Ridiculed into Wealth

The First Strike

The Montgomery boardroom smelled of polished oak and panic.

Just two days after the gala, the senior executives of Montgomery Group sat frozen as Liam Hawthorne—formerly Carter—stood at the head of the table, sleeves rolled up, eyes cold.

Charles sat across from him, jaw clenched, fingers tapping the glass table like a time bomb waiting to go off.

He had since confirmed that Liam was who he said he was and it had been a shock but they still had hopes that he wouldn't do anything funny to them.

Liam dropped a stack of printed reports in front of him.

“What's this supposed to be?” Charles sneered, flipping through the pages.

“Due diligence,” Liam said simply. “On the Dubai accounts.”

The room went dead silent.

The CFO looked up, pale. “You… How did you—”

He caught himself before he could finish his statement, realizing too late that he was owning up to being an accomplice before being accused. He shouldn't have bothered though.

“I’ve been busy,” Liam said, circling the table slowly. “While your firm was busy inflating invoices, falsifying supplier contracts, and laundering payments through shell corporations.”

Charles stood abruptly. “You’ve got no right to walk in here and accuse me—”

“I’m not accusing you, Charles,” Liam cut in, tone suddenly razor-sharp. “I’m stating facts. Proven. Legally admissible. And already in the hands of the SEC.”

Gasps.

Sweat beaded Charles’ temple.

Liam tossed a small device onto the table. It was a recording pen. One click, and Charles’ voice echoed in the room.

“Just funnel the payment through ZetaCorp, I don’t care. As long as it lands in the Dubai account, no one will trace it back.”

The room turned into a grave.

Liam leaned in, hands braced on the table, his voice soft:

“You were so sure no one would find out. Because you thought no one would ever take you seriously enough to look.”

Charles lunged across the table — but security was already there. Two men in suits held him back.

“Liam, you son of a—!”

“I believe the phrase is Mr. Hawthorne now,” Liam said calmly. “You’re suspended from all executive duties pending investigation. The board will vote on your permanent removal by end of week.”

"Liam, you can't do this to me. We're family", he said, looking pathetic as the men caught him, both holding him on either hand.

"I remember saying the same thing but you know what you always answer me. I don't need to remind you of that and concerning being family, not anymore. We're not!"

Charles’s screams faded as he was dragged out of the room.

Liam sat in his place.

The board didn’t say a word.

They just stared at one another and then at him in silence wondering who his next target would be.

*******

Later That Night – Outside the Montgomery Estate

Natalie stood in the driveway, arms crossed, heels tapping against the pavement as Liam’s car rolled to a stop.

He stepped out slowly, still crisp from the boardroom warzone.

She spoke first.

“You planned this, didn't you?” she said. “All of it.”

He didn’t answer. Just walked past her.

“You humiliated my father. You destroyed my brother. Are you proud?”

Liam turned, finally meeting her eyes.

“Proud?” His voice was flat. “No. Just… done playing the fool.”

“You’re not the same man I married.”

“I was never the man you saw.”

Natalie’s eyes glistened, just for a moment. “So what now? You walk away while everything burns?”

“No,” he said, stepping closer. “I walk away while I rebuild. And next time I come back... there won’t be anything left of the world that spat on me.”

She reached for his arm, her eyes pleading for his mercy.

He pulled away without hesitation.

“You had a seat next to me once, Natalie,” he said. “But you never looked past the suit. Now? You’re just another stranger I don’t owe anything to.”

"But what about what we had?" she wailed. "I was with you and stood by you when you had nothing. You want to abandoned me now you have come into wealth?"

He scoffed, turning back to look at her. "What we had?" he asked, his tone sounding incredulous. "Don't be ridiculous. We both know there was never 'us', so there was never anything between us. We never had anything. If we had, I would feel it from you and you would know. We were just strangers living under the same roof and you made it that way", he said, looking at her coldly and then giving her an even colder smile. "And now, it's too late to mend what was never there."

He got into the car and drove off, leaving her standing in the dark, alone — the cold creeping into her bones faster than the regret.

She fell to her knees, her sob wracking her body.

"Oh Liam", she sobbed. "I understand your grievance. We never treated you well. And though I hadn't supported my family's treatment of you, I was not bold enough to continue to stand up to them for you. So you left neglected, unwanted and worthless", she wailed, sobbing bitterly. "Things would never have come to this if I had been a bit bolder and less reliant on my family's and friendss' approval. I should have made sure you knew you had my support and could always count on me. But I guess it's no use now crying over sspilt milk", she said getting ujp to her feet and wiping her tears with her hands.

She ws not going to believe it was over. She was able to get him to marry her once, she could get him to notice her again.

"The future of the Montgomerys lie in mmy hands and I shall do all I can to help my family as well ass get back my husband and this time, be the wife he would like", she resolved, squaring her shoulders as she looked with determination over the horizons.