Billionaire’s Revenge Marriage

Chapter Five

The timing was all wrong. Amelia stepped out of the coffee shop that morning, her hands still shaking, her brain replaying every conversation, every glance, every unsettling aspect of the man who had known her face without introduction. She had not slept much, her mind replaying every conversation, her thoughts in a jumbled mess of confusion and unease, and just as she was attempting to calm her nerves with the familiarity of her routine, her phone rang crisply in her hand. She was tempted to ignore it, but something in her instinct, perhaps, or intuition prompted her to answer. "Hello?" She spoke softly, her voice not quite its usual self due to her lack of sleep.

“Miss Hale?” The unfamiliar voice on the other end was firm, professional, and immediately alarming. Amelia’s heart skipped a beat, a cold feeling settling in the pit of her stomach as she straightened instinctively. “What kind of situation?” Amelia asked, her fingers tightening slightly on her phone. There was a pause, just long enough to send Amelia’s alarm into overdrive. “It would be better if you came in,” the voice said delicately. “Your father is… unavailable at the moment.”

The word echoed louder than it should have, with a meaning that was much more serious than it sounded. Amelia didn’t waste another second. When she arrived at the imposing Hale Industries building, her heart was racing, her mind racing with possibilities she didn’t want to think about. The lobby was different today. It was quieter, tenser, with something heavy in the air. The employees avoided eye contact, whispers circulated through the space, and for the first time, Amelia felt like an outsider in a space she was supposed to call her own.

She was immediately led to a conference room, where three men in suits were already seated, their faces serious, their posture formal, and this immediately made her uncomfortable. “Miss Hale,” one of them said, motioning for her to take a seat, but his tone did not indicate that this was a friendly conversation. Amelia stood for a moment, her eyes darting back and forth, her discomfort growing. “Where is my father?” she asked, her tone steady but laced with concern.

They exchanged looks for a moment until one of them spoke; his words were weighed with meaning. "Your father is being investigated for possible financial improprieties in high-stakes business deals." Amelia looked at him and found that she wasn't fully comprehending his words. "I don't understand. Surely, there must be a mistake," she said while shaking her head slightly.

She clenched her fist tightly within her hand as if trying to hold onto the firm ground under her feet; alas, there was nothing to hold on to because nothing seemed real anymore.

He was a very meticulous person who made sure that nothing out of the blue ever truly happened, not even the smallest mistake. Still, it was completely beyond her comprehension how he could have been so careless, let alone possibly guilty.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” another man said, moving a file across the table toward her. “Assets are being reviewed. Accounts are being frozen. If things continue to escalate, Hale Industries could suffer severe financial repercussions.” Amelia’s breathing constricted as she gazed at the file, but didn’t open it, her fingers brushing delicately across the cover as if to touch it would make all of this reality. “And my father?” Amelia repeated her question, her tone now softer, more tentative.

The response was offered quietly, but it was like a punch to the gut. “We have not been able to make contact with him since early this morning.”

The room seemed smaller suddenly, the air thick and heavy, as Amelia struggled to find her footing, to find something to hold onto in a world that seemed to be rapidly spinning out of control. This wasn’t possible. Her father was too powerful, too calculated, too in control for something like this to occur. But the look in the room, the tone in their voices, told her that something had indeed happened.

“Miss Hale,” the first man said again, “but there is one way to stabilize the situation at least temporarily.” Amelia looked up quickly. Hope flickered in her eyes. “What do you mean?” she asked. “An outside investor is willing to purchase enough stock to gain control so that a complete collapse can be avoided.” Amelia’s heart pounded in her chest. “Who?” she asked immediately.