done through proxies. I want to know who the buyer is, who brokered it, where the money came from. Everything.”
Rufus was silent for a beat. “You think Belle—?”
“I said everything,” Adam snapped.
“Got it.”
Adam ended the call and stared out of his office window, jaw tight, hands shoved in his pockets.
He didn’t like this. Someone had gotten too close. Too fast. And for the first time in a long time, he didn’t see it coming.
----
James poured himself a generous glass of brandy, “CEO,” he muttered bitterly, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. “Can you believe it?”
Rachel didn’t look up. She sat on the chaise lounge across from him, long legs crossed, fingers angrily scrolling through photos of Belle’s ceremony on her phone.
“Disgusting,” she spat. “Look at her. Smiling like she built the damn company herself.”
“She didn’t even earn it,” James scoffed. “She inherited it. That’s not power — that’s privilege.”
Rachel set her phone down and leaned forward, eyes sharp. “And yet she stood there like she was Empress of the world. All dressed up in white, giving her little girlboss speech while we stood and clapped like trained idiots.”
James slammed his glass down on the table. “Don’t remind me, saying congratulations to her nearly choked me.”
“She doesn’t deserve that position,” Rachel continued. “She doesn’t have the spine.”
“I’ve been with this company for over two decades. Know the numbers, the board, the politics. But no—give the crown to the pretty little orphan with the famous last name.”
Rachel rolled her eyes “Well, congratulations to Her Royal Highness, CEO Belle.”
James stares quietly, “She won’t last. Not with what’s coming.”
Rachel raises an eyebrow, intrigued. “What do you mean?”
James smiles. “Let’s just say... some legacies come with cracks.”
* * * * *
Adam was restless from the news he got from his finance director, owning more shares than Belle had been his plan to take down the company but that is seeming impossible right now.
But could Rufus' suspicion be right? He thought to himself. Belle has been busy with her signing in ceremony; there's no way she would have had the time to purchase more shares.
And if she did, it would have been all over the news by now. Rufus must have suspected her solely based on his dislikeness towards her. Adam kept on thinking to himself.
Rufus knocked on his door and entered, distracting his thoughts. “There is no way to track down the buyer sir. Everything was carried out discreetly and professionally.”
Adam said nothing.
Rufus continued, “so what's the plan now boss? Please tell me you have something figured out.”
A noise is heard from the living room, notifying Adam that Belle was back from work. Adam quickly stood up to go meet her, ignoring Rufus who was waiting for his response.
“Hey, how is it going?” Adam asked getting to the living room, not sure if that was the right way to greet her.
Belle gave a slight nod as she continued unbuckling her heels.
“Let me help you with that.” Adam offered, and without waiting for her response, went ahead to unbuckle her heels.
Belle starts suspecting that he must have found out about the shares but she says nothing.
Adam tried to bring up the topic. “I heard there was an anonymous transfer of shares today.”
Belle kept quiet for a minute, wanting to make sure she doesn't say the wrong word. “Yeah, Emma told me about it.”
He looked up her face, “and?”
“And what?”
“Who is the buyer?”
“Like you said, it was an anonymous purchase, how am I supposed to know the person?”
Adam placed both legs of shoe beside one of the couches and offered her a flip flop. “It's your company though, aren't you concerned?”
“As long as everything was done legally, under due process, then I have no reason to be. It's not my fault some of the stakeholders get easily swayed by a few pieces of cash.”
Her voice got lower and sounded weaker by every word she said.
“You don't sound okay.” Adam looked at her face properly “you don't look okay either, should I call the doctor?”
“I'm fine, just a little bit dizzy. What were we talking about?”
“f**k what we were talking about, should I take you to the hospital or I should call the doctor over?” Adam said in a panicking tone.
Belle tried to laugh but failed at it. Like she was too weak to waste that energy. “Are you worrying about me right now?” She managed to ask.
Adam knew instantly that she wasn't ready to make a decision. He swooped her from the couch, tried to grab one of the car keys from the drawer at the television set but it was seeming impossible with Belle in his hands.
Belle tried to protest but strength failed her. Adam called out to Rufus hoping that he was still around, there was no response – meaning that he had left.
There was also no worker in the house at the moment. The housekeepers usually come and go so it was just the both of them.
He slowly dropped her back on the couch, grabbed the keys, carried her back and headed straight to the car park. Getting to the car, she was already seeming unconscious.
He started the car immediately, stretched his right hand to the back seat where she's lying down and held her hand. He kept on calling out her name through out the ride hoping to keep her conscious, while reassuring her that she would be fine.
He was about calling one of the doctors then he remembered he left his phone at the penthouse. He increased his speed wanting to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
Then_
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