Chapter 7
Victor and the other two were dismissed and escorted out that afternoon.
Security kept a close eye on them as they packed their personal belongings into boxes and loaded them into their cars. Before getting in, Victor looked back at the building, like he was still in shock that it had come to this.
I stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows on the 46th floor, watching as his car rolled out of the parking lot.
My phone rang.
It was Alex.
I hesitated for two seconds before answering.
"Charlotte, what exactly do you want?" he asked.
He sounded way more assertive than yesterday, like he finally had some backup.
I knew exactly where that confidence came from.
Lane Healthcare might be smaller than the Sinclair Group, but it's got deep roots in the medical world, and backing Alex up was the Lane family's matriarch, Arthur Lane.
The guy was eighty-two, with shares in two top-tier hospitals, and he had old connections with a bunch of retired big shots from the provincial Health Commission.
Alex pushed, "I already know about Victor and the others. Aren't you going too far?"
"Going too far?" I repeated, my voice cold and emotionless.
"Your people moved a hundred million dollars out of my company, and I fired them. That's going too far?"
"But you left my grandmother to die in the ICU. What do you call that, Alex?" I shot back.
There was a three-second silence over the phone.
When Alex spoke again, his tone had changed.
It dropped, with that familiar gentleness I knew all too well.
"Charlie, I know you're upset right now. But just think about it. Can you really handle running such a massive company all by yourself? You've never handled any of the company's business before—" he said.
"Alex," I cut him off. "You think I've never been involved.
"That was because Grandma was here, so I didn't need to step up.
"That doesn't mean I can't handle it."
There was a two-second silence on the other end.
"So, what are you going to do about that Nexa Semitech deal from Korea? If you don't sign by the end of the month, the penalty is two hundred million dollars," Alex said.
He was testing me.
He was also reminding me about the Sinclair Group's biggest headache right now, an overseas deal that Victor had been handling. Now that he was out, we had lost our point of contact, and Nexa Semitech was already losing patience.
Alex was betting I had no clue how any of this worked.
"It's already signed," I said.
There was a stunned silence on the other end.
"What?" Alex blurted.
"At eleven last night, I called Jason Lowell, Nexa Semitech's Asia-Pacific head. By ten this morning, the contract was done, and the terms are two points better than Victor's deal," I said.
He went quiet again.
This time, the silence stretched out even longer.
I could hear Alex grinding his teeth on the other end.
"Charlotte, you—" he started.
"And if you don't sign the divorce papers in three days, I'll have Peter take it straight to court," I cut him off.
"If you want to walk away with your dignity, do it. But if you want to make this ugly?" I said. "Just try me."
"Just try me," I added.
I hung up.
I tossed my phone onto the table, the sharp crack echoing in the room.
David stood at the doorway, watching me.
"Ms. Sinclair, the Lane family sent word this afternoon. They want to talk to you," he said.
"Who?" I asked.
"Arthur Lane. Alex's grandfather," he replied.
I turned around, gazing out at the busy street below.
"Let him come," I said.