Chapter 135: Chapter 135
Chloe’s POV
“This is not the place,” I said quietly. “If you have concerns, schedule a formal discussion.”
Her eyes flickered downward briefly.
To my stomach.
It was subtle, but I saw it.
“You have no shame,” she said under her breath. “Carrying his child while he can’t even defend himself.”
A few employees nearby shifted uncomfortably.
I kept my voice steady. “Drake asked me to protect this company if anything happened to him.”
“You’re using that as an excuse to steal everything,” she accused.
“I’m stabilizing what you and your son destabilized,” I answered, softer but firmer.
That hit.
Her jaw tightened.
“Watch your mouth.”
“Or what?” I asked calmly.
For a moment, it looked like she might slap me again.
Instead, she leaned in slightly. “You think this position makes you untouchable?”
“No,” I said. “It makes me responsible.”
The difference mattered.
She looked around at the employees watching the exchange. The power she once commanded in that hallway had shifted. People were no longer automatically siding with her.
That realization unsettled her.
“This isn’t over,” she said quietly.
“It never was,” I replied.
The directors gently urged her toward the elevator, insisting that any further discussion would have to go through formal channels.
She resisted for a moment, then turned sharply and walked away, her heels striking the floor with controlled fury.
When the elevator doors closed behind her, the hallway remained silent for a few seconds.
Then work resumed.
I exhaled slowly.
The confrontation had drained what little energy I had left.
I walked into Drake’s office and shut the door behind me.
For a moment, I leaned against it, closing my eyes.
This was no longer just about business.
It was about territory.
About control.
About legacy.
Margaret was not going to surrender quietly.
And neither was I.
I walked toward the desk and lowered myself into the chair carefully, one hand resting instinctively over my stomach.
I had a company to save.
And a war to survive.
I had barely settled into the chair when the door burst open without a knock.
Sylvia.
She walked in like she owned the place, heels clicking sharply against the floor, eyes blazing with something between jealousy and desperation.
“You work fast,” she said mockingly, closing the door behind her.
I didn’t look up immediately. I finished signing the document in front of me before placing the pen down deliberately.
“If you’re here to schedule something, speak to my assistant,” I said calmly.
She let out a short laugh. “Don’t act professional with me.”
I finally lifted my eyes to meet hers.
“What do you want, Sylvia?”
Her gaze swept over the office, lingering on the desk, the leather chair, the city view behind me.
“You think you’re so smart,” she said. “First you sleep with Jack. Then his father. Now you’re suddenly CEO.”
I felt irritation flicker, but I kept my expression controlled.
“Choose your next words carefully.”
“Oh please,” she snapped. “You expect me to believe those men out there suddenly respect you because you’re brilliant? You probably slept with half of them already.”
I stood up slowly.
The room felt smaller.
“That’s your assumption,” I said quietly.
“It’s the only explanation,” she insisted. “Men like that don’t hand over power to women like you without getting something in return.”
“Women like me?” I asked.
She crossed her arms. “Yes. You use your body. That’s your talent.”
For a moment, I almost laughed. Not because it was funny, but because of how predictable it was.
“You think because you’ve only ever used manipulation, everyone else does too?” I asked.
Her face tightened.
“You’re not qualified for this,” she said sharply. “You don’t belong in this world.”
“And yet I’m sitting here,” I replied.
Her eyes flickered with frustration.
“You think this will last?” she continued. “The directors are just waiting for Drake to wake up. Then you’ll be thrown out.”
“If Drake wakes up,” I said evenly, “he’ll decide for himself.”
She stepped closer to the desk, lowering her voice.
“You’re destroying everything,” she said. “Margaret hates you. Jack is spiraling. The media is tearing us apart. And you’re sitting here pretending to be some corporate genius.”
I held her gaze.
“I didn’t frame myself,” I said calmly. “I didn’t steal company funds. I didn’t lie about paternity for decades.”
Her expression faltered for a split second.
“You don’t get to lecture me,” she snapped.
“I’m not lecturing you,” I replied. “I’m telling you to leave my office.”
Silence stretched between us.
Her eyes drifted downward again, toward my stomach.
“You really think that baby secures your place here?” she asked coldly.
“It secures nothing,” I answered. “And it’s none of your concern.”
She looked like she wanted to say more, but something in my face must have stopped her.
“You’re not as untouchable as you think,” she said finally.
“And you’re not as relevant as you believe,” I replied.
That one landed.
Her lips parted slightly in shock before she masked it with a scoff.
“This isn’t over,” she said, echoing Margaret’s earlier words.
“It rarely is,” I responded.
She turned sharply and left the office, slamming the door behind her.
I stood there for a moment after she was gone, letting the silence settle again.
They all thought this was about sleeping my way to power.
They couldn’t accept that I had earned it.
But their disbelief didn’t change the reality.
I walked back to the desk and sat down slowly.
There was still work to do.
And I refused to let their accusations distract me from it.
I worked like I had something to prove, because in many ways, I did.
The first few weeks were brutal. Long hours blurred into each other. I reviewed contracts until my eyes burned. I renegotiated terms that had once seemed non-negotiable. I cut unnecessary expenditures without crippling departments. I sat in meetings where seasoned executives tried to corner me, and I answered them calmly, precisely.
Slowly, things began to shift.