The glass doors of Vance Corporation parted, and for the first time in three years, Elara didn't walk in carrying Julian's briefcase or hovering a step behind him to make him look taller.
She walked in like she owned the building. Which, legally, she still did.
Liam flanked her right side, his presence as cold and unyielding as a loaded gun. The lobby fell dead silent as employees stared at the sharp, commanding woman in the crimson trench coat. This wasn't the soft-spoken heiress they were used to.
"Top floor," Elara told the elevator attendant.
"M-Miss Vance, Mr. Julian left strict orders—"
Liam simply looked at the attendant. The man gulped, instantly swiping his keycard and pressing the button for the executive suites.
When the elevator chimed open on the top floor, Elara didn't pause at the receptionist's desk. She marched straight down the glass-walled corridor toward the main boardroom. Through the blinds, she could see Julian sitting at the head of the long mahogany table—in her late father's chair.
Chloe was sitting right next to him, taking notes like a dutiful secretary. Surrounding them were the five senior board members, the very men who had helped Julian slowly siphon power away from Elara in her previous life.
Elara didn't knock. She kicked the heavy double doors open.
They slammed against the walls with a crack that made half the room jump. Julian's head snapped up, his annoyance instantly morphing into a smug, victorious smirk.
"I told the guards to keep you out," Julian said, leaning back in the leather chair, lacing his fingers together. "But I suppose I knew you'd come running the second your credit cards started bouncing. Are you ready to stop this childish tantrum and apologize?"
Chloe stood up, her face a picture of exaggerated sympathy. "Elara, please. Julian was just trying to protect the company's assets. You've been so erratic lately. Just come home, and we can forget this whole ugly mess."
Elara walked slowly into the room. The clicking of her heels was the only sound in the dead-silent boardroom. Liam stepped in behind her, quietly closing the doors and locking them with a definitive click.
One of the older board members, Director Hayes, cleared his throat nervously. "Elara, my dear, Julian is right. We had to freeze your proxy accounts. This marriage stunt of yours puts the company's reputation at risk."
"My proxy accounts?" Elara stopped at the opposite end of the table, resting her hands on the polished wood. "You mean the accounts funded entirely by my mother's trust, which I generously allowed Julian to manage?"
Julian scoffed. "Money I tripled, Elara. You know nothing about running a business. Without me, this company would be under water. Now, sit down and behave, or I'll freeze your personal trust, too."
Elara didn't yell. She didn't cry. Instead, she reached into her pocket, pulled out the matte-black Centurion card Alexander had given her, and tossed it down the length of the table.
It slid across the polished wood and stopped right in front of Julian.
Julian frowned, leaning forward to inspect it. The moment he saw the gold lettering—Alexander Cross—the smug color drained from his face entirely.
"Freeze whatever you want, Julian," Elara said, her voice dripping with ice. "I don't need my money anymore. My husband has deeper pockets than this entire building combined."
Director Hayes peered at the card, his eyes widening in sheer terror as he recognized the exclusive metal. "Is that... Mr. Cross's personal account?"
"Liam," Elara said, not breaking eye contact with Julian.
"Yes, Madam," Liam replied smoothly from the door.
"Director Hayes and Director Miller have been aggressively trying to sell their twenty percent stake in Vance Corp for the last six months," Elara stated, reciting the secrets she had learned too late in her past life. "Buy them out. Right now. Double the market price. Put it under the Cross Holding Group."
The two directors gasped, nearly knocking over their coffee cups. Double the market price? They would be filthy rich instantly.
"You can't do that!" Julian shouted, jumping to his feet. "Those shares are promised to me! We had a verbal agreement!"
"They had an agreement with a middle-management leech," Liam corrected in a terrifyingly calm voice, pulling a tablet from his jacket. "They are now receiving an offer from Alexander Cross. Gentlemen, I am sending the digital contracts to your phones now. You have sixty seconds to sign, or my boss will consider you his direct competitors."
The threat was entirely unspoken, but the entire city knew what happened to people who competed with Alexander Cross. They usually ended up in the river.
Both men frantically scrambled for their phones. Within ten seconds, their screens flashed green. The shares were transferred.
"Done," Liam confirmed.
Julian looked like he was going to vomit. In less than a minute, Elara had completely obliterated his majority hold on the board.
"Now," Elara said, walking slowly around the table until she was standing right next to Julian. He shrank back into the chair, the arrogance completely wiped from his features.
"You're fired, Julian," Elara whispered, leaning down so only he and a trembling Chloe could hear. "Pack your desk. If you or your little mistress are still in this building in fifteen minutes, I'll have Liam throw you through the lobby window."
She stood up straight, smoothing out her crimson coat.
"Get out of my chair."