Chapter 159 Epilogue 1: Melinda’s Furious Payback!

Chapter 159 Epilogue 1: Melinda’s Furious Payback!
Epilogue 1: Melinda’s Furious Payback!

Derrick Carrington entered the CPO boardroom with his chin held high, Dylan Seahorn close behind him like a shadow.

After the truth had come out—that Desmond had forced him to take the blame for being User_12142022—Dylan had been cleared almost immediately. Derrick wasted no time turning the situation in his favor. With Desmond gone, reclaiming the company and installing Dylan as president seemed not only possible… but inevitable.

\-----

A few days earlier.

“Gotdamnit!”

CRASH!

Derrick through the glass into the wall. The shards spreading across the floor.

“This….this is who you chose to betray your family for! That lying, murdering, brother fucking slut!”

Derrick’s voice echoed through the room, thick with resentment.

Lorna let out a sharp scoff.
“He must’ve taken after that worthless mother of his. Honestly, serves him ri—”

“Enough!”

Derrick’s voice cut clean through her.

The look he gave her—cold, sharp, final—made her falter.

“Don’t ever speak about my son or my wife like that again.”

He stepped closer. Lorna instinctively took a step back.

“He’s dead, Lorna. Whatever I felt… I still have to live with that.”

Her lips pressed into a thin smile, fury carefully masked.

“I brought you both back to Novell. Let that be enough.”

Derrick’s words were curt. His tone harsh. He’d never spoken to her that way.

“O-Of course. I didn’t mean—”

“Dylan.”

Derrick walked past her without another glance.

“Be at CPO first thing Monday.”

Dylan straightened. “Yes, Father.”

Derrick paused at the door.

“I have a funeral to arrange. Stay out of the way until I’m done.”

Then he was gone.

The next few days blurred into one long, suffocating stretch of grief.

Derrick had never imagined he would outlive his son.

Desmond had been reckless. Stubborn. Difficult. But he had been his son.

And he had loved him.

The empire Derrick built—the sacrifices, the lies, the secrets—he had justified all of it. Told himself it was for family. For legacy.

Now one half of that legacy was gone.

He sat alone, staring at an old photograph—himself and Desmond, years ago. Simpler times.

His eyes burned.

“I told him… I told him she couldn’t be trusted.”

“He always had terrible taste.”

The voice came from behind him.

Derrick turned.

Melinda stood in the doorway.

Her expression was empty—almost frighteningly so.

Since the night the detectives had come, she hadn’t been the same. Derrick could still hear the sound of her scream. The kind of sound that doesn’t leave you.

“Mel…”

“He got that from me, I suppose,”

she said quietly.

Then she turned and walked away.

Derrick didn’t follow.

For the first time, guilt settled deep in his chest—and stayed there.

The day of the funeral felt unreal.

The memorial hall was packed. Executives. Investors. Social elites. Every powerful figure in Novell had shown up.

But it wasn’t just grief filling the room.

It was whispers.

Judgment.

The truth about Derrick’s affair—and Dylan—had spread like wildfire. Eyes followed him everywhere he went. Conversations hushed when he passed.

Most of that sympathy was directed toward Melinda.

And she accepted it in silence.

She didn’t speak. Didn’t cry. Didn’t acknowledge condolences beyond a stiff nod. She stood motionless while Derrick and their daughter Marina handled everything.

Until Qiara Stone approached her.

Derrick watched from across the room as Qiara leaned in, speaking quietly. Then she handed Melinda a sealed envelope.

Melinda took it without a word.

Qiara left shortly after.

Something about it didn’t sit right.

Later, when he asked, Melinda simply said:

“She returned something that belonged to Desmond.”

It should have satisfied him.

But it didn’t.

\------

Present Day.

The boardroom doors opened.

Derrick stepped inside, already envisioning his return to power.

“Oh, Derrick… glad you could—”

The board member’s words faltered as his eyes shifted to Dylan.

“…I’m not sure he should be here.”

Derrick’s expression hardened.

“And why not? He’s my son.”

The room was strangely tense.

“Let’s not forget,”

Derrick continued, voice rising,

“I am the acting chairman again. I’ll invite whomever I please!”

A voice from across the table spoke calmly:

“Who told you that?”

Derrick turned sharply.

“Tomlin. What kind of game is this? Of course I’m chair—”

“You’re not chairman, Derrick.”

Silence fell.

“That’s not why we asked you here.”

Derrick froze.

“What are you talking about? Desmond is gone. Which means I can reclaim my position—”

“Desmond didn’t remove you,”

Tomlin said evenly.

“The board did.”

Derrick stepped forward, confusion turning to anger.

“I don’t have time for this. I now hold my son’s shares, which gives me controlling interest. I’ll be appointing Dylan—”

“You don’t have Desmond’s shares.”

