Chapter 2
My lawyer, Vincent Foster, is one of the best in the field.
Ten years ago, when I decided to become a hands-off boss, I hired him right away.
Back then, I'd just inherited the company from my father.
The company wasn't big, but because nobody knew what they were doing, it was buried in debt and teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.
My father's dying wish was for me to keep the company alive.
But I was born lazy and had zero clue about running a business.
Back then, Alex was just a broke kid with nothing to his name, but he was hungry for success. He was all over me, eager to please my every whim.
I could see the hunger in his eyes.
I needed someone who could actually get things done, and he needed a stepping stone to climb up.
We hit it off right away.
Before we got married, I brought Alex to meet Vincent.
Vincent helped me draft a pre-nup that was downright ruthless, plus a company management agreement that left nothing to chance.
The agreement spelled everything out: I owned the company, period. Alex only had the right to manage it; as my husband and official proxy, he could take care of daily operations, but any major decisions or changes in ownership had to have my personal signature.
His annual salary and bonuses were all clearly written into the contract.
Alex was so blinded by the promise of money and a bright future that he signed without a second thought.
He thought that marrying me meant he owned me and everything I had, including the company.
Too bad for him, he was just a fool.
Love? Never trusted it. The only thing I ever believed in was cold, hard paperwork, contracts, signed and sealed.
For the past ten years, I might've looked like I didn't care, but Vincent made sure I got every financial report and every board decision.
I knew about every deal Alex and Emily made, nothing slipped past me.
I knew all about how they cooked the books, buttered up the shareholders, and tried to cut me out of the picture.
Even when they secretly used company money to set up shell companies under Emily's relatives' names, trying to funnel assets away, I was onto them the whole time.
The reason I stayed quiet all this time was because I was waiting.
Waiting for them to turn the company into a goldmine, waiting for them to think they'd won it all, then I'd swoop in and take everything back, with interest.
Now, the time had come.
"Mr. Foster, they're trying to pay me off with 3 million dollars," I said, my voice calm and steady over the phone.
Vincent let out a soft chuckle. "Looks like they've totally forgotten their place."
"If they've forgotten, we'll make sure they remember," I replied.
"What do you need me to do, Ms. Grant?" Vincent asked.
"First, send out a legal notice. Let the board and all shareholders know that, starting now, I'm pulling every bit of authority I ever gave Alex. Lock up all the company's official seals and stamps right now, and wait for the handover," I said.
"Second, freeze everything. I want every bank account tied to Alex, Emily, or any of their shell companies locked down.
"Third, notify the SEC. Report Alex, the so-called CEO, for embezzlement and funneling illegal profits."
I rattled off my orders, sharp and decisive.
Vincent was jotting everything down. "Got it. Ms. Grant, you still have that founding document, right?"
"Yes," I replied.
That was my ace in the hole.
It was the original, legally binding charter my father left me, the company's founding document, with the highest legal authority.
Buried in the fine print was a clause that said: [Lauren Grant, the founder, has absolute veto power over any company decision. This clause is permanent, unchangeable, and can never be watered down.]
Alex and Emily always thought I only had the 100% ownership.
What they didn't know was that I had this ace up my sleeve, the kind that could flip the whole table.
After hanging up, I drove home.
The villa Alex and I had called home for the past ten years.
He probably wasn't coming back tonight.
Fine by me. I had zero interest in dealing with him anyway.
I walked into the walk-in closet and pulled out a sealed manila envelope from the safe in the back.
I ran my fingers over the wax seal, my gaze steady and sharp.
Dad, I didn't let you down.
He would protect everything she had left him.
Anyone who tried to take it from him would pay the price.
The next morning, Vincent was on fire.
He got the legal notice out to every board member in record time.
Almost at the same time, court summonses and asset freeze orders landed right in front of Alex and Emily.
I could just picture the look on their faces when they saw those papers, like they'd seen a ghost.
My phone was blowing up.
Calls from shareholders, Alex, Emily, everyone was trying to get through.
I ignored them all.
I changed into something fresh, put on a little makeup, and drove over to Sophie's gallery.
She was helping a student with their painting when she saw me walk in. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Well, well, look who's out of bed! The world must be ending. You, the queen of laziness, actually left the house?" she teased.
I smiled and sat down on the couch across from her.
"I've got some good news for you," I said.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I'm getting back to work," I said.
Sophie's paintbrush clattered to the floor.
She stared at me, eyes wide, like she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"You? Going to work? Are you feeling okay? Did you hit your head or something?" Sophie blurted out.
"Nope, not sick," I said, picking up the glass of lemonade and taking a sip.
"Alex and Emily are trying to kick me out," I said.
Sophie's face darkened instantly. She'd always known those cheating bastards were up to no good.
"How dare they?!" she exclaimed.
"They think I'm lazy and easy to push around," I said, setting down my glass and meeting her gaze, my eyes burning with a resolve she'd never seen before.
"So I'm done being lazy.
"I'm taking back my company, and I'm kicking them out with absolutely nothing," I said.
*****
Monday.
On the thirty-sixth floor of Nyrion Group, the boardroom was packed.
The long conference table was lined with directors and shareholders.
Most of them were either Alex's loyalists, promoted by him over the past decade, or allies he'd bought off with favors and profits.
At that moment, everyone wore tense expressions, whispering among themselves.
At the head of the table, Alex looked like he'd been through hell; his face was ashen, and his eyes were bloodshot.
Next to him, Emily, his special assistant, looked utterly exhausted; her usual elegance and sharp edge had completely vanished.
Everything that happened last Friday hit them like a tsunami, totally out of nowhere.
First came the legal notice, then the asset freeze, and finally the whistleblower report.
Those three strikes hit them so hard, they didn't even know what hit them.
Alex just couldn't wrap his head around it. How could the woman who'd been lying low at home for ten years, never lifting a finger for the company, suddenly turn into such a ruthless force; every move she made was a knockout blow?
And what really stumped him was how she even found out about those shell companies.
He'd thought those books were airtight; no way anyone could ever trace them back.
"Mr. Carter, what's going on here? Why did Ms. Grant suddenly revoke your authority?" one of the shareholders couldn't help but ask, his voice full of anxiety.
The company's accounts were frozen, and several projects had come to a screeching halt.
The stock price was starting to fluctuate wildly.
Alex took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm.
"Relax, everyone. It's just some family drama between me and Lauren, nothing major. We'll have it sorted out in no time," Alex said, trying to calm everyone down.
"Family drama?" an older director William Kingston scoffed. "Since when does family drama get the SEC involved? Alex, you better give us a real explanation!"
He was one of the company veterans, someone from my father's era who'd stuck around all these years.
But over the past decade, Alex had sidelined him, and now he was just a figurehead with no real say in anything.
Seeing the tension, Emily quickly tried to smooth things over. "Mr. Kingston, please don't worry. It's just a misunderstanding. Lauren, she might just be acting out of impulse right now."
"Acting out of impulse?" William shot back, his eyes sharp. "I think you two have been plotting things you shouldn't for far too long!"
The boardroom instantly erupted into chaos.
Just then, the heavy double doors of the boardroom swung open from the outside.
I strode in, rocking a crisp white suit and three-inch heels, with Vincent, dressed head-to-toe in black, at my side.
Every eye in the room snapped to me.
Some were stunned, some confused, some giving me the once-over, and others were downright hostile.