The Heart of A Disabled Billionaire

5

Nathaniel

The stench of blood still hung heavily in the air, making the break-in from last night vivid and clear, almost like I was reliving it all over again.

No matter how much the maids scrubbed the floors, or how many scented candles and diffusers Evelyn insisted on placing around the mansion, it never removed the image that was imprinted at the back of my mind. I could still see the maniac laughing in my mind—see the smirk on his lips while he was being dragged out of the room.

This is just the beginning, his words echoed in my head, my jaws clenching in uneasiness at the underlying threat in his voice. Beginning to what?

It seemed like he was giving me a hint of what was coming afterward—almost like something so much worse was about to happen sooner or later.

I clenched my fists against the armrest of my wheelchair, anger slowly bubbling from my chest at the image of Isabella being held at knifepoint. Her screams were what had drawn my attention to the hallway. At first, I’d thought it was just my imagination. But not until I came across a stuffed blanket of pillows in her bed and a slightly ajar door to the secret room at the end of the hallway.

So many questions raced through my mind, but just one question stood out amongst the others, the answer never coming to me.

How was she able to enter the room? It was locked.

Always locked.

Only the Harts had access to the room as it was a treasury that contained most of the family’s heirlooms, stacks of currencies, and armored weaponries.

No one should be seen near those quarters. No one was allowed to come that close there, but yet, Isabella went in there, without a care in the world.

I’d given her simple orders and only asked this one thing from her—just one—but she chose to walk over me and ignore my rules without considering the consequences attached. Could it be that she was followed of some sort? But that couldn’t be possible, except there was a mole in the estate.

I groaned in frustration, running a hand through my hair as my muscles ticked with tension. I was pissed. I wanted to scold and interrogate her, possibly give her a punishment, but I couldn’t.

Not yet.

Her body and mind were still in shock from the incident, and we were both exhausted, too.

I had barely gotten through the night as the pain incurred was almost unbearable. My muscles were still stiff and sore from the fight, and my ribs were throbbing with each inhale I drew. The feeling was close to that of being run over by a truck.

Not that I knew what that feeling was like, but I could relate to the situation.

A bitter smile swept over my lips at that thought, but it was short-lived when the hushed voices outside my door slowly trailed off into silence, signaling that the persons had walked away.

It didn’t take a genius to know who the cause behind it was.

Evelyn.

Her whispers were what had woken me up within the few hours of napping.

I didn’t need to hear the full conversation to know exactly what she was up to. She was ready to make another dramatic entrance again, but this time, I wasn’t going to just sit back and watch.

I was going to stand up for myself.

Metaphorically.

“Nathaniel,” Evelyn barely hid the irritation in her voice as she turned towards my direction. “You should be resting. You really need it.”

I ignored her fake concern and moved my gaze across the room, taking in the hardened looks on the board members’ faces and a few of the distant Harts’—the uncomfortable flicker in their eyes, and how one made a move to offer me a seat at the mahogany table that stood out in the room.

“I see you’ve been busy.” I pointed out, biting back the anger in my words.

Evelyn gave me a wide grin, nodding with excitement, as if nothing about my glare bothered her. “Of course! We were just discussing the unfortunate…incident from last night. The security breach was something that happened because of certain…limitations in handling of affairs in the estate.”

Certain limitations?

I narrowed my eyes into a glare, “What are you implying, Evelyn? Are you saying that I’m to blame for something unforeseen?”

Her lips curled back to reveal a forced sympathetic smile before she sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Nathaniel, we all want what’s best for the company but after last night, I had no choice but to reconsider the position of leadership in the family.”

Reconsider what position? Me as the CEO? Why?

I turned to read the room. The board members straightened their shoulders and cleared their throats, some choosing to look away and silently await my opinion while others just kept a straight face and flashed an empty, cold gaze—one that either meant they were too uninterested to care about the next move or that they’d really gone on Evelyn’s side.

I inhaled sharply, “And what about my position?”

“Well, I’ve proposed that I step in—temporarily of course—as the acting CEO of the Hart Industries.

The words barely left her lips before I slammed my hands on the table, anger and disbelief written all over my expression.

“Are you insane, Evelyn? What makes you think I’ll step down for you?”

Evelyn leaned forward, her fingers tapping against the table as she did so. “I know what you’re feeling, Nathaniel, but let’s be rational here. The media has already taken last night’s attack into their own hands, especially after the man in question chose suicide over spilling the truth this morning—“

Suicide? My eyes widened in horror. He killed himself?

“—and let’s not forget, you haven’t set foot in office for months now. Investors are worried. Some are beginning to pull out their shares and capital, saying that we’re unfit to continue having their support. If we continue this way, we’d be bankrupted within a blink of an eye.”

“You know, for someone that’s only going to be a temporary acting CEO, you’re acting way too eager and excited about this position.” I gritted through my teeth.

Something flickered in her eyes at my statement, but it was quick and quickly masked from my view before she wore a small smile and said, “Temporary or not, the safety and responsibility of the industries now lie in my hands.”

An award silence hung over the room, leaving just Evelyn and I to glare at each other as

I let out a quiet laugh, still in disbelief. “So, let me get this straight. You want to take my position not because you’ve worked for it, not because you deserve it, but because I was attacked in my own home and I couldn’t stop it?”

“That’s not—”

“You’re using my condition as a leverage, aren’t you? Painting me weak because I was vulnerable to protect myself or my wife.

Evelyn exhaled and gritted through her teeth, speaking slowly like I was some sort of dumb kid trying to understand her. “No one is calling you weak, Nathaniel. But the investors wouldn’t have any of this. Everyone is concerned. You need rest, right? You can have it—all of it. They just need someone who can—”

“Let me guess, you’re that someone.” I laughed, the sound cold and empty to the ears.

I leaned forward slightly, “Now, let me ask you something, Evelyn.” That immediately caught her attention, alongside the board of silent directors. “When the real threat comes—when something far worse than this happens—do you think the people in this room are going to look up to you? Have you as their leader at that moment?”

I watched as she clenched her jaws and averted her gaze elsewhere, the words sinking into her mind as the tension in the room grew thicker.

“The man who came into this mansion last night,” I added, my lips pursed and my head tilted to the side, “didn’t even come for you. Didn’t even look at you, or call for your name. He came for me. Because he knows who the real threat is here.”

I wore a smirk as whispers broke across the room with Evelyn staring at her clenched hands with suppressed anger written all over her.

Then suddenly, she stood to her feet, the sound of the chair scraping against the floor echoing around the room before she smoothed the folds of her gown and threw a dirty glare down at my figure.

“We’re all dismissed, but this meeting isn’t over.”

Then with a finger tapping against a smile, I watched as she stormed out of the room, her clicking heels filling the hallway outside.

The rest of the board soon followed suit, nodding respectfully in my direction before whispering between themselves and leaving me to drown in my thoughts.

When I was sure that I was finally alone too, I exhaled softly and shut my eyes briefly.

“You can come out, Isabella. I know that you’re in here.”