Chapter 3

The next day, at Burton Group.

When Rhea stepped onto the executive floor, the atmosphere seemed to freeze.

The staff who used to flatter Marvin now stared at Rhea like she was a ghost. She paid them no mind and headed straight for the CEO's office at the end of the hall.

"Ms. Burton, this office is currently being used by Mr. Marvin Burton. You can't go in," Marvin's secretary blocked the door, her tone polite but her eyes full of disdain.

Rhea stopped and glanced back at Ethan.

Ethan pulled a document from his briefcase and laid it out in front of the secretary.

Ethan said calmly, "According to the second will left by Mr. Julian Burton, Ms. Rhea Burton owns 35% of Burton Group's shares, making her the largest individual shareholder. As the biggest shareholder, she has every right to take back this office."

The secretary yelled, "The will's authenticity hasn't even been confirmed yet! You're just barging in!"

"Authenticity?" Rhea sneered, then pushed the office door open.

Inside, Marvin was seated behind a massive mahogany desk, while Alicia lounged on the sofa, holding blueprints and directing the contractors.

Alicia ordered, "Here, and over there too. Change everything to my favorite Morandi colors. Toss that tacky old leather chair and bring in the latest model."

"Looks like I came back at just the right moment." Rhea's voice exploded into the room.

Alicia flung the blueprints aside in fright, and Marvin sprang to his feet.

"Rhea, are you done making a scene? This is a company, not a place for you to act out!" Marvin slammed his hand on the desk.

"Acting out?" Rhea strode up to the desk, casually flipping through the papers with a frown. "Uncle Marvin, in the past six months, you've been siphoning company funds to patch up the black holes in your failing subsidiaries.

"That's a total of 107 million dollars. I bet the audit department hasn't even seen these accounts yet, have they?"

Marvin's face turned pale. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm making this up? Take a look at this," Rhea said, taking a copy from Ethan and tossing it right in Marvin's face.

It was a record of Marvin's private wire transfers.

"Uncle Marvin, the only reason I haven't called the police yet is out of respect for my father. But if you don't grab your things and get out of this office right now, I might let the Burton family save a little face," Rhea said, her voice icy.

"You—" Marvin was trembling with fury, but he couldn't utter a single word. He'd hidden those accounts so well, never expecting that after six months away, Rhea would come back and nail him right where it hurt most.

"Rhea, how can you do this to Dad?" Alicia burst over, jabbing a finger at the contractors. "I picked out everything myself! This office is supposed to be mine!"

Rhea glanced at the contractors, who were standing there looking completely bewildered.

"Take it all down," she ordered.

"What?" The contractors were dumbfounded.

"I said, tear out everything Alicia picked. Toss it all," Rhea said, pulling a wad of cash from her bag and slapping it onto their toolbox. "Twice the usual rate. Get started right now."

The contractors glanced at each other, but the lure of cash was too strong. They grabbed their wrenches and hammers without hesitation.

With a loud crash, Alicia's favorite crystal chandelier was ripped down and smashed onto the floor, shards scattering at her feet.

Alicia shrieked, scrambling out of the way.

Marvin looked around at the chaos in the office, knowing he'd lost. He glared at Rhea and threatened in a low voice, "Rhea, don't think just because you have the shares, you can hold onto this position.

"The board's full of cunning old foxes. They'll never accept a woman who came back from the dead."

"Save your concern, Uncle Marvin," Rhea said, sitting in Marvin's old leather chair and spinning around, her gaze icy. "As long as I'm here, Burton Group belongs to the Burtons. But not to you."

Marvin let out a cold snort, grabbed the sobbing Alicia, and stormed out, slamming the door behind them.