Chapter 77
Carlo
“Sir, the Chairman is here”
“He’s here?” I ask, already knowing the answer from the look on my assistant’s face.
“Yes, Sir. He walked in fifteen minutes ago. Went straight into the boardroom. Security didn’t stop him.”
Of course they didn’t. No one in this building has the balls to stop my father. Not even the ones I pay. I don’t say another word, just start walking. I take the elevator alone. My chest is tight, not with panic—yet—but with something worse. A slow burn, a bitter taste rising in my throat. Something’s coming. I feel it crawling up my spine.
When the elevator doors open, I know I’m right.
Half the boardroom is already empty. Chairs gone. People missing. My name’s still on the glass door, but everything else—everything—feels foreign. I push the door open and see him at the head of the table. My seat. My space. He doesn’t look up.
Two of my senior execs stand behind him like goddamn furniture. One looks at me, pale, uncomfortable. The other won’t even meet my eyes. Cowards.
“Dad,” I say, my voice even. Barely.
He glances up, smiles like he’s doing me a favor by being here. “Carlo. You’re late.”
“Didn’t know I was invited.”
He ignores the jab, turning his attention back to the tablet in his hand. “I’ve made some decisions.”
My jaw tightens. “Without me?”
“You’ve been distracted,” he says simply, still not looking at me. “Public scandal. Failed partnerships. Reputational damage. I had to clean the house.”
I don’t say anything. Not yet. Because I can’t afford to explode—not in front of them. Not with my own people watching me like they don’t know whose side they’re on.
“What exactly did you do?”
He sets the tablet down and folds his hands like he’s about to tell me something that should feel like wisdom. “Let go of four members of your executive team. Replaced them with people who understand what this company needs.”
My throat dries. “You fired them?”
“They were temporary, Carlo. You needed help during expansion, and now they’ve served their purpose.”
“They were loyal to me.”
“Exactly.”
I blink. It takes everything in me not to walk around the table and flip the whole thing over. My nails dig into my palm, but I don’t move. My voice is steady when I speak. “You’re not the Founder.”
“And yet, somehow, I’m still the one keeping this company from imploding. Funny how that works.”
He stands. Taller than me, broader than me. Always has been. And he knows how to use it. Not physically—but with presence. With control. He walks toward me slowly.
“You had your chance to lead, son. I gave you more than most people would ever get in two lifetimes. And you wasted it chasing your little fantasy.”
“It wasn’t a fantasy. I built that entire automotive division from scratch. It’s the only reason we’re in the press for something other than fucking corruption.”
He nods like he agrees. “Yes. And I’m not touching that. You can keep your toy.”
I almost laugh. Almost. “You’re gutting my company.”
“It was never just yours. Don’t rewrite history to feel better about your fuckups.”
There it is. The punch beneath the silk glove.
He steps past me like he’s bored already. Like I’m some meeting he can reschedule. I follow him.
“So what now? I’m just a face? A logo? You’ll let me parade around like I’m still in charge while you pull every string?”
“You still have your name. You still have your building. I haven’t taken everything.”
“Not yet.”
He pauses at the door. Turns. “Don’t give me a reason to.”
I watch him leave. My chest burns. My stomach turns. The silence that follows feels louder than anything.
“Sir,” my assistant says quietly from the doorway. She’s holding a new file. Her eyes flick nervously toward the boardroom.
“What?”
“The interior team has already started renovations. They’re… redesigning the boardroom. New setup. Smaller team. Fewer seats.”
My laugh is bitter. Short. “Of course they are.”
I walk to the glass and look out over the city. It’s supposed to feel like mine. I worked my ass off to stand here. Bled for it. Fought dirty for it. Built something from fucking nothing while everyone said I was too reckless, too loud, too fucking stubborn.
And now… now I’m just the guy they let keep the nameplate.
She clears her throat. “They also issued a new access list. You’re still cleared for the automotive division, Sir.”
“Just that?”
She hesitates. “Yes. Everything else is restricted without approval.”
That’s it then.
I built one thing. One real thing. The rest? Gone.
I nod slowly. My voice feels like it belongs to someone else. “Get me everything on my division. Full reports. I want numbers, updates, staffing.”
“Yes, Sir. Right away.”
I don’t move until she’s gone.
Fuck.
I drag a hand through my hair and sit down in the nearest chair. It’s not even mine anymore. They already changed the goddamn layout.
The whispers will start soon. If they haven’t already. That I’ve been demoted. That I’m a puppet. That Daddy came home to clean up the mess. And the worst part?
They won’t be wrong.
I spent years becoming a man who couldn’t be touched. And just like that, he reminded everyone I was never really in charge. Not when he’s still breathing. Not when his money runs deeper than mine, older than mine. Not when every fucking connection in this town still bows to him.
I lean back, staring up at the ceiling.
So this is what it feels like to lose everything and still have your name on the building.
My title stays.
But I’ve already been stripped clean.
””
“You’re home early,” My father says without looking up, glass of scotch in one hand, TV remote in the other like this is just any other night.
I step in, the door still swinging behind me. “What the fuck was that at the company today?”
He glances over his shoulder. “You’re gonna need to be more specific, son. I do a lot of things.”
“I agreed to marry Rebecca,” I snap. “You got what you wanted. So why the hell are you cutting me out of my own company?”
He pauses the TV. Sets the remote down with that deliberate calm that pisses me off more than if he’d shouted. “Because I also asked you to cut ties with that boy. And you didn’t.”
My stomach knots. “So that’s what this is about?”
“What else would it be about?” He finally turns to face me. “You think I built Davenport Empire from scratch to hand it to a man whoring around with another man?”
My jaw tightens. “He’s not just some man.”
“Oh, so now it’s love?” He laughs, sharp and bitter. “You think love gives you power? You think the board respects that shit? You think investors do?”
“You always knew who I was—”
“I knew you were confused,” he cuts in. “I thought you’d grow out of it. Now you’re parading it around like a damn badge.”
I clench my fists at my sides. “I said I’d do the marriage. I’m doing what you asked. That should’ve been enough.”
“No.” He walks toward me, slow, controlled. “It’s not enough to pretend. You want your seat, you kill the scandal. Kill it completely. That means no more Blaze. No whispers, no hidden meetups. No trace.”
I stare at him. My own father. And I swear he sounds like he’s talking about putting down a rabid dog.
“I don’t think I can do that.”
“Then watch me hand everything to William.”
The air leaves my chest like I’ve been punched. “That would mean war,” I say, voice low.
He smirks. “Good. Better you fight your brother than humiliate this family.”
I take a step closer. “You’d really throw this whole empire into chaos just to keep me from being with someone?”
“I’d rather throw the empire into chaos,” he says, “than let a man like you stain our name with some twisted fantasy.”
“You touch Blaze—”
“I won’t need to, if you do the needful.” His voice is cold now. “No more connections. No more hiding. You cut him off. You erase him from your life. No more games, Carlo. You wanna be the king? Then stop playing house with your toy.”
Silence stretches between us. Thick. Ugly.
He straightens his cufflinks like the conversation is done. “You have until the end of the week.”
And then he walks past me like I’m nothing. Like I’m not his fucking son. Like I’m just some fucking disappointment that needs to be managed.
And maybe that’s what I’ve always been to him.