Chapter 2

On the drive home, Emily stayed curled up in the corner of the back seat, clutching the edge of my coat.

“Mom, I didn’t bully her. Ava asked to borrow the dress I’m supposed to wear to my debutante ball. I said no, so she spilled coffee on my shoes. I only told her to be careful. Then my brothers showed up.”

I gently rubbed her back.

Ten years ago, I had brought four boys with nowhere else to go into my home and raised them as my own.

On their first night with us, Jack stood beside Emily’s crib for a long time.

“She’s our little sister now?”

“Yes.”

Baby Emily wrapped her tiny fingers around his, and Jack smiled.

“Then I’ll protect her.”

Those words still echoed in my ears.

And now, the boys who had once sworn to protect her were the reason she was trembling in my arms.

The next morning, I canceled their credit cards and ordered the cars they kept at the main house removed.

Less than an hour later, my house manager came to me looking uneasy.

“Ma’am, the four young masters moved into the lakeside estate last night. They took Ava with them.”

He hesitated before adding, “They also ordered the staff to clear Miss Emily’s music room and turn it into a closet for Ava.”

My hand tightened around my coffee cup.

The lakeside estate was supposed to be Emily’s eighteenth-birthday gift, and inside that music room was the antique cello her grandmother had left her.

“Get the car.”

When I arrived, moving crews were already carrying boxes through the open front doors.

Ava sat on the sofa in Emily’s silk robe, eating cherries, while Jack calmly reviewed paperwork beside her.

He looked up when I entered.

“Mom. Still angry?”

“Ava needed somewhere quiet to stay. We thought this place made sense.”

Ava immediately stood. “Ma’am, I can leave if this is a problem.”

Alex stopped her.

“This is Carter property,” he said, looking directly at me. “And we’re Carter too.”

Several paintings had already disappeared from the walls. Photos of Ava had taken their place.

“Where’s the music room?”

Jack pointed down the hall. “Ava needed the space.”

When I opened the door, Emily’s antique cello had been shoved into a corner beneath a pile of boxes. Two strings were broken, and a deep scratch ran across the wood.

“Who did this?”

Ryan glanced at it as he came downstairs.

“One of the movers probably hit it. It’s old, Mom. We can buy Emily another one.”

“That cello belonged to her grandmother.”

Ryan only shrugged.

Daniel stepped into the room.

“Mom, it was an accident. And honestly, Ava needs the space more than Emily does.”

I turned to him.

“You’re deciding who gets my daughter’s house now?”

Daniel didn’t flinch.

“We run most of Carter. At some point, you have to accept that we’re allowed to make decisions too.”

For a moment, I simply looked at him.

That was when I understood.

This was never only about Ava.

They had started treating everything I gave them as something they now had the right to redistribute.

I pulled out my phone and called the estate manager.

“Bring security inside. Everything belonging to the four of them goes outside.”

Silence.No one moved.

I looked toward the doorway.

The house manager lowered his eyes.

“Ma’am…”

Before he could finish, Jack gave a quiet laugh.

“Mom, you really haven’t noticed yet?”

He stood and buttoned his jacket.

“The estate staff, the drivers, security—they all report through Carter now.”

His smile was calm.

“And Carter answers to us.”

The room went very still.

chapter 3

Jack’s words had barely fallen when Emily’s phone buzzed.

She glanced at the screen, and the color drained from her face.

“Mom.”

She held the phone out to me.

The International Youth Business Competition had just sent an official notice.

Emily’s finalist spot had been withdrawn.

Ava’s name had replaced hers.

For six months, Emily had worked on that proposal almost every night after school. She had earned the spot through the preliminary selection on her own.

Now it had been taken from her with one phone call.

Emily looked at Jack.

“You did this?”

Jack didn’t deny it.

“Carter sponsors the competition. Since you still refuse to apologize to Ava, we decided she deserved the opportunity instead.”

Emily stared at him.

“That was mine.”

“You’ll have other chances,” Jack said. “Ava won’t.”

I looked at the four boys standing inside Emily’s future home, calmly deciding what she was allowed to keep.

First the house.

Then her room.

Now something she had earned for herself.

I took out my phone.

“Get your coat, Emily.”

Jack frowned.

“Where are you going?”

“To Carter.”

I opened the company’s executive group chat and typed one sentence.

**Board meeting. Ten a.m. Main conference room. Everyone attends.**

For years, a message from me had been enough to fill the screen with replies within seconds.

This time, nothing came.

I waited thirty seconds, then locked my phone.

So that was how things stood.

Before leaving, I opened another contact and sent a second message.

Then I took Emily to headquarters.

When we reached the executive floor, several senior managers were already there.

They saw me.

They nodded politely.

But no one came forward.

No one asked why I had called the meeting.

No one entered the conference room.

Ten minutes later, the elevator doors opened.

Jack stepped out with Alex, Daniel, Ryan, and Ava.

He gave me a brief glance, then walked straight into the conference room and took the seat at the head of the table.

Only then did the executives waiting outside begin filing in after him.

I followed them inside without a word.

I looked around the table, but no one defended me.

One of the directors finally cleared his throat. “Catherine, Jack is right. Carter isn’t your private company anymore, and several shareholders are already uncomfortable with how often company resources have been tied to Emily.”

Jack waited until the room quieted before sliding a folder across the table.

“There’s one more thing you should know. The Valenti family in Italy has offered Carter a two-billion-dollar partnership, along with access to their European network. Their representatives are supposed to visit tomorrow.”

He placed another document on top of the folder.

It was a transfer agreement for my remaining two percent of Carter Group.

Over the years, I had transferred most of my shares to the four boys and senior management, believing I was preparing them to inherit the company someday.

“If the Valentis think this company is still being run around family interests, we could lose the biggest deal Carter has seen in years,” Jack said. “Sign the shares over to us and let the current management run the company without interference.”

The directors immediately backed him.

“You haven’t handled daily operations in years.”

“Jack is already CEO. This would only formalize what’s already happening.”

I listened without interrupting.

These were people I had hired, promoted, and protected when Carter was still fighting to survive. Now they were calmly explaining why I should surrender the last piece of the company I had built.

Jack pushed the pen toward me.

“You’ll always be our mother, and no one is taking away what you did for Carter. But the company belongs to the people running it now.”

I looked at him.

“So you really believe Carter is yours?”

Jack met my eyes without hesitation.

“Yes.”

Before I could answer, the conference-room doors opened.

A group of men in black suits entered, led by Lorenzo Valenti.

The atmosphere changed instantly.

Jack rose from his seat, Daniel and Alex following almost at once.

“Mr. Valenti,” Jack said, his voice turning noticeably warmer. “We weren’t expecting anyone from your family until tomorrow. If we’d known you were coming early, we would have prepared a proper reception.”

Lorenzo didn’t take the hand Jack offered.

He walked straight past him.

The smile on Jack’s face slowly disappeared as Lorenzo crossed the room and stopped in front of me.

Then, in full view of the board, Lorenzo lowered his head.

“Donna Valenti.”

The room fell silent.

Jack stared at me.

Lorenzo straightened, but the respect in his voice didn’t change.

“Welcome back.”

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