Chapter 5 - The Chairman’s Web
I didn't bother knocking when I reached Victor Hale’s corner office.
I kicked the door open so hard the handle punched a dent into the drywall.
Victor was standing by his window, a crystal glass of scotch in his hand, looking out over the city.
He didn't flinch. He just took a slow sip.
“I see Darla couldn't keep her mouth shut,” Victor said calmly, not turning around.
“You knew,” I said, my voice trembling with a rage so pure it felt like ice in my veins. “You knew Maya was pregnant.”
Victor finally turned, his silver hair catching the afternoon light. He looked at me with the disappointed expression of a father scolding a naive child.
“I knew Maya was a liability,” Victor corrected smoothly.
I lunged forward, grabbing him by the lapels of his custom Italian suit, slamming him back against the reinforced glass of his window.
The scotch glass shattered on the floor.
“She is the mother of my son!” I snarled in his face.
“And she was destroying your legacy!” Victor barked back, shoving me away with surprising strength for a man his age.
He straightened his suit, his face flushed with anger.
“Your father built this company from nothing, Caleb. When he died, he entrusted me to guide you. But for five years, you let that woman soften you.”
“She made me human,” I shot back.
“Business doesn't care about human!” Victor yelled. “When you were with her, you hesitated! You took weekends off. You worried about dinner dates instead of hostile takeovers. You were weak!”
I stared at the man I had once looked up to, seeing him truly for the first time.
He was a monster in a tailored suit.
“So when she filed for divorce,” Victor continued, pacing the room, “I saw an opportunity. You threw yourself into the work. You became the ruthless CEO this company needed. And then, she called.”
“And you told Darla to delete the message.”
“I told Darla to protect the asset,” Victor sneered. “If you had known she was pregnant, you would have gone running back to her. You would have abandoned the Lawson Tower project. Exactly like you did today.”
“You have no right to play God with my family,” I said, my voice terrifyingly calm.
“I have a fiduciary duty to the shareholders,” Victor replied coldly. “And as of today, you are a liability.”
He walked back to his mahogany desk and picked up a thick file.
“The board is meeting tomorrow morning,” Victor said, his eyes narrowing. “I am calling for a vote of no confidence. You abandoned a sixty-million-dollar deal for a woman you divorced. You are unfit to lead Lawson Capital.”
He threw the file onto the desk.
“I’m taking your company, Caleb. Go be a family man. It’s all you’re good for now.”
I looked at the file, then back at Victor.
He thought he had won. He thought I would crumble.
He forgot that he was the one who taught me how to be ruthless.
“You want a war, Victor?” I asked softly.
I turned and walked toward the door, pausing with my hand on the ruined frame.
“You’ve got one. See you at the board meeting.”
I walked out of the office, the pieces of my strategy already clicking into place.
They wanted the ruthless CEO?
May you like
They were about to get him. But this time, I wasn't fighting for a building.
I was fighting for my son.