The words landed like a blow.

“You also don’t have controlling interest.”

Derrick’s breathing hitched.

“…What?”

“If I don’t have them…”

he whispered,

“…then who does?”

“I do.”

The room went still.

Derrick didn’t need to turn.

He already knew.

“No…”

he murmured.

Then he faced the door.

Melinda stood there.

All in white.

Immaculate. Unshakable. Untouchable.

Marina stood just behind her, composed and sharp.

Melinda walked in slowly, her heels echoing with quiet authority.

Tomlin’s lips curling into a grin. He’d been in love with Melinda since college but by the time he got the courage to tell her, Carrington had already sank his teeth into her.

When she came to him, he was all too willing to help.

“Mel…”

Derrick breathed.

“What are you doing here?”

She smiled faintly.
“Why wouldn’t I be? This is a board meeting… and I hold shares.”

His voice sharpened.
“How did you get Desmond’s shares?”

Marina stepped forward, opening a folder.

“My client was granted those shares by Desmond Carrington prior to his death, contingent upon unforeseen circumstances. He didn’t trust you not to try and take back over giving the company to your little bastard son.”

Derrick blinked.

“My… client?”

He turned to her.

“Marina, what are you doing?”

She met his gaze without hesitation.

“My job.”

His jaw tightened.

“I am your father.”

“And I am her attorney.”

The words hit harder than a slap.

Derrick stared at her—really seeing her.

For the first time.

“I also hold a dual degree in business management,”

she added calmly.

“In case you’ve forgotten.”

She handed him a document.

His hands trembled as he read.

“…One point five billion?”

“That is the immediate repayment of capital investment provided by Herrick Developments,”

Marina said.

“Effective upon breach.”

Derrick looked up, panic rising.

“Melinda, you can’t do this—this was part of our marriage!”

“Should’ve read the prenup more carefully,”

she replied coolly.

His stomach dropped.

“In the event of infidelity,”

she continued,

“you forfeit everything tied to my family’s resources.”

Another envelope was placed in his hand.

“Divorce papers,”

Marina said.

Derrick shook his head.
“No… no, I won’t sign—”

“That’s fine,”

Melinda said.

“We’ll let the court handle it.”

He turned desperate.

“It doesn’t matter! I still hold 25%! Even with Desmond’s shares, you don’t have control—”

Melinda’s smile sharpened.

“I have thirty-five percent.”

Silence.

Derrick felt something inside him collapse.

“No… that’s not possible—”

She slid another document across the table.

TRANSFER OF SHARES: QIARA STONE → MELINDA HERRICK.

Understanding hit him all at once.

The funeral.

The envelope.

“You planned this…”

he whispered.

“Not all of it,”

Melinda said lightly.

“But I adapted.”

She moved past him and sat in the chairman’s seat like she had always belonged there.

“She acquired the shares from Lawrence Clayborne,”

she added.

“He was quite… motivated to sell.”

Derrick’s hands curled into fists.

“You did this to me?”

Melinda stood suddenly, slamming her hands against the table.

“To you?”

Her voice trembled—not with weakness, but fury.

“You used me. My name. My family. My money!”

Each word struck like a hammer.

“You built your empire on my back while building a second life for your little broke ass whore and son! How fucking dare you!”

She stepped closer.

“You humiliated me. Betrayed me. And now—before my son has even been settled to rest—you bring that boy here to take his place?”

“Desmond is gone!”

Derrick shouted, cracking.

“There’s nothing we can do! I still have responsibilities—”

The slap echoed through the room.

Derrick staggered slightly.

“Don’t you dare say his name,”

Melinda whispered.

Her voice dropped to something cold enough to freeze the room.

“Now get out.”

She stepped back, reclaiming her composure.

“Go to my office. Collect whatever shit is yours and get the hell out of my building.”

Her gaze flicked to Dylan.

“And take him with you.”

Derrick looked around the room.

No allies.

No sympathy.

Nothing.

He turned and walked out.

Dylan hesitated, anger twisting his face.

“This isn’t over—”

“Yeah,”

Marina said calmly.

“It is.”

Then, as he turned—

“Oh, and Dylan?”

He paused.

“Tell your mother she owes us fifteen million.”

His expression collapsed into shock.

“That interview?”

Marina added.

“Breach of contract.”

His rage exploded.

“You bitch—”

Security grabbed him before he could finish.

Moments later, both men were gone.

The room settled.

All eyes turned to Melinda.

She sat at the head of the table, calm, composed—undisputed.

She inhaled once.

Then:

“Now that distractions have been removed…”

Her gaze swept across the board.

“Let’s begin.”

Hello readers! Stay tuned for more side episodes!