CHAPTER 187: A NEW OWNER

"William Scotfield?" The name tasted bitter on my tongue. "The Chairman of the Audit Committee? He’s a dinosaur, Tye. He’s risk-averse, unimaginative, and he’s hated Axel’s expansion plans for years."

"He’s the second-highest stakeholder on the board... and also safe," Tye countered. "The market likes ’safe’ when a headquarters gets bombed. Scotfield will promise stability. He’ll promise to sell off the risky assets to stop the bleeding. He’ll strip this company down to a skeleton crew to save the stock price."

I looked at the closed doors of the recovery ward.

Inside, my husband was lying broken and unconscious because he had shielded me with his own body. He had built this empire from the ground up. He had bled for it. And now, while he was helpless, the vultures were circling.

A cold resolve settled over me, freezing the tears that had been threatening to fall.

"They aren’t taking his company," My voice sounded steady for the first time in hours. "Not while he’s fighting for his life."

I looked down at my ruined clothes: the soot, the blood; my hands were still shaking, but my voice was firm.

"Tye, call the driver. We’re going to the meeting."

"But ma’am," Helena said, standing up, her eyes wide. "You can’t go to a board meeting like that. You’re in shock. You need a doctor."

"I don’t need a doctor, Helena," I said, wiping a smudge of soot from my cheek with the back of my hand. "I need a suit. And I need my husband’s proxy forms."

"But..."

"I hold Axel’s power of attorney," I said, cutting her off. "If he is incapacitated, his vote falls to me. I am the majority shareholder right now. And I am not going to let William Scotfield or anyone else dismantle Axel’s legacy."

I turned to the doctor, who was watching the exchange with concern. "I need two minutes with him. Alone. Then I’m leaving."

The doctor hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Two minutes. But don’t touch the equipment."

I pushed past them and entered the ICU.

The room was dim and quiet, filled only by the rhythmic whoosh-hiss of the ventilator and the steady beeping of the heart monitor. Axel lay in the centre of the machinery, looking terrifyingly still.

They had him face down on a special bed to protect his spine, his head resting between cushions. His back was covered in heavy bandages.

I walked to the side of the bed, my heart shattering in my chest. I reached out, trembling, and lightly touched his hand where it lay on the sheet. It was warm but limp.

"I’m sorry," I whispered, tears finally spilling over. "I’m so sorry, Axel. You took the hit for me. You saved my life."

The monitor beeped steadily. Beep... beep... beep.

"I can’t stay," I told him, squeezing his fingers gently. "I have to go fight them. I have to go stop this. But I promise you... I promise I will hold the line. When you wake up, you will still be the CEO of O’Brien Group. You will still have your empire."

I leaned down, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. "Fight, Axel. Please, just fight. Come back to me."

I straightened up, wiping my face roughly. I took a deep breath, locking the grief away in a box in my mind. I couldn’t be the grieving wife right now. I had to be the Interim CEO. I had to be the warrior.

I walked out of the room.

Helena and Tye were waiting in the hallway, both watching me carefully.

"Helena," I said sharply.

She jumped. "Yes?"

"I’m going to the meeting. I need you to stay here."

"Here?"

"I need you to sit by that door," I pointed to the ICU entrance. "And I need you to be the gatekeeper. No one gets in to see him except the medical staff. Not the police, not the press, not random board members looking for leverage. No one. Do you understand me?"

Helena looked at the door, then back at me. "I understand. I swear, no one gets through."

"Good." I turned to Tye. "I need security here, too. Post someone outside his room and more throughout the hospital. And call someone to meet me at the office with a change of clothes, makeup, the works. I need to look like I’m in control, not like I just crawled out of a war zone."

"Already on it," Tye said, his phone in his hand. "What else?"

"I need Brennan to meet me there with the legal binder. All of Axel’s proxy documents, corporate bylaws, and voting procedures. Everything."

"Consider it done."

"And the police? The investigators?"

"They’ll want statements," Tye said grimly. "But I can stall them for a few hours. Tell them you’re receiving medical treatment."

"Do it." I started walking toward the exit, my heels clicking on the linoleum despite the exhaustion weighing down every step. "How long do I have?"

"Meeting starts in ninety minutes."

"That’s enough time." I paused at the elevator, turning back to look at both of them. "Thank you. Both of you. For everything."

Helena nodded, already moving to position herself outside the ICU doors like a sentinel.

Tye fell into step beside me as we entered the elevator. "You sure you’re up for this, Mrs. O’Brien? These vultures are going to be vicious."

"I’m up for it," I said, watching the numbers descend. "They think I’m weak. They think I’m just the pretty wife who runs a cosmetics company. They’re about to learn otherwise."

"That’s what I like to hear." Tye smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "What’s the play?"

"The play is simple," I said as the doors opened to the parking garage. "I walk in there, invoke my power of attorney, and remind them exactly who built that company. Then I vote down every single motion they try to pass."

"Scotfield won’t go down easy. He’s been waiting for an opportunity like this for years."

"Then he’s going to be disappointed." I climbed into the back of the waiting car, my mind already racing through corporate bylaws and voting procedures. "Because I’m not giving him an inch."

"I love the energy," Tye said with a small smile.

"Thank you too." He simply nodded. "And Tye?"

"Yeah?"

"Let the board know the Chairwoman is coming."