Chapter 22 Chapter 22
Amelia
When I walked into the boardroom, it was already crowded with people. But even with all those bodies, the room felt empty. I looked around, I realized something strange no one was looking at me. Their eyes avoided mine, and their faces were tight and serious.
These were the same men and women who had watched me grow up in this company, who had seen me through every milestone. And yet now, they seemed like strangers, sitting stiffly in their chairs, folders closed, arms crossed, as if they were holding something back. There was no small talk, no friendly greetings, not even a single smile.
My father sat down beside me, his jaw tight and his shoulders stiff. It was his first board meeting in years, ever since he had retired, and I could feel the weight of the moment on him.
I hadn’t even fully settled into my chair when a sharp clearing of a throat cut through the silence. All eyes turned toward the sound, and I felt my stomach tighten.
“Let’s begin,” Mr. Harrington said, his voice flat and cold, “We don’t have much time.”
I knew that tone all too well, he was one of the few board members who openly questioned my ability to lead this company. Every decision I made, every plan I presented, seemed to irritate him. He had a knack for finding fault, for twisting my words, for making even the smallest suggestion feel like a challenge. He was always waiting for me to slip up, always ready to make me look inexperienced in front of the others.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. I knew this meeting would be difficult, he didn’t even glance at me as he spoke again, his voice deliberate and cold. “As of this morning, Mr. Cane and Mrs. Thomas have formally withdrawn their funding from the upcoming project, as well as from all future developments under this company.”
A low murmur ran through the room. Some of the board members exchanged uneasy glances, though I could tell that most of them had already heard the news. My fingers curled tightly under the table, digging into my palms as a tight knot formed in my stomach.
“I want to understand why,” Dad said sharply, his voice cutting through the murmurs. His hands gripped the edge of the table, knuckles white. “This company has honored every agreement. Every single one.”
“They have cited a loss of confidence,” another board member interrupted. It was Mrs. Aldridge, her voice calm but firm. “In leadership and in the direction of the company.”
My chest tightened. This didn’t make sense, just last week, they had all agreed on our new project, and we still had a meeting scheduled for Wednesday. Everything had seemed on track, and now it felt like the ground had been pulled out from under me.
“I wasn’t informed of any concerns,” I said, finally finding my voice, my words sharper than I expected. “If there was an issue, if anyone had doubts why wasn’t I told? Why wasn’t I given a chance to address it before it reached this point?”
“That’s the problem,” Mr. Harrington snapped, finally turning to face me. His eyes were sharp, his tone cutting. “There were no reassurances. No transparency. And now more investors are following suit.”
My heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean, more?” I asked, trying to steady my voice, though it trembled despite my best efforts.
He slid a document across the table toward me. I leaned forward and my eyes fell on it.
Three names stared back at me, my vision blurred for a moment, and a wave of dizziness washed over me.
“These investors are represented by members of this board,” Mrs. Aldridge said quietly, her voice calm but firm. “Their funds have been frozen. Effective immediately.”
I felt the weight of the words press down on me. The room seemed to shrink around me, and I gripped the edge of the table, trying not to let my panic show.
Dad slammed his palm against the table, the sound echoing sharply. “This is outrageous! You can’t just—”
“We can,” Mr. Harrington interrupted, standing up. He straightened his jacket with a deliberate precision, his voice cold and final. “And that brings me to my next point.” He paused for a moment, letting the words sink in. “I am formally resigning from the board, effective immediately.”
Before I could even react, the scrape of another chair cut through the stunned silence.
“So am I,” Mrs. Aldridge said, rising smoothly to her feet. “I can’t continue to associate my name with a company heading for collapse.”
One by one, the others followed. Resignations were announced with chilling calm. Some handed over letters; others didn’t even bother.
Each announcement felt like another weight being dropped onto my shoulders. The room emptied faster than I could process.
“This is insane,” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the chaos. “You can’t all just walk away.” I sank back in my chair, trying to make sense of it. The boardroom that had once been a place of strategy and collaboration now felt like a battlefield.
No one answered me, the last board member paused at the door, cast a single glance back at me, and then shook his head before walking out. The soft click of the door closing behind him echoed like a final verdict.
