Chapter 5: Now We Go Home

Chapter 5

By 9:00 AM the next morning, news of my engagement to Liam and the news of Arthur Montgomery’s death were trending across every financial channel.

We drove straight to the Montgomery Group skyscraper downtown.

My Uncle Richard had called an emergency board meeting for 9:30 AM, aiming to vote himself permanent Chairman before my grandfather’s will could be formally processed.

I walked through the glass doors of the top-floor conference room beside Liam. Arthur’s lawyer, Mr. Pendelton, walked right behind us with a thick leather briefcase.

Inside, seven board members sat around a long oak table. At the head of the room, my Uncle Richard was mid-sentence, leaning over a stack of papers.

"...so we must act immediately.” Richard was saying sharply. "Arthur’s estate is tangled in legal review, and this girl claiming to be an heir is just an opportunistic distraction—"

"The 'girl' is standing right here, Richard.” I said, stepping into the room.

The board members turned in unison. Richard stopped talking, his expression hardening as his eyes moved from me to Liam, then to Mr. Pendelton.

"This is a private board meeting, Allison.” Richard said, keeping his voice steady. "You don't have a seat here. Security, please escort these people out."

"Security isn't touching anyone.” Liam said calmly, stepping forward. "Not unless you want Blackwood Group to pull every credit line currently funding your international logistics division."

Richard swallowed hard, his jaw tightening, but he didn't call security again.

Mr. Pendelton stepped up to the table and unzipped his briefcase. He pulled out three separate stacks of documents and slid them across the table toward the board members.

"These are court-certified DNA results, Arthur Montgomery's finalized will, and the share registry filed at two o'clock yesterday morning.” Pendelton announced. "Allison holds forty percent of the voting stock in this company. Combined with Mr. Blackwood’s institutional shares, she holds majority control."

A quiet murmur broke out among the board members as they quickly flipped through the pages.

"This is absurd!" Richard snapped, slamming his hand on the table. "She’s an outsider who knows nothing about running a enterprise! She spent the last five years acting as a domestic servant for a mid-tier software startup!"

"Actually, Richard.” I said, walking over to the empty chair near the head of the table, "I spent the last five years running a thirty-million-dollar tech firm and maintaining its entire infrastructure. And while you were busy trying to lock me out, I spent last night auditing Montgomery Group's public tax filings."

I set my tablet on the table and tapped the screen.

"You've mismanaged twelve million dollars in overseas supply chain logistics over the last two quarters alone.” I said, looking around at the board members. "If you vote Richard in as Chairman today, Blackwood Group pulls its backing, I revoke my shares, and this board answers to a formal financial audit by noon."

Silence fell over the room.

The board member sitting to Richard’s left cleared his throat, set his papers down, and looked at Richard. "The risk is too high, Richard. The paperwork is legal."

Two minutes later, the vote was called.

By a five-to-two decision, Richard was stripped of his interim authority.

"You can pack your office, Richard.” I said, sitting down in the high-backed leather chair at the head of the table. "Security will see you out."

Richard stared at me with pure venom, grabbed his jacket, and walked out without saying another word.

___

An hour later, the room had cleared out.

I stood alone by the floor-to-ceiling glass window of my grandfather's former office, looking out over the city skyline.

In less than a week, I had gone from packing my bag in a quiet house while my ex-husband sneered at me, to sitting at the head of a multi-billion-dollar corporate board.

The office door clicked open and closed softly.

Liam walked over, stopping right beside me. He looked out at the city, hands resting casually in his suit pockets.

"You handled Richard well.” He said.

"He made it easy.” I replied, looking down at the heavy diamond ring on my finger. "Now what?"

"Now we go home," Liam said, reaching out to take my hand. His long fingers intertwined with mine, warm and solid. "The board is satisfied, the press is buzzing, and we have a very long night ahead of us."