Semua Bab RECLAIMING MY LIFE FROM THE UNTOUCHABLE CEO : Bab 61 - Bab 70

Hazel's POV"You want to hold the foundation gala anyway, knowing a man like Gerald Chambers might use it against us?" Marisol's wheelchair rolled to a stop in front of me, disbelief written across her face."I want to hold it because of that," I said, standing in the center of the half decorated theater, string lights hanging overhead like the beginning of something too beautiful to cancel. "If we cancel now, we hand him exactly what he wants. Fear. Silence. A story that only he gets to tell."Marisol studied me for a long moment, then smiled the way she always did before agreeing to something reckless. "Then we make sure our version of the story is loud enough to drown him out completely."The foundation gala had been eight months in the making, a night meant to celebrate disabled artists reclaiming stages that once refused them, and I was not prepared to let Gerald Chambers turn it into another chapter of his revenge."Julian is meeting with the journalist Gerald contacted," I told

Hazel's POV"You cannot fight a defamation suit with charm and a good speech, Hazel," Marcus Webb said, sliding a thick folder across the conference table the next morning. "Gerald's lawyers are sharp, and he has money enough to make this expensive even if he ultimately loses.""I am not planning to fight it with charm," I said, opening the folder to find pages of legal language that blurred slightly under my tired eyes. "I am planning to fight it with proof."Julian sat beside me, his sleeves rolled up, a stack of financial documents already spread across his side of the table. "Marcus traced two of Gerald's shell companies back to accounts linked directly to the driver who caused Hazel's accident twelve years ago."My breath caught. "You found a connection.""A payment," Marcus confirmed. "Routed through an offshore account three weeks before the accident, originating from a company we now know Gerald controlled entirely. It is not conclusive on its own, but combined with testimony,

Hazel's POV"He knows," Marcus said, bursting into the office the next morning without knocking, his face pale. "Gerald knows Penelope met with you yesterday. His lawyers filed an emergency injunction an hour ago to block her testimony entirely."Julian stood immediately from his desk. "On what grounds?""They are claiming she is mentally unfit to testify," Marcus said, sliding the filing across the desk. "That her time at the facility has compromised her credibility, and that any statement she gives is unreliable at best."I read the filing quickly, anger building steady in my chest. "He is trying to discredit the one person who can prove what he did.""He is trying to survive," Julian said grimly. "And he is very good at it."Marisol wheeled into the doorway, having overheard enough to piece the situation together. "There has to be another way to prove his involvement, something that does not rely entirely on Penelope's word."I thought back to the bank records Marcus had already un

Hazel's POV"The vote is in four days," Marcus said, spreading documents across the conference table with a steadiness I did not entirely feel myself. "If we are going to expose Gerald before then, this is our last real window."Julian sat at the head of the table, dark circles under his eyes from nights spent between the hospital and legal strategy sessions, though his voice remained steady and clear. "We have the driver's sworn statement. We have the bank records connecting Gerald's shell companies to the payment. We have Penelope's documentation as well, regardless of the injunction attempt.""The injunction only blocks her direct testimony in court," Marcus clarified. "It does not block the documentation she already provided, and it certainly does not block the driver from speaking publicly if he chooses to.""Then we let him speak publicly," I said. "Before the vote, not during a courtroom battle that could stretch on for months while Gerald quietly dismantles Julian's company fr

Hazel's POV"The vote failed," Marcus said three days later, stepping into our living room with an exhausted but genuine smile. "Every single shell firm withdrew their proxy support within hours of the press conference. Gerald's shareholder challenge collapsed completely."Relief flooded through me so completely my legs nearly gave out, and Julian pulled me instantly into his arms, both of us laughing with something between exhaustion and disbelief."And Gerald himself," Julian asked, still holding me close."Facing criminal charges," Marcus confirmed. "Attempted murder, conspiracy, financial fraud. His lawyers are already discussing a plea deal, though given the evidence, I doubt it will spare him much.""And Penelope," I asked quietly."Her cooperation was formally noted," Marcus said. "Her sentence at the facility will likely be reduced, given her testimony's importance to the case. I believe she is finally, genuinely trying to build something honest out of the wreckage of everythi