The following day, The press room buzzed like a disturbed hive. Reporters crammed shoulder-to-shoulder, cameras rolling, fingers hovering over record buttons. The air was thick with tension, rumors, and the electric anticipation of scandal. They’d all seen the headlines. They all expected a fall. What they didn’t expect was John Bells standing before them with a calm fury in his eyes—and May Hemlings beside him, no longer hiding. She wore no makeup. No designer label. Just a simple navy blouse and strength. The kind that came from surviving hell and daring to return with receipts. John stepped forward. “I was removed from my position at Bells Corp yesterday,” he began, voice low but resonant. “Not because of incompetence, corruption, or fraud—but because I refused to be controlled by men who hide behind power.” Cameras clicked. Reporters leaned in. “This isn’t just about a CEO being ousted,” he continued. “It’s about how the truth gets buried when it threatens the wrong people.
After seeing May’s reaction, John summoned a board meeting.The boardroom smelled of sharp citrus and cold ambition. John stood at the end of the long mahogany table, his back straight, his jaw locked. Across from him sat men and women he’d worked with for over a decade—some loyal, some wolves in tailored suits. At the head of the table: Mr. Lanre, one of the senior board members and a quiet admirer of power, not morality. “We’re here,” Lanre said, “to address concerns raised over the past few weeks. Regarding public perception, investor confidence… and executive judgment.” There were murmurs. One woman cleared her throat. Another adjusted her glasses, avoiding John’s gaze. Adrian, of course, wasn’t seated with the rest. He leaned casually against the window, sipping espresso like he was attending a brunch, not a hostile corporate takeover. He caught John’s eyes and smirked. John didn’t flinch. He knew this moment was coming. Adrian had spent weeks poisoning their trust—subtly
May’s phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. At first, it was just a few texts. Then a dozen. Then dozens more. Her inbox filled with unread messages—some from friends, some from unknown numbers, all tinged with the same sharp urgency. She didn’t even want to look at social media. But curiosity, like a wound begging to be touched, won. She tapped open the first post tagged with her name. There it was. Her voice—raw, cracked, vulnerable. “I don’t know if I’m crazy or if he’s right…” The audio played on loop beneath a grainy photo of her from years ago, curled up on a couch in Smith’s apartment. Her eyes were puffy. Her hair disheveled. The caption read: “Manipulative or mentally unstable? The woman behind the scandal speaks.” May’s breath caught. Another post. Then another. Photos—some old, some private. Screenshots of text conversations from a life she’d buried. Emails filled with apologies. Recordings she never knew he saved. People weren’t just reacting—they were frothing. Thousands
Meanwhile in a bar,Smith sat in the corner booth of the private lounge, nursing a glass of whiskey that had long since warmed in his hand. The television above the bar played silently, but the images were clear enough—May, radiant and worn, holding her newborn daughter with cameras flashing all around her. Somewhere beside her, John Bells hovered protectively, stoic as ever. Smith stared at the screen like it had personally offended him. The bartender said something, but Smith waved him off. He had come here to be invisible, to disappear into the soft leather and dim light of the one place where nobody cared who you used to be. But the world had a way of crawling back, reminding him—every headline, every article, every damn social media comment—that he’d been replaced. Not just by any man, but by that man. John Bells. And not just replaced—humiliated. Dismissed. “She used you up,” a voice said, smooth as silk and twice as poisonous. Smith didn’t need to turn. He didn’t knew who i
The next morning, the world felt different. Not calmer. But clearer.May stood at the center of Lena’s study-turned-temple. The baby cooed gently beside her in a bassinet, swaddled in soft gray. Saint had left for school with John, holding his father’s hand a little tighter than usual.And May… May was finally ready.She picked up the transcript she had printed from Lena’s last voice recording and read the last few lines aloud.“Let me go. But don’t let me be forgotten.”The words buzzed under her skin. Lena’s voice was no longer a ghost in the hallway. She was living inside every breath, every truth, every wound now exposed.A knock.John.He entered slowly, holding two mugs—her favorite cinnamon tea and his usual black coffee. A peace offering. Or a ritual.He handed her the mug without a word and sat across from her on the ottoman.“She’s in everything,” May said quietly. “In this room. In Saint. In the way you clench your fists when you’re trying not to cry.”He didn’t deny it.“I
The night had bled into silence.May had taken the children to the penthouse upstairs. John had insisted. Not as a CEO. Not as an apology. Just as a man finally afraid of what the world could do to the people he loved.He stood alone in the private sitting room at the back of the estate, the fire barely lit, shadows flickering like old memories. The walls felt narrower than usual. He ran a hand down his face, inhaling deeply before pouring himself a glass of water. Not whiskey. Not tonight. His blood already burned from truth.The door creaked behind him.He didn’t have to turn to know who it was.His mother.Evelyn Bells.“John.”Her voice was softer than it had been in years. There was no command in it. No coldness. Just age. And something else.Guilt.He turned slowly.She stood in the doorway, wrapped in a burgundy shawl. Her posture stiff, as always—but her eyes… her eyes were no longer steel. They were wet.He waited.So did she.And then, she finally stepped forward, her heels