Chapter Four
848 Words
Aaron’s cheque cleared before lunch.
Fifty million dollars. Clean money. No letter. No message. Nothing.
I sat on my couch and stared at the bank alert on my phone for a full ten seconds. My heart was beating fast, but my hands were steady. I forwarded the screenshot to Maya right away.
I typed: “Frame this. Make it big. Hang it in the lobby where everyone can see.”
That same afternoon, I put on my black suit, the one that makes me look expensive and dangerous, and walked straight into the boardroom of Empire Holdings. I walked like I already owned the building. Because now I almost did.
Twelve old men in dark suits looked up when the door opened. They stopped talking. Aaron was standing at the head of the table. He hadn’t shaved for days. His eyes were red and puffy with dark circles underneath. He looked smaller than the last time I saw him. Much smaller.
I dropped my leather briefcase on the shiny table with a loud thud.
“Everyone out except Aaron,” I said. My voice was calm and cold.
They looked at each other. One old man coughed. Nobody moved at first.
I didn’t say it again. I just waited.
One by one, they stood up, picked up their folders and coffee cups, and walked out. The door closed with a soft click. Now it was only me and Aaron in the big quiet room.
I opened the briefcase. Inside was one single sheet of paper. I took it out and slid it across the table until it stopped right in front of him.
“Sign it,” I said.
He picked it up with both hands. His eyes moved fast across the words. Then they got wide, really wide.
“This… this gives you full control of every decision in the company until the court case is finished,” he whispered.
“Correct.”
“You can fire anyone you want. Sell anything. Close anything. Even shut the whole company down if you feel like it.”
“Correct again.”
He looked up at me. His face was pale.
“You’re going to tear my company apart.”
I leaned forward a little so he could see my eyes clearly.
“No,” I said slowly. “I’m going to tear you apart. The company is just the easiest way to do it.”
His hand did not shake this time. He took the pen and signed his name at the bottom. The pen made a small scratching sound on the paper.
I took the document back, folded it once, nice and neat, and put it inside my jacket pocket.
“First new rule,” I said. “Lucy is never allowed inside this building again. Not today. Not tomorrow. Never.”
He opened his mouth to argue, then closed it fast. After a few seconds he just nodded.
“Second rule. Tonight you pack a bag and move out of the house you share with her. Go to a hotel. Go to a friend. I don’t care where. Just leave.”
He stared down at the table and said nothing for a long time.
“Khia…” His voice was very small. “She’s pregnant.”
My blood stopped moving in my veins. Everything inside me went cold for a second. But I kept my face completely blank. Not one muscle moved.
“Congratulations,” I said, flat and empty. “Third rule: you do not tell her about me. Not a word. Not yet.”
He looked up, confused. “She… she doesn’t know it’s you?”
“She doesn’t have a clue.”
I stood up straight.
“From now on, you do exactly what I say, exactly when I say it. You speak only when I tell you to speak. One wrong step, just one, and I walk away forever. Then you lose the company, the money, everything. Do you understand?”
He nodded, slow and scared.
I walked to the door. My heels made sharp clicks on the floor. Just before I opened it, I stopped and turned back.
“Oh, and Aaron?”
He looked up.
I gave him the smallest smile.
“Blue used to look good on you. Shame you’ll never see me wear it again.”
I opened the door and left him sitting there alone under the bright lights.
In the elevator going down, Tasha was waiting for me, leaning against the wall with a big grin.
“How bad was it?” she asked.
The elevator started moving.
I pressed the button for the lobby and looked at her.
“I just took his company, his house, and every last piece of his pride in less than five minutes.”
Tasha threw her head back and laughed so loud the whole elevator shook.
The doors slid open to the bright lobby. Sunlight poured in through the tall glass windows.
I stepped out into the warm light.
My legs weren’t shaking anymore.
I was calm and ready.
- Writer
