Chapter 45: The Queen's Gambit

 

One Month Later. Vance Corporation Tower. 50th Floor.

"Miss Evans... excuse me, Miss Vance. The Board is waiting."

Harper turned away from the floor-to-ceiling window. She looked different. Her long, wavy hair—the hair Sebastian loved to run his fingers through—was gone. It was cut into a sharp, chic bob that framed her jawline like a blade. She wasn't wearing a floral dress or a nurse's uniform. She wore a tailored white pantsuit, sky-high stilettos, and a single piece of jewelry: the Pink Diamond engagement ring, which she wore on her right hand, not her left. A symbol of a promise kept, but a relationship broken.

"Let them wait," Harper said coolly. "Is Victoria there?"

The assistant swallowed nervously. "Yes. Mrs. Vance arrived from London this morning. She... she is not happy about your appointment as Vice President."

Harper smirked. It was a cold, humorless smile. "Good. Unhappy people make mistakes."

She walked into the boardroom. Twenty men in grey suits stood up. At the head of the table sat a woman. Victoria Vance. Isabella’s mother. The true matriarch of the Vance family. She was fifty, but looked thirty. Her eyes were like ice chips. She didn't stand up.

"So," Victoria sipped her espresso. "This is the lost sheep. Richard's little... mistake."

"I am Richard's daughter," Harper placed her files on the table with a heavy thud. "And as of this morning, I hold 20% of the voting shares. So you can call me Harper, or you can call me 'Boss'. But do not call me a mistake."

The room went silent. Victoria raised an eyebrow. "You have your mother's face. Let's hope you don't have her weak spine."

"We'll see," Harper sat down opposite her. "Now, let's discuss the Sterling Corporation loan. I hear you want to call it in? Bankrupt them?"

"Sebastian Sterling is a cripple and a liability," Victoria said dismissively. "His stock is tanking since the 'wedding disaster'. We are cutting our losses."

"No," Harper said. "We are doubling the investment."

"Excuse me?"

"I said, we are doubling it," Harper leaned forward. "But on one condition. The new capital comes with a proxy. I will personally oversee the restructuring of Sterling Corp."

Victoria narrowed her eyes. "You want to save your ex-boyfriend? How pathetic."

"It's not romance, Victoria," Harper lied smoothly, her heart aching. "It's business. Sterling Corp has the best tech patents in Asia. If we buy them at their lowest point, we own the market."

She stood up. "The vote is carried. I have Dad's proxy." She walked out of the room, leaving a stunned boardroom behind her.

As soon as the doors closed, Harper leaned against the wall, her hands trembling. She hated this. She hated the shark tank. But she had to be a shark. To save the only man she loved.

---

[The Fallen King]

Sterling Estate.

The curtains were drawn. The house smelled of stale alcohol and darkness. Since the day at the hospital, Sebastian hadn't left his bedroom. He refused physical therapy. He refused to eat. He threw whiskey bottles at anyone who entered.

"Get out!" A glass smashed against the doorframe as Liam tried to enter.

"Bro, please," Liam stood in the doorway, looking exhausted. "You have a meeting. The bank is sending a representative. If you don't sign the papers, they will seize the company."

"Let them take it," Sebastian growled from the shadows of his bed. He was unshaven. His eyes were hollow. His legs lay motionless under the sheet, atrophied and useless. "I don't care."

"You built this company!"

"I built it for HER!" Sebastian shouted, his voice cracking. "She's gone, Liam! I pushed her away! What is the point of being a King if I have no Queen?"

"Who said I was gone?"

A sharp, clear voice cut through the darkness. Sebastian froze.

The sound of high heels clicking on the wooden floor. Click. Click. Click. Confident. Steady.

Harper walked into the room. She didn't turn on the lights. The dim light from the hallway illuminated her silhouette. The sharp hair. The white suit.

Sebastian squinted. "Harper?" For a second, hope flared in his chest. But then he saw her eyes. They weren't the warm, puppy-dog eyes he knew. They were cold. Assessing.

"What are you doing here?" Sebastian growled, trying to sit up but failing. He hated that she saw him like this. Weak. Filthy. "I told you to leave me alone."

"I did," Harper said calmly. "I left Sebastian Sterling, the man."

She threw a thick contract onto his bed. "But I am here to see Mr. Sterling, the CEO."

Sebastian looked at the contract. Vance Capital Investment Agreement. Representative: Harper Vance.

"You..." Sebastian laughed bitterly. "You changed your name. You're one of them now."

"I did what I had to do," Harper crossed her arms. "Your company is bleeding money. Your stock is garbage. My board wanted to liquidate you."

She stepped closer, looming over his bed. "I saved you. Again."

"I didn't ask for your help!" Sebastian threw the contract on the floor. "I don't want your pity money! Get out!"

"It's not pity," Harper’s voice was like a whip. "It's a hostile takeover."

Sebastian went still. "What?"

"Read the fine print, Sebastian." Harper picked up the contract and opened it to the last page. "I injected 500 million dollars into your company. I own your debt. Which means..."

She leaned down, her face inches from his. He could smell her perfume—it wasn't jasmine anymore. It was expensive, cold rose.

"Which means I own you." "You work for me now."

Sebastian stared at her. Anger, humiliation, and shock warred in his eyes. "You think you can buy me?"

"I just did." Harper straightened up and walked to the door. "I expect you in the office tomorrow at 9 AM. Shaved. Dressed. And sober."

She paused, her hand on the doorknob. She didn't look back, because if she did, she would cry. "If you're not there... I will dismantle your father's legacy piece by piece and sell it for scrap." "Don't test me, Mr. Sterling."

She slammed the door.

---

[The Aftermath]

Harper walked down the hallway, her legs shaking so hard she almost fell. Liam caught her.

"Whoa, sister-in-law... I mean, Ms. Vance," Liam whispered. "That was... brutal."

"Did it work?" Harper asked, wiping a tear that escaped her mask.

"I think so," Liam listened at the door. Inside the room, there was silence. Then, a low, guttural roar of rage. And then... the sound of a wheelchair moving.

"He's moving," Liam grinned. "He's pissed off. But he's moving."

Harper let out a shaky breath. "Good." "Hate me, Sebastian," she whispered to the closed door. "Hate me so much that you want to stand up and fight me. Just... please don't die."

She turned to Liam. "Keep an eye on him. And tell Dr. Ryan to be ready. He's going to need painkillers tomorrow."

Harper walked out of the house she used to call home. She got into her limousine. "To the office," she told the driver.

She looked at the empty seat beside her. I will fix you, she vowed silently. Even if I have to break your heart to do it.