h4Chapter 52: Chapter FIFTY-TWO: The Man in Control/h4

Kendrick’s POV

The city stretched endlessly below me as the elevator doors slid open to the top floor of the ck Group.

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Floor-to-ceiling windows curved around the office like a crown of ss, catching the sun’s reflection and throwing it across the polished marble floors. The skyline glittered, sharp and merciless, and for the first time in years, I felt like it belonged to me.

My grandfather’s words made me realize that I had really let him down. After wasting years traveling to find a cure to my condition, I returned and made myself a weakling that anyone could bully.

They all forgot who I am and it is time I reminded them.

The air in my office was cold with the scent of leather and steel hanging in it.

I looked at the ck oak desk which my grandfather had custom made for me when I took over thepany.

Behind it, I could see the city clearly, the floor-to-ceiling windows made it feel more surreal.

I shrugged off my coat andid it across the arm of the chair. My tie was knotted tight against my throat, but I weed the restriction, it reminded me of control.

I pressed the inte.

"Send Curtis in."

I ordered coldly and within seconds, the ss doors opened.

Curtis came with a deep frown on his face, he was dressed in an expensive suit as usual and was acting like I had disturbed him by calling him over.

I just kept observing every single one of his expressions and he was also doing the same.

" What’s with the sudden invitation?" He asked with a nonchnt expression.

I didn’t bother to reply to his nonsensical question. I slid a folder across the desk toward him, my gaze never leaving his face.

"Open it." I ordered with an authoritative tone.

He hesitated, then flipped it open.

Numbers, Transfers and Shell ounts. His embezzlementy bare in ck and white.

His face was drained of color immediately and I saw a sh of panic.

"I don’t... this isn’t..." he stuttered with a panic expression.

"Don’t bother making up any excuses." I cut him off instantly.

"For years, you have siphoned money, thinking no one would notice. While I was distracted, you fattened yourself like the leech that you are, but that ends now." I said with a tone of finality.

"Kendrick, you can’t do this because father would never let you do anything to me" he said with a smug expression as he flung the folder back on the desk.

"Father?" I leaned forward, my palms pressing into the desk.

" Why don’t I remember having a father? You have been given everything by my grandfather and yet you betray the verypany that feeds you because of greed. You disgust me." I said with a disgusted tone as I stared at him.

The words hit him hard as his face immediately twisted with restrained rage.

"I actually have a right to thispany because my father has invested years of hard work into it" he argued angrily.

"You’re fired and security will escort you out. If you resist, I’ll press charges. And Curtis—" I paused, letting the silence dig into him.

"Pray you never cross me again" I said with a smirk and his face changed and I could finally see the emotion that I really wanted to see on his face.

Fear.

His knees almost buckled. For a moment, I thought he might beg, but when he saw the fire in my eyes, he turned and walked out without another word. The sound of the ss door mming shut behind him was the sweetest note I had heard in years.

One snake down.

I exhaled slowly, adjusting my cuffs. Power didn’t just taste sweet... it was intoxicating.

But my victory was short-lived. The door mmed open again, harder this time.

Raymond.

He stormed in without knocking, his face red, his chest heaving.

His usually slick ck hair was disheveled, and his suit wrinkled from anger. He looked at me like I was still the fragile boy he could bully as he pleased. He was about to learn how wrong he was.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing, Kendrick?" His voice was thundered.

"You fired Curtis without consulting me? You undermine decades of loyalty? You think you can just.... "He continued ranting loudly.

"Yes," I interrupted coolly, leaning back in my chair.

"That’s exactly what I think." I replied him with a smirk.

His eyes widened as he wasn’t used to being cut off by me.

"You ungrateful brat—" He mmed his fist on the desk.

"I have worked in thispany and I bled for it. You dare to treat your brother.. "he continued.

"Thispany was built by my grandfather, you are just a shameless man that got married to my mother to be rich," I snapped, as I got up from my chair.

"You and your dogs thought I would stay silent forever. But I’m not that boy anymore and I see through your games."My voice rose, cold and sharp

His nostrils red in anger .

"Watch your tongue, Kendrick. You’re still nothing without me. Without my name, my connections, you’re a ghost." he yelled angrily.

A bitterugh slipped past my lips. "Funny. I thought I was nothing without my mother too but look at me now." I said with a mocking voice which made him stunned.

The moment I mentioned my mother, his expression faltered but he quicklyposed himself.

I stepped closer, lowering my voice to a de’s edge. "You’ve hidden behind power for so long, you forgot what truth feels like. So let me remind you that Celeste is pregnant with your child."

The color drained from his face and I would have punched him at this moment but I held back as I couldn’t let my emotions control me ever again.

I saw in his eyes the fear, the shame, the secret he thought he had buried so deep no one could ever dig it out.

But I had and now it was a weapon that I can use against him.

"You don’t know what you’re talking about," he growled, but his voice cracked.

"Oh, I know." I circled him slowly, like a predator.

"I know everything, Raymond. Every lie, every betrayal and the world will know too, if you ever try to cross me again." I warned him with a smirk.

He clenched his jaw so tight I thought it might snap. "You wouldn’t dare."

"Try me." I said with a smile.

"You have three days to get your little pregnant mistress out of that house or else everyone will know your little secret" I threatened him with a smile.

The silence stretched, thick with his rage and my certainty. Finally, he spun on his heel and stormed toward the door.

At the threshold, he paused. "This isn’t over, Kendrick."

"It is for you," I said softly.

And then he was gone.

The office hummed with victory. Two enemies down in a single morning. But the adrenaline that rushed through me wasn’t clean. Beneath the triumph, a shadow lingered.

Christy.

Her name never leaves my mouth and despite all my control, she was the one weakness I couldn’t scrub from my soul.

Even here, at the pinnacle of power, her face haunted me. The way her eyes had widened the night of the party. The way she had trembled. The way she had looked at me like I was the one that had pushed her back into hell.

I clenched my fists, forcing her back into the back of my mind. There was no room for softness now.

The door opened again, this time quietly. Evans stepped in, his expression calm, his posture sharp as always.

"Mr. ck," he said, cing a tablet on my desk. "News just broke, Kelvin Lancaster has been arrested."

I allowed myself a small smile. "Good. How are they reacting?"

"Panic," Evans said simply. "The Lancasters are scrambling. Their enemies are taking the opportunity to harm them and Politicians are already distancing themselves. It’s only a matter of time before the entire house crumbles."

I nodded, my gaze drifting back to the skyline. "And Christy?"

Evans hesitated. "She’lle to you. Sooner than you think. You’re the only one who can save her brother."

The words twisted something deep inside me. Half of me wanted her to beg. The other half wanted to pull her into my arms and erase her fear.

I pressed a hand to my temple. "Leave me."

Evans bowed slightly and left.

The silence returned, but it wasn’t peaceful this time but chaos disguised as calm.

I sat at my desk, staring at the city again. Power was mine and so was my revenge on Raymond and the others. But victory felt hollow without her.

My phone suddenly buzzed.

I nced at the screen and it was an unknown number.

I lifted it to my ear. "Hello?"

Nothing Only breathing, shallow and trembling.

My chest tightened as I took in a deep breath.

"Christy," I whispered.

The line went dead.

And for the first time all day, my mask cracked.