Chapter 4

My words went off like a bomb in that quiet room.

The word "ex-husband" was like a dagger dipped in poison, stabbing right into Michael's ears.

He jerked backward into the chair behind him and knocked it into the wall.

"You're lying!"

He had his voice back, and it came out shrill and cracked.

"Emily Carter died five years ago. I filed the death certificate myself.

"Who are you? Who the hell are you?"

He was pointing at me with bloodshot eyes and the look of a man coming apart.

"Security? Somebody get this crazy woman out of here!"

The man roaring across that table was nothing like the polished gentleman he played in public.

The executives looked like they'd seen a ghost.

They traded stunned, bewildered looks, and the room buzzed with whispers.

"Ex-husband? Ms. Carter is his ex-wife?"

"Didn't he say his wife died in the earthquake? What is going on?"

"Did she come back from the dead, or is there something none of us know?"

I watched Michael's outburst with icy indifference.

It was like watching a cat whose tail had been stepped on, frantically puffing up, but all for nothing.

I didn't move.

Not even a twitch in my smile.

My assistant, a sharp, capable woman who went by Falcon, stepped forward.

She set a stack of documents in front of every executive with the same measured motion.

"Everyone," Falcon addressed the room.

Her voice was cool and professional, instantly silencing all the chatter.

"This is Nova Capital's formal offer to acquire Grant Innovations, along with proof that we hold more than thirty-five percent of the outstanding shares.

"That makes us the largest shareholder, and it gives Nova Capital the right to call for a full restructuring of the board."

She paused, and her blue eyes swept the room and came back to me.

"This is Ava Carter, founder of Nova Capital, and she has full authority over this acquisition.

"Whatever personal history Ms. Carter has with Mr. Grant is outside the scope of this meeting."

Every word landed clean and left nobody any room to argue.

The executives put their heads down over the paperwork, and the gossip on their faces turned into something much heavier.

The two guards Michael had called stood in the doorway with nowhere to go.

Michael stared at the papers like a man reading his own sentence.

His face went from pale to ashen.

He knew this wasn't some farce.

It was a war I had spent five years building for him, and he had no way to win it.

He swayed and caught the edge of the table to stay on his feet.

He stared at me, and under the terror in his eyes, something meaner started to come up. "It's you. You're still alive."

I tapped the table with my fingertips.

"Mr. Grant, this is business time.

"Whether you agree with the acquisition or not doesn't matter.

"This is a notification, not a negotiation."

My tone was flat, as though I were talking about the weather.

But every word was like a whip, lashing him across the face.

He'd probably never been humiliated like this before.

Especially not in his own company, in front of all his subordinates.

His chest heaved, clearly furious.

It took a long time, and then he forced one sentence out through his teeth.

"I need to speak with you alone."

'That's exactly what I was waiting for,' Emily thought.

I raised my hand.

Falcon stepped forward and addressed the room.

"That's all for today, everyone. Please step outside."

The executives got up like prisoners handed a pardon and cleared out of the room.

In under a minute, that huge conference room held nothing but the two of us and the mess on the floor.