Все главы When Love Was A Lie: Глава 41 - Глава 50

The small, windowless viewing room at the private bank vault felt like the center of our world. The silence, broken only by the hum of the air conditioning, was a profound contrast to the chaos of the Richard Tower boardroom we had just fled.Damian held the original, signed Last Will and Testament of Mr. Richard, Sr., the document containing the definitive Voidance Clause. By confirming my corporate leadership through the stock transfer, we had technically triggered the clause, risking the entire company's descent into state conservatorship."The loophole is the destruction of the Richard Assets proof," Damian reiterated, his voice calm, focused, and utterly determined. "With the Richard link to the environmental scandal incinerated, the only remaining link is the Williamson Defense entity. Grandpa Richard's clause is too specific, it only voids the succession if I marry someone tied to the Richard Holdings ethical failings. He created a loophole through his own arrogance.""But Tash

The silence in the boardroom after Damian's confession was a thunderclap. The Board members, understanding the true ruthlessness of the man they had just entrusted their company to, sat frozen, unable to process the scale of the deception. I stood there, reeling, the cold weight of the emerald ring now feeling like a shackle forged in strategy."You manufactured the Voidance Clause," I stated, my voice dangerously level, devoid of the panic he might have expected. "You made me burn the decoy to convince the Board and the lawyers that the primary defense, the document itself was gone. You created the legal loophole, not by destroying the will, but by making me believe you had."Damian didn't deny it. He met my gaze, his expression a terrifying mix of triumph and deep affection—the kind of affection a conqueror might hold for his most prized, most necessary general."The threat of the Voidance Clause was plausible, Emmah," Damian countered, his voice low and persuasive. "I didn't manufa

But the will is valid!" I argued.​"Not if the date is wrong," Damian countered, grabbing the will from Vance's slack grasp. "Grandpa Richard died at 11:30 AM on a Friday. We change the date of the will's final amendment, Amendment 4, to 11:35 AM on that Friday. Five minutes after he was legally deceased."​Vance gasped. "That's legal fraud, Mr. Richard. It's definitive proof of malfeasance."​"It's the only way to invalidate the will without destroying our current authority," Damian stated, pulling a pen from his pocket. "The will is now voidable because the testator was dead. Declan gets nothing. The liquidation is prevented. And the Board's decision to ratify Emmah as CEO stands."​He looked at me, his eyes pleading for my assent. "It’s a lie built on a technicality, Emmah. But it's the only lie that saves the entire company."​I looked at the document, the final, crushing proof of betrayal. The only way out was another lie, but this time, the lie saved the company that was now leg

The sterile interrogation room that had just hosted the ultimate corporate surrender now hosted the final reckoning of our marriage. The silence stretched thin, punctuated only by the heavy breathing of Damian and the crinkle of the true will in my hand. Declan was gone, the Benefactor claim nullified, and the company was secure under my leadership. But the cost was the exposure of Damian’s latest, most calculated lie.​"Tasha escaped during transport," I repeated, my voice cold, the fury I suppressed for the negotiation now starting to boil. "You had a window of three hours to secure the company. Tasha was your insurance policy, wasn't she? A diversion. She escaped, and you knew she would, because you gave her the means."​Damian didn't look at the will. He looked at the Escrow Refusal Letter, now crumpled on the table.​"Tasha and I were co-conspirators in the initial affair," Damian began, his voice flat, emotionless, the strategist speaking. "But she was not a fool. When she was c

The week following the submission of the true will and the explosive press conference was a relentless storm of legal, financial, and marital restructuring. The initial shockwave of Tasha's revelations had stabilized, not because the public believed our narrative, but because the structure I put in place, the escrow account and the required partnership made the company unchallengeable. Richard Holdings was boringly, rigidly safe. ​I was the CEO, but my power was absolute only within the boundaries set by the dead hand of Grandpa Richard and the living hand of Damian.The first item on the agenda was to formalize the new executive structure. The Board was utterly subdued, signing off on every change I presented. The fear of state control was a powerful motivator.​"We have two years of intensive ethical cleanup and corporate rebranding ahead of us," I explained to the executive team, standing at the head of the rebuilt boardroom table. "We are eliminating the subsidiaries linked to the