Chapter 4 - CHECKMATE AT TABLE ONEGrace stopped three feet from Andrew and his father. The silence in the ballroom was so absolute you could hear the champagne bubbles fizzing in nearby flutes.
Dante Moretti placed a comforting hand on Grace’s bare shoulder, his grey eyes locking onto Andrew with predatory amusement.
"Good evening, gentlemen," Dante’s voice rolled smoothly across the table. "I believe you were waiting for the majority shareholder of Whitman Logistics?"
Andrew’s knees buckled slightly. He grabbed the edge of the table to steady himself, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "G-Grace... How... What is the meaning of this? Dante, this woman is—"
"Quiet when your superiors are speaking, Andrew," Dante’s tone dropped an octave, turning the air around them glacial. "Mrs. Moretti is not who she used to be. In fact, she hasn't been a Whitman for a very long time."
Grace stepped forward, her heels clicking a rhythmic, haunting beat against the floor. She looked down at her former husband with eyes devoid of anger, pity, or warmth—only a profound, chilling emptiness.
"You told me once, Andrew," Grace said, her voice crystal clear and projecting effortlessly across the room, "that three girls made me useless. You said we brought shame to your precious name."
Andrew swallowed hard, sweating profusely under the blazing lights. "Grace... please... it was a misunderstanding... my father made me—"
"Your father made you a coward, and you chose to be a monster," Grace interrupted smoothly. "You threw a newborn baby and her mother into a freezing November storm to die. You thought we were garbage."
She turned slightly, gesturing to her three beautiful daughters standing proudly beside Dante.
"Look at them, Andrew," Grace whispered, leaning in close so only he could hear. "These three 'useless girls' are now the primary beneficiaries of the Moretti Trust. And I am the sole owner of the holding company that currently holds every single mortgage, debt, and asset bearing the Whitman name."
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The elder Whitman gasped, clutching his chest. "You... you bought our debt? You ruined us?!"
"No," Grace said with a chilling, radiant smile. "You ruined yourselves. I just came to collect the trash."
