CHAPTER FIVE

I was halfway through reviewing a stack of legal documents when a rapid knock sounded on my office door.

“Come in.”

My PA stepped inside.

“Good day, Miss Amelia. The shareholders are having an emergency board meeting. The chairman asked everyone to be there immediately.”

I glanced at the documents on my desk.

“Did he say what the meeting is about?”

“No, ma’am. But everyone has already gathered.”

An emergency board meeting was never called over something insignificant.

“Alright. I’ll be there in a minute.”

After she left, I saved the documents and headed to the boardroom.

The moment I stepped inside, I knew something was wrong.

The chairman sat at the head of the table, his expression tense, while the shareholders watched him anxiously.

“We have a crisis on our hands,” he announced.

Our new home speaker, the Nova X, had been linked to a battery overheating incident that caused a fire and brought down a three-story building containing two apartments. The affected families were suing Landex Electronics for one billion dollars.

The room immediately erupted with concern.

Some shareholders demanded a settlement while others worried about the company's financial future. If we lost the case, Landex could suffer a devastating financial blow.

I listened quietly until everyone had finished speaking.

Then I stood.

“We don't need to panic. We need a strategy.”

I explained that the preliminary investigation showed the affected customers had used third-party voltage converters instead of Nova-certified adapters. That gave us grounds to challenge the claim that the product itself was defective.

I also proposed that we immediately activate our product-liability insurance and investigate the battery supplier's responsibility under the indemnity clause in our contract.

Finally, I suggested a voluntary recall and assistance program for affected customers while the investigation continued.

The meeting remained tense, but my strategy gave the board a clear direction.

By the time it ended, the chairman had approved my proposal.

I had walked into the room expecting a crisis.

I walked out knowing I had helped save the company.

---

Five Years Later…

I sat in my new office, staring through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the city below.

Sometimes, I still couldn't believe how far I had come.

Five years ago, I had been fighting to save Landex Electronics from a billion-dollar lawsuit. Now, I was one of the company's top shareholders.

I had been promoted only a month earlier, and the chairman had surprised me with something even bigger. After funding my master's degree, he had offered me a position I had never imagined holding.

Over the years, he had become like the grandfather I never had.

I had worked hard for everything I achieved. I balanced work and school, studied relentlessly, and pushed myself beyond my limits.

Now, I was finally sitting in the office I had once dreamed of.

My phone rang.

The chairman.

“Good evening, sir.”

“Good evening, Amelia. Please come to my office. I have something very sensitive to discuss with you.”

His tone immediately caught my attention.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

I picked up the files he had requested earlier and headed to his office. When I arrived, I placed the files on his desk.

He glanced through them before setting them aside.

“Thank you for the reports, Amelia, but that isn't why I called you here.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Then what is it?”

He reached for another document.

“This is your appointment letter.”

I stared at him.

“Appointment letter?”

“The board has unanimously voted.”

He handed it to me.

“You are the preferred candidate for the position of CEO of Landex Electronics' New York branch.”

I froze.

“CEO… New York?”

“That’s right.”

I shook my head in disbelief.

“Chairman, I think there must be a mistake. I’m the Head of Legal and Risk. I’m not even—”

“There is no mistake, Amelia.”

He leaned back.

“New York is our biggest market, and the branch is struggling. They don't need someone who will simply manage the situation. They need someone who can walk into a room where everyone believes the company is finished and find a way forward.”

He smiled.

“That person is you.”

I looked down at the appointment letter again.

New York.

CEO.

It felt unreal.

“Tomorrow?” I asked.

“Tomorrow.”

I blinked.

“You're sending me to New York tomorrow?”

“Everything has already been arranged. Your flight is booked for nine tomorrow morning. Your apartment in Manhattan is ready, and your visa was approved last week.”

I stared at him.

“You planned all of this?”

He chuckled.

“I was waiting to see how you handled today's situation before giving you the news.”

Something inside me softened.

He wasn't just my chairman, he was the closest thing I had to a family.

“Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you for this opportunity, Chairman. I won't let you down.”

“I know you won't.”

He smiled.

“Now go home and pack. New York is waiting for its new CEO.”

---

Later that evening, I entered my apartment, dropped my bag beside the door, and stared at the appointment letter in my hand.

CEO.

New York.

How had my life changed this much?

I walked to the window and looked down at the city lights.

My excitement slowly faded.

Five years ago, I had been broken.

Accused.

Mistreated.

And I had lost the child I was carrying.

My fingers tightened around the appointment letter. I had spent five years rebuilding myself from the woman they had destroyed.

And now, fate was sending me straight back into the world I had escaped from. Rhys wouldn't know what hit him.

I would never forgive him for what he had done to me or for the pain I had suffered.

Tomorrow, I would leave this city, not as the broken Amelia he remembered. But as the woman he would never see coming.

A small smile appeared on my lips as I turned toward my suitcase.

Then I began to pack.