Dad slowly turned to face me, I had never seen that look on his face before, disappointment and disbelief. His voice was low, “You shouldn’t have ignored our calls,” he said. “You let this happen.”
“I… I didn’t know,” I stammered, my voice breaking. Panic and guilt tangled in my chest.
“This is just too sudden. We were planning the Rivale project for Wednesday,Mr. Cane—”
“What suddenly changed?” he cut me off sharply, his hands clenching at his sides. “I thought you said you had it handled. You were careless. I trusted you with my life’s work, Amelia.”
My throat tightened, and I had to swallow hard before I could speak again. Everything I had built, everything we had planned, it was all crumbling, and I felt powerless to stop it.
His words sliced deeper than I could have imagined. “I thought you knew better than to underestimate anyone,” he continued, his tone harsh and unforgiving. “You have to fix this. I don’t care how, you bring in investors. Find them, convince them, stabilize this company. If this collapses, it will be on you.”
I swallowed hard, the sting of tears burning behind my eyes. My throat felt raw, my chest heavy with panic. “I… I need time,” I whispered, my voice barely steady.
“You don’t have time,” he shot back, his eyes locking onto mine with a fierce intensity. “You have days, Amelia. Or else we go broke.”
Without another word, I turned and fled the room, I pushed through the doors into the stairwell, Kelvin appeared a moment later, his presence behind me quiet but steady. He didn’t say anything, just followed, matching my pace as we descended the stairs.
That was when my phone rang, I ignored it. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone, not when my life was collapsing right in front of me.
I glanced down at the screen, and my breath caught in my throat, Maxwell.
A cold wave washed over me. Could this be his doing? After the threat he made last night, I had convinced myself I still had time. But he was the only one powerful enough, influential enough, to pull something like this off so quickly and so completely.
My hand trembled as I answered the call. “Hello?”
His voice came through the line smooth and calm, almost pleasant. “Good morning, Amelia,” he said softly. “I hear your board meeting didn’t go as planned.”
My blood ran cold. “What did you do?” I asked, my voice barely steady. A soft chuckle drifted through the line, calm and unbothered. “I simply reminded a few people where their interests truly lie.”
My knees weakened, and I leaned back against the wall, the cold surface pressing into my spine as I fought to stay upright. Kelvin rushed toward me, alarm flashing across his face, but I lifted a hand, silently telling him I was fine even though I wasn’t.
“You are behind this,” I whispered, the words tasting bitter as they left my mouth.
“Of course,” he replied smoothly, without a hint of shame. “And unless you want what’s left of your company stripped away completely, your assets, your authority, your reputation, you will sign those documents as fast as possible.”
My throat tightened as panic surged through me. “You can’t force me to marry you,” I yelled into the phone.
Kelvin, who had been watching me the entire time, froze. His eyes went wide, shock written all over his face.
“Yes, I can and that’s exactly what I am doing,” Maxwell replied smoothly. “I haven’t gone dirty yet. Sign those documents as soon as possible and we will move on to the next agenda. Otherwise, by Monday, there will be nothing left to save.”
“You are blackmailing me,” I said, my voice shaking, my grip on the phone tightening until my fingers ached.
“No,” Maxwell corrected gently, almost kindly.
“I am offering you mercy. I have a biker race to attend, I have to go.”
The line went dead. I stared down at my phone, my heart pounding violently in my chest as the weight of his words slowly sank in.
Adele walked in, and Kelvin immediately rushed toward me, worry written all over his face. “Who is forcing you to marry him?” he demanded, his voice tight with anger and disbelief.
“What?!” Adele exclaimed as soon as she heard him. Her eyes widened, and her hands flew up in shock. “Don’t tell me this is the doing of who I think it is.”
I nodded, my throat tight, barely able to speak.
“What can we do right now, before this gets completely out of hand?” Kelvin asked, glancing between me and Adele, urgency in every line of his face.
Just then, my phone vibrated in my hands. I checked it. A message from Declan blinked on the screen, demanding that I send twenty thousand dollars to his account this morning.
My chest tightened as I stared at the message. My life had just gone from the frying pan straight into the fire. Everything was spiraling out of control, and I felt completely trapped.
Author's note: we are still on this matter of Declan or Maxwell, sighs 😢 😢