Chapter 4 - The Hostile Takeover
My father frantically patted his pockets, pulling out his cell phone with violently trembling hands.
He stared at the glowing screen, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly like a suffocating fish.
The emergency emails from his board of directors were flooding in, confirming that the majority shareholders had forcibly sold the company.
"This is illegal!" my father finally screamed, spittle flying from his lips.
"You cannot just buy out a private family corporation without the founder's explicit consent!"
Daniel casually adjusted his cufflinks, looking completely unfazed by the older man's furious outburst.
"I can when your corrupt board members are desperate to avoid federal prison for tax evasion," Daniel replied smoothly.
Allison abandoned her weeping groom and stormed across the dance floor toward me.
She pointed a shaking, accusatory finger directly at my face.
"You are nothing but a pathetic gold digger, Meredith!" she shrieked, her voice echoing off the crystal chandeliers.
"You found a rich man to fight your battles because you are entirely useless on your own!"
I felt a brief, familiar sting of her cruelty, but it vanished as quickly as it came.
Daniel chuckled softly, wrapping his hand gently around mine.
"That is quite an interesting accusation, Allison," Daniel said, his eyes gleaming with dark amusement.
"Especially since I am not the one who actually purchased your father's failing company."
My family stared at him in utter confusion.
"My venture capital firm merely facilitated the legal transaction," Daniel explained loudly enough for the whole room to hear.
He turned to me, a look of profound, absolute pride radiating from his handsome face.
"The actual buyer is the anonymous CEO of Apex Software Solutions," he continued.
My father gasped, knowing that Apex was the massive tech giant that had recently disrupted the entire global market.
"Apex is a multi-billion dollar entity, what do they want with my small real estate firm?" my father demanded.
I stepped forward, dropping Daniel's hand and standing entirely on my own two feet.
"I wanted to turn your corporate headquarters into a new parking garage," I stated with absolute, icy calm.
Allison laughed hysterically, shaking her head in disbelief.
"You?" she mocked cruelly.
"You work as a low-level data entry clerk in a basement!"
I reached into my black clutch and pulled out a sleek, solid platinum business card.
I tossed it onto the marble floor right at my sister's feet.
May you like
"I am the founder and sole owner of Apex Software Solutions," I declared, watching the blood drain completely from her face.
But the shock of my revelation was abruptly cut short when the massive ballroom doors burst open again, and a dozen heavily armed FBI agents swarmed into the room.
