Chapter 3

Charlotte handed Bryant a termination letter.

Every board member except Bryant had voted to strip him of his title and put Charlotte in charge as the new chairman.

"No way. Charlotte, I built this company from the ground up. Don't even think about taking it for yourself!" Bryant shouted, his voice shaking with rage.

He slammed the papers down on the table, his face twisted with fury.

Charlotte smiled calmly. "Dad, come on. This isn't just my decision. It's all spelled out right here. The board unanimously agreed to this, everyone except you.

"This is a routine, lawful personnel change, so I hope you'll set the right example."

She walked over, picked up the termination letter from the table, and handed it back to him.

Bryant glanced around the room, but every board member avoided his gaze, heads bowed, not a single one daring to speak up.

Charlotte said, "Dad, you always told me I had to fight for my own future, that I couldn't rely on the family. You wouldn't even give me an internship.

"I had to send out my resumes, go through interviews, and in the end, a headhunter brought me into SkyLight Group. That's how I climbed my way up to this position.

"So, what do you think? Are you satisfied with what I've achieved?"

Bryant glared at Charlotte, speaking through gritted teeth. "Charlotte, I'm your father. I raised you. Why are you doing this to me?"

Charlotte gave a cold, mocking laugh. "To me, you were never really a father."

I was completely floored, staring in disbelief. I never thought I'd hear Charlotte say something so ruthless, and I sure as hell didn't expect her to actually dethrone Bryant right in front of everyone.

Four years ago, when I cut ties with my family, my father pointed at me and said furiously, "If you're leaving, then stay gone. Don't think the family needs you. Your sister is way better than you ever were."

Back then, I thought they'd always treated Charlotte as their daughter, and I was just someone who didn't matter at all.

I never thought things would get this tense between them, and I never imagined Charlotte stepping up to take over the family business in such a dramatic way.

Watching Charlotte's cold, unreadable expression, I couldn't help but wonder maybe her relationship with our parents wasn't as warm and perfect as I'd always believed.

For the first time in my life, I actually found myself wanting to know more about Charlotte.

Charlotte took three days to firmly establish herself as chairman, handling all the company's affairs after the personnel shake-up.

Her first major decision as the new boss was to bring down Infinity Capital.

Infinity Capital was Jonathan's company.

Over the next two weeks, Charlotte cut off Infinity Capital's funding, torpedoed their deals, and roped Jonathan into her trap just when he was drowning in trouble.

By the time Jonathan caught on, it was already too late. Crushed by massive debt, he was forced into bankruptcy and liquidation.

The once-rising star, Infinity Capital, was wiped off the market for good.

I couldn't really say how I felt. The first fund Infinity Capital ever got came from me. I backed Jonathan every step of the way. In some ways, I had built Infinity Capital.

When Jonathan was riding high, he made sure I lived like royalty, and we were totally in love back then.

But then he stabbed me in the back, and honestly, he had it coming.

Once she heard the news of Infinity Capital's bankruptcy, Charlotte came to visit my grave, carrying a bouquet of flowers.

It was the first time she'd visited me since the funeral.

She brought Jonathan with her.

Jonathan looked utterly worn out. He'd lost a ton of weight, his beard was scruffy, and his eyes were rimmed with red, like he hadn't slept in days.

When he spotted my gravestone, he froze for a moment. Then, he crept closer, his hand shaking as he reached out to touch my name.

But Charlotte smacked his hand away.

"I brought you here today to give you a chance to apologize to Stella for what you did," Charlotte said, her voice cold and unyielding.

He slowly sank to his knees in front of my grave.

Jonathan choked out, "Stella, I was wrong. I miss you so much.

"I shouldn't have been so indecisive, shouldn't have betrayed you. I failed to protect our love, and I couldn't save our company. I'm nothing but a complete idiot."

He kept crying while smacking himself in the face.

Charlotte frowned and barked, "That's enough. I'm not here to watch you beat yourself up. Stella truly loved you, and I know she'd want to hear your apology. Now get out of here."

Jonathan wiped his tears and stood up. "Charlotte, I know you're behind all this, but I need to know. Why?"

"Seriously? You've got some nerve even asking me that," Charlotte snapped.