Chapter 5

“No one is taking your company away from you,” Dante said. “We simply need you to accept that Leeds Group is no longer your private kingdom.”

I looked at him without arguing.

Dante still believed Leeds Group was everything I owned.

He had no idea that before Catherine Leeds ever existed, Catherine Moretti had already built an empire far greater than this one public-facing company.

Luca opened another file.

The logo of Valenti Holdings appeared on the screen, and the atmosphere in the conference room changed immediately.

“The Valenti family is looking for a long-term partner in the United States,” Luca said. “They are prepared to invest two billion dollars in a joint venture with Leeds Group involving European logistics and private healthcare.”

Several directors visibly straightened in their chairs.

Valenti Holdings controlled ports, private hospitals, and transportation networks throughout Southern Europe. If the partnership succeeded, Leeds Group could establish a major presence in the European market within a few years.

“The Valenti representatives will arrive in New York tonight,” Dante said. “They have made it clear that Leeds Group must have stable, unified leadership.”

He pushed the agreement toward me again.

“If you sign, the board will officially authorize the four of us to lead the negotiations.”

I looked at the final page.

A pen had already been placed beside the signature line.

“And if I refuse?”

Matteo brought up the financial records for the Brooklyn development.

“The first construction payment must be approved by tomorrow afternoon. All four core divisions must sign off before the funds can be released.”

Nico continued, “We have also suspended access to the family security network and our supplier relationships. If the project falls into breach, the responsibility will not be ours.”

They had timed everything carefully.

If I refused to sign, the Brooklyn development would come to a halt, and the shareholders would blame every loss on me.

If I signed, they would use the two-billion-dollar partnership to seize complete control of Leeds Group.

Dante leaned back in his chair.

“You said yesterday that power could be taken back. But a company is not a house, and it is not a collection of credit cards.”

He held my gaze, calm and certain of his victory.

“The employees, suppliers, and directors in this building recognize the people who can actually keep this company running.”

I picked up the pen.

A smile finally appeared on Dante’s face.

“You’re making the right choice.”

“What happens to Elena’s competition?” I asked.

Luca and Dante exchanged a glance.

“Sabrina has already represented the school in the preliminary round, so replacing her now is impossible. However, we can ask her to thank Elena in her acceptance speech for contributing part of the original idea.”

“You stole Elena’s proposal, and your solution is to give her one sentence of thanks?”

“There’s no reason to describe it that way.” Matteo frowned. “This was a cooperative redistribution of resources.”

Dante turned the agreement to the final page.

“Once you sign, this conflict ends. As long as Elena stops targeting Sabrina, we will continue treating her as our sister.”

I looked at the four boys I had raised.

When they took Elena’s room, they called it the reasonable use of an empty resource.

When they took her proposal, they claimed they were giving an opportunity to someone who needed it more.

Now they were preparing to take Leeds Group from me, yet they still insisted this was not betrayal. It was merely more professional management.

I placed the pen back on the table.

“I’m not signing.”

The smile disappeared from Dante’s face.

A quiet murmur moved around the conference table.

The oldest director spoke in a grave voice.

“Catherine, I strongly suggest you consider the consequences. The board already has enough votes. If you refuse to cooperate, we will hold a formal vote to suspend your authority and remove you from control.”

“Then vote.”

Hands rose one after another.

The secretary counted them quickly.

“The motion passes. Effective immediately, Catherine Leeds is suspended from all board authority and removed from direct control over corporate security, the Leeds Foundation, and executive management.”

Nico gestured toward the company guards standing near the door.

“Escort Mrs. Leeds out. The rest of this meeting concerns confidential company business.”

Two guards approached me, but neither dared to touch me.

Dante calmly rearranged the partnership agreement.

“Mom, I don’t want to make this uglier than it needs to be. Go home. Once the Valenti partnership is secured, we can discuss what role you’ll be allowed to keep.”

I remained in my chair.

“Anthony.”

A response came immediately from the other side of the conference room doors.

“Yes, Donna.”

Nico’s expression changed. He turned sharply toward the company guards.

“Who allowed an outsider onto the executive floor?”

I took out my phone and reviewed the audit report that had just arrived.

Over the past three years, seventeen related companies had appeared in projects controlled by my four adopted sons. More than eighty million dollars could not be properly accounted for.

The ultimate beneficiary of one of those companies was Sabrina’s mother.

I placed my phone on the conference table.

“You only dismissed the security team employed by Leeds Group,” I said, turning toward the closed doors. “Now let my people in.”

The doors opened, and Anthony entered with my private security team, the chief legal officer of Leeds Group, and the forensic investigators who had spent the night tracing every account my sons believed they had hidden.

Four sealed evidence boxes were placed in front of me. Each one carried the name of a different Leeds brother, along with the division he controlled and the amount of money that had disappeared under his authority.

The confidence vanished from their faces as they finally understood that while they had been preparing to force me out of my company, I had been preparing a case against all four of them.

Anthony rested his hand on the first box and looked at me.

“Where would you like us to begin, Donna Moretti?”

The room went silent.

My sons knew Catherine Leeds.

I turned the box around until Dante’s name faced him.

“Start with the son who thought he had taken my seat.”