JULIA GARRETT POV:
Aiden' s words hung in the air, thick with contempt. He was so smug, so confident in his illusion of power.
Then, the doors to the boardroom swung open. Mr. Davies, Ewing Daniel' s personal secretary for thirty years, a man whose quiet demeanor belied his immense influence, stepped in. His presence alone commanded silence.
Aiden, for all his bluster, visibly flinched. He respected Mr. Davies. He respected his father' s authority.
"Mr. Davies," Aiden said, his tone instantly less aggressive, "what brings you to our board meeting?"
Mr. Davies, a man who never wasted a single word, calmly corrected him. "It's Ms. Garrett now, Mr. Daniel." He then turned to me, a slight, respectful bow of his head. "Ms. Garrett, everything is in order."
Ember, oblivious and foolishly emboldened, shrieked. "Ms. Garrett? What are you talking about? She's Mrs. Daniel! And she's about to be nobody!"
Aiden' s face darkened. "Davies, what is the meaning of this? You're confusing things." His voice, though still demanding, held a tremor of uncertainty. He was clinging to the last shreds of his rapidly diminishing authority. "Julia has no authority here. She's not qualified to run this company." He practically spat the words, his eyes darting between me and the impassive secretary.
Mr. Davies, completely unfazed, simply looked at Aiden. "Mr. Daniel, with all due respect, your father, Mr. Ewing Daniel, appointed Ms. Garrett as the new CEO and transferred his controlling shares to her last week. As of this morning, Ms. Garrett now holds the majority voting shares of Daniel Holdings."
The room erupted in gasps. Aiden' s jaw dropped. Ember' s triumphant smile morphed into a gaping maw.
"And," Mr. Davies continued, his voice as calm as ever, "a board meeting is currently underway to formally remove you, Mr. Daniel, from your position as Chairman and all executive duties, effective immediately, due to gross negligence and repeated financial malfeasance." He held up a thick dossier. "The evidence of your mismanagement, including the substantial losses incurred under Ms. Stokes' 'guidance,' is quite damning."
He looked at Aiden, his gaze piercing. "Do you have any explanation for these discrepancies, Mr. Daniel?"
Aiden stammered, his face turning an unhealthy shade of purple. "Discrepancies? There are no discrepancies! These are lies! You're all trying to make me look bad! This is Julia's doing, isn't it? She's poisoned my father against me! She' s always been a snake, always plotting, always trying to tear us apart! Just like she did with my reputation years ago, always playing the victim, the poor, damaged woman!"
He lunged at me, his eyes wild with rage. "You bitch! You think you can just take everything from me? You think you can use my father, use my past against me?"
SLAP!
The sound cracked like a whip. My hand was stinging, but the satisfaction was immense. The shock on Aiden' s face was almost comical.
"You want to talk about my past, Aiden? You want to talk about being 'damaged'?" My voice was low, trembling with a cold fury I no longer bothered to hide. "Then let's talk about the damage you caused. The damage you allowed."
He staggered back, his hand on his cheek, eyes blazing. "You hit me! You actually hit me!"
"And I'll do it again," I said, stepping closer, my voice rising, "if you ever dare to speak of my past trauma again. You think you' re so smart? You think you' ve got everything figured out? Well, you're wrong, Aiden. You're a fool. A pawn in a game you don't even understand."
"What are you talking about?" he roared, his eyes flicking to Ember. "Ember told me everything! She told me you were trying to use my father to take over! She told me you were secretly plotting against me for months!"
I looked at Ember, who was now shrinking in her seat, her face pale. She knew. She knew this was coming. And she played him for a fool.
The irony was almost too much to bear. He believed her. He believed the woman who was systematically destroying his life, all while blaming me. He still thought I was the enemy. After all these years, after all my sacrifices, he still saw me as nothing more than a manipulative obstacle.
A deep, bitter sadness washed over me. It was pathetic, really. He wasn't worth the love I once gave him, wasn't even worth the anger I felt. He was just… pitiful.
I felt the last thread of attachment snap. The last, fragile hope that he might one day see me, truly see me, for who I was, for what I had done. It was gone. Forever.
The boardroom doors burst open again. This time, it was not Mr. Davies. It was a crowd of shareholders, drawn by the commotion, their faces a mixture of confusion and alarm.
Suddenly, Ewing Daniel, who had been sitting silently in his chair, slumped forward. A choked gasp escaped his lips.
"Father!" Aiden cried, a flicker of genuine concern crossing his face.
"Mr. Daniel!" Mr. Davies rushed forward, his eyes wide.
Before anyone could react, Davina, my mother, stormed in, her face contorted in a mask of pure rage. She had clearly just heard everything.
"Aiden Daniel!" she shrieked, her voice echoing through the stunned silence. "You absolute disgrace! You have killed your own father with your cruelty!" She swung her handbag, a heavy, designer weapon, connecting squarely with Aiden's head.
WHACK!
Aiden stumbled back, clutching his head. Ember, seeing the impending chaos, tried to scramble away, but Davina was a force of nature. She raised a hand as if to strike Ember, but Aiden, surprisingly, stepped in front of her.
"Stop it, Mother!" he yelled, his voice laced with indignation. "What are you doing? You're going crazy!"
"Crazy?" Davina shrieked, now turning her fury on him. "You call your own father a fool, you flaunt your harlot, and you accuse Julia of plotting! You are a monster, Aiden! A heartless monster!" She was shaking, her face flushed crimson.
"He's dead!" someone cried.
Ewing Daniel lay still, his eyes closed.
"Father!" Aiden cried again, a genuine horror in his voice. He looked at Ewing, then at Davina, then at me, his eyes wide with disbelief.
My eyes, however, were fixed on Aiden, cold and unblinking. "You did this, Aiden. Your selfishness. Your cruelty. You pushed him to his grave." My voice was flat, devoid of emotion. "As of this moment, Aiden Daniel, you are formally removed from Daniel Holdings. All your shares are frozen. And I am filing for divorce. Effective immediately."
He stared at me, then his eyes flicked to Ember, who was now pale and trembling. "You… you can't!" he gasped, grabbing my wrist. "You don't have the power! I won't sign! I won't give you a single penny!"
"You won't have a choice," I said, my voice dangerously calm. "You just lost everything. And I'm just getting started."
A commotion erupted at the back of the room. Reporters, drawn by the heated argument, burst through the doors, cameras flashing.
"What's happening here?" one yelled. "Is it true? Did Aiden Daniel assault his own father?"
I saw my cue. I pulled my wrist free from Aiden' s grasp, my eyes welling up with carefully rehearsed tears. "Please," I choked out, my voice barely audible, "give us some space. My… my father-in-law… he's had an accident."
Bodyguards, who had discreetly been positioned around the room, moved swiftly to block the reporters, pushing them back.
I rushed to Ewing' s side, kneeling beside his still form. I put a hand to his forehead, then looked up at the flashing cameras, my eyes brimming with sorrow. "He… he just collapsed. We need a doctor!"
Within minutes, paramedics arrived, wheeling Ewing Daniel out on a stretcher. I sat in the ambulance beside him, my head bowed in despair, my hands clasped in prayer. It was a perfect picture of a grieving daughter-in-law.
But in the fleeting moment, as the ambulance doors closed and no one could see me, a small, cold smile touched my lips. The game had truly begun.
