The Ice King's Forbidden Heir의 모든 챕터: 챕터 21 - 챕터 30

POV: Noah Callahan"You're sweating through your shirt already, and the ceremony doesn't start for another hour," Dylan said, adjusting my collar in the small locker room beneath the arena, the same room where I had once sat in silence six years ago while Ava's tearful interview played on a muted television."I've played championship games with less nerves than this," I admitted, catching my own reflection in the mirror, hardly recognizing the man staring back at me, steady-eyed and clean-shaven, nothing like the exhausted, guilt-ridden version of myself who had first found out about Eve months earlier."That's because championships don't usually come with a four-year-old flower girl who's already threatened to trip you if you cry too much during your vows," Dylan said, grinning as he stepped back to check his own tie in the mirror."She actually said that," I said, laughing despite the nerves twisting through my chest. "Word for word, this morning, very seriously.""She's going to ru

POV: Ava Bennett"There's a woman at the gate asking for you, she won't give her name to the guard, but she says you'll want to hear what she has to say," Marissa said, stepping into my home office where I was reviewing quarterly reports, her voice carrying the particular caution she used whenever something felt off."Did she say anything else?" I asked, setting my pen down."Only that it's about Charlotte," Marissa said.My stomach tightened at the name, memories of that press conference rushing back even two years later, the image of Vanessa's practiced composure cracking apart on live television still sharp in my mind."Let her in," I said. "But stay close."Five minutes later, Vanessa Sterling sat across from me in my living room, though she looked nothing like the polished, confident woman who had once stood beside her father commanding a room full of reporters. Her coat was plain, her hair pulled back without styling, dark circles visible beneath eyes that had once been carefull

POV: Ava Bennett"She's here," David said, stepping into my office with a folder tucked under his arm, his expression tight. "Vanessa's sister. She agreed to meet, but only if it happens somewhere neutral, and only if lawyers are present.""Bring her up," I said, setting aside the report I'd been reviewing.Ten minutes later, a woman who looked strikingly like Vanessa, though harder around the eyes, sat across the conference table from David and me, a lawyer of her own seated stiffly beside her."I didn't expect Ava Bennett to be involved in this," the woman said, studying me with open curiosity. "Renata Sterling, by the way. Vanessa's older sister.""I'm here because Charlotte's wellbeing concerns me," I said evenly. "Whatever history exists between our families, that's separate from what's best for a five-year-old child.""How noble," Renata said, a faint edge of sarcasm coloring her voice."Let's get to the point," David said, sliding a folder across the table. "You're claiming a

POV: Ava Bennett"There's a minority shareholder requesting an emergency board session," Marissa said, catching me in the hallway before my morning meetings, her tone carrying the particular tightness she reserved for genuinely bad news. "Marcus Whitfield. He's called for a vote of confidence regarding your continued leadership.""On what grounds?" I asked, already walking briskly toward my office."He's citing instability," Marissa said, keeping pace beside me. "The Sterling scandal, the ongoing custody situation with Vanessa Sterling's family, and now apparently your involvement in facilitating a reconciliation between two women connected to the same scandal. He's arguing it raises questions about your judgment as CEO."I stopped walking, absorbing that. "He's trying to use basic human decency as evidence of poor leadership.""Essentially, yes," Marissa said."Get David on the phone," I said. "And pull every performance report from the last two years. If Whitfield wants a fight abo

POV: Ava Bennett"He's filed a formal complaint with the league's ownership committee," David said, striding into my office without knocking, a printed document clutched in one hand. "Whitfield's claiming FrostTech violated disclosure regulations by not reporting your involvement in the Sterling custody matter as a potential conflict of interest.""That's absurd," I said, taking the document from him. "I'm not a party to any custody case. I helped fund legal counsel for a private citizen. That's not a disclosable conflict.""He knows that," David said. "This isn't about winning the complaint. It's about generating enough noise to spook other shareholders before his real move.""Which is?" I asked."A tender offer," David said. "He's quietly been buying up shares through shell entities for months. My guess is he's close to a controlling stake in at least two other franchises already, and he's hoping the ownership committee gets nervous enough about optics here to pressure a forced sale