flash
Judge Beckett gestured quietly toward the bailiff, who brought two small chairs to the side of the bench where Nolan and Parker could sit safely out of the fray. The boys gripped their juice boxes, watching their father with wide, uncertain eyes. Gavin didn’t look at them; his gaze was fixed on the beige folder resting beneath the judge’s right hand. / Chapter 14 / 20

Chapter 14 - The Hostile Takeover Attempt

Harrison Sterling and Gavin didn't waste time. Leveraging the temporary panic created by Sloane’s media smear, Sterling Apex launched an aggressive buyout offer, offering shareholders thirty percent above market value to surrender their voting shares.

By Friday afternoon, Sterling Apex claimed to control 46% of the voting stock—just five percent shy of absolute operational control.

Gavin called Cassandra directly on her private line for the first time in two years.

"Listen to me carefully, Cassandra," Gavin sneered through the speaker. "By Tuesday morning, Harrison and I will hold fifty-one percent. We will call an emergency board meeting, fire you on the spot, and strip your security access. You’ll be locked out of the building you stole from me. Give me full custody of Nolan and Parker now, and I might leave you with a couple million dollars to survive on."

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She sl@pped my 66-year-old mother across the face, called her ""the maid,"" and proudly told everyone the house belonged to her. She had no idea I was the real owner—and by the end of that dinner, her perfect little lie would explode in front of every guest.

She sl@pped my 66-year-old mother across the face, called her ""the maid...

I did not scream. I did not hurl insults, smash crystal, or offer Evelyn Bennett the spectacle she so desperately craved.

I did not scream. I did not hurl insults, smash crystal, or offer Evelyn...

The door to the guest room locked with a quiet, satisfying click. Outside, the muffled sounds of Derek shouting about the ruined risotto faded into the background, drowned out by the thunderous beat of my own heart.

The door to the guest room locked with a quiet, satisfying click. Outsid...

Cassandra listened quietly, resting her fountain pen against her notepad.

"You haven't learned a single thing, Gavin," she said softly. "You still think the person holding the loudest microphone controls the outcome." She hung up without waiting for his reply.

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