Chapter 7 - THE MAN WHO THOUGHT HE BUILT THE EMPIRE
Victor walked toward the windows.
“Your father and I built this company together.”
Charlotte remained seated.
“My father founded Bennett Global eleven years before he met you.”
Victor turned.
“And I saved it.”
Nobody moved.
“In 2009, your father was drowning.”
“Debt.”
“Failed developments.”
“Banks refusing refinancing.”
Charlotte knew the history.
Her father had never hidden the company’s difficult years.
“What is your point?”
“My point is that your father would never have survived without me.”
“And that gives you permission to steal?”
Victor laughed.
“You think this is stealing?”
“Four point eight million dollars disappeared last night.”
“Operational restructuring.”
Jonathan almost smiled.
“Into offshore accounts?”
Victor ignored him.
Then he looked at Charlotte.
“You have no business running this company.”
Ryan watched silently.
Victor continued.
“You disappear into Boston.”
“You attend meetings remotely.”
“You dress like a schoolteacher.”
“You refuse publicity.”
“You inherited an empire and treat it like a hobby.”
Charlotte leaned back.
“And yet revenue increased twenty-six percent under my chairmanship.”
Victor’s face tightened.
“Because executives like me worked.”
“Exactly.”
Charlotte nodded.
“That is what executives are paid to do.”
Evelyn Price lowered her eyes to hide a smile.
Victor stepped closer.
“You are nothing without your surname.”
Charlotte looked at him.
“Interesting.”
She glanced toward Ryan.
“My husband said something similar last night.”
Ryan lowered his head.
Charlotte stood.
“I spent years letting men like you mistake quietness for incompetence.”
She walked around the table.
“My father taught me something you apparently forgot.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“Ownership does not need applause.”
The room went still.
Victor smiled coldly.
“You’re making a mistake.”
“Maybe.”
“But it will be mine.”
She looked toward Security Director Torres.
“Mr. Hale’s corporate access is suspended pending investigation.”
Victor’s smile vanished.
“You cannot suspend the Vice Chairman.”
Jonathan spoke.
“The board can.”
Victor looked around.
Several hands were already raised.
His face went dark.
“You planned this.”
Charlotte shook her head.
“You planned it.”
Victor stared at Sabrina.
“This is because of her.”
Sabrina looked away.
Victor stepped toward her.
Security immediately moved between them.
“You stupid little girl.”
Sabrina’s face went white.
“You said nobody would ever know.”
Ryan stared at her.
Charlotte did not miss the words.
“You said nobody would ever know.”
Not Ryan.
Victor.
Charlotte looked at Sabrina.
“How long have you known him?”
Sabrina stayed silent.
Charlotte repeated the question.
“How long?”
Sabrina whispered.
“Three years.”
Ryan stopped breathing.
He had known Sabrina for thirteen months.
Victor smiled.
Charlotte finally understood.
May you like
Sabrina had not accidentally met her husband.
Someone had placed her in Ryan’s path.
