'I Do' For Revenge
Chapter 189: A Rat In The Tower
CHAPTER 189: A RAT IN THE TOWER
~LAYLA~
The silence that followed my question was quieter than a graveyard.
William Scotfield did n’t shrink away, I’ll give hi m that. He was an old-school shark, the type who believed women b elong ed on magazine covers, not in boardrooms. H e adjusted his tie and p ut on a look of conde scending pi ty.
"Layla," he said, using my first name on purpose to undermine my authority. "Nobody i s trying to bury Axel. But we have to be realistic. The O’Brien Group isn’t Eclipse Beauty. We aren’t selling lipstic k a nd moisturiser here. We deal in global tech, logistics, and vol atile markets. This is a multi-billion dollar conglome rate."
"And?"
"And..." He looked around the roo m as if seeking allies. "You’ve done a marvelous job with your... subsidiary," he continued with a smirk playing on h is lips. "But run ning a cosmetics brand does not qualify you to steer a shipp ing empire through a crisis. You don’t know the infrastruc ture. You don’t know th e stakeholders."
"Is that so?" I ask ed softly, then I bega n to walk around the table instead of sitting down.
"You’re right, William. I do sell lipstick. And last month, Eclipse Beauty made a higher profit margin than the entire North Atlantic shipping division. Want to know why? I cut the blo at that you, as head of the Audit Commi ttee, allowed to pile up for thre e years."
Scotfield stiffened. "That’s..."
"I’m not finished," I snapped.
I stopped behind the chair of t he C FO, a man named Marcus . "Marcus, the Singapore expansio n is currently stalled. Why?"
Marcus blinked, looking terrified. "Uh... the... the port authority permits?"
" Wrong," I said. "It’s stalled because the tariff renegotiations in Port Klang are stuck on a 2% variance in fuel surcharges. Axel and I discussed it over dinner a few days ago. He was planning to conc ede 1% to close the d eal today."
I turned back to Scotfield.
"Do yo u know the fuel surcharge rates for the Malacca Strait, William? Or were you too busy measuring the curtains for my husband’s office?"
His face turned a deep shade of purple. "This is r idiculous. Just because you know one deal doesn’t mean you’re fit to lead! I pr opose we in voke the ’Fit and Proper’ cla use right now."
"Seconded," a bald ing man at the end of the table mumb led.
"Motion on the floor," Scotfield said, looking satisfied. "All in favour of suspending Mrs. O’Brien’s voting rights due to emotional compromise?"
Seve n hands went up, a majorit y in the room.
Scotfield smiled. "The motion carri es. Layla, I’m going to have to ask you to step out while we..."
"Brennan," I said, not even looking at the lawyer.
"Section 9, Paragraph C," Bren nan recited clearly. " In ma tters of executive appointment, share weight matters more than headcount. Mrs. O’Brien hold s proxy for 51% of the voting shares. The remaining 49% is split among this board."
I placed my hands on the table again, leaning into Scotfield’s personal space.
"I vote against the motion," I said firmly. "M o tion d enied."
The silence retur ned, but this time, it was te rrified.
"Now," I said, straightening up. "Here is the new order of business. First, trad ing on O’Brien Group stock is to be suspend ed immediately pendin g a press stat ement. Marcus, get the SEC on the line. Secon d, the Singapore deal closes today. Give them the 1%. Third, complete lockdown of all physical assets. Nothing moves in or out of our warehouses until Tye’s team clears it."
I turned my attention back to Scotfield .
"And fourth. William, since you are so concerne d with the ’audit’ side of things, you are going to lead the internal investigation into security failures at the South Warehouse... from a basement office. If I see you on the executive floor before Axel wakes up, you’r e fired fo r c ause."
Scotfield’s jaw dropped. "You can’t... t he bylaws..."
"Try me," I whispered. "Go ahead and test me r ight now, William. See what happens."
He looked at me, then a t Tye, whose hand was resting casually near his holster. Then, slowly, Scotfield gathered his papers.
"I will... begin the review," he muttered, d efe ated.
"Good," I said. "Meeting adjourned."
The board members filed out without a w ord , non e of them daring to meet my eyes.
—
Thirty minutes later, I stood on the steps of the O’Brien Tower.
A podiu m had been quickly set up. A sea of micropho nes from every major new s network was shoved in my face, and the camera flashes were blinding.
I didn’t smile. I stood tall in my midnigh t-blue suit.
"Mrs. O’Brien! Is Axel dead?"
"Is the com pany insolvent?"
"Wa s it the cartel?"
I raised a hand, silencing the crowd.
"My husband, Axel O’Brien, was injured in a cowardly att ack on our headquarters toda y," I said in a steady v oic e. "He is in critical but stable condition. He is a fighter, and he will return."
I looked directly into the lens of the nearest camera.
"To our shareholders: The O’Brien Group is not a building. It is a global network, and that network is fully operational. I have assumed t he role of Interim CEO effective immediately. We are ready to mov e forw ard."
I paused, letting the silence h ang for a second.
"And to those responsible for this attack," I said, m y eyes narrowing slightly. "You thought you co uld bre ak us with fear. You thought you cou ld decapitate this company. You failed. W e are not afraid, and we are coming for you."
I turned and walked away, ignoring the explosion of questions that followed m e.
—
The adren aline crash hit me the mome nt I stepped back into the sterile, quiet hospital hallway.
My knees trembled, but Tye caught my elbow instantly.
"Easy," he murmured. "You did good, boss. You did real well. I can see why Axel is hooked. That press conference is already trending; stoc k price stabilised in af ter-hou r s trading."
"I don’t care about the stock," I wh ispered, leaning again st the wall o utside the ICU.
Helena was still sitting there, exactly where I’d left her. She looked up as so on as I got close. "He hasn’t moved," she sa id quickly. "Sta ts are steady. No visitors."
"Good." I no dded. "You did well, Hel, but you can go home no w and rest. Thank you so much."
I looked at Tye. "Come with me. I need to tell you something. Something I couldn’t say in front of the Board."
I led him do wn the hall to a small, empty family wai ting room and closed the door.
"Layla?" Tye aske d. "What is it?"
I wrapped my arms around myself as the memory of the explosion flashed before my eyes. The smell of sulfur... the heat.
"The ex plosion," I said. "Before it happened, there was a package on Axel’s desk. A gift box. He said it was from a partner, Xu Zhongyu. But when I opened the card... it was from Marco."
Tye went rigid. "M arco sent a package into the office?"
"The note said, ’Enjoy her while you can. Time is running out .’" I to ok a ragged breath. "Axel real ised who it was from and trashed it. When it hit the bin... I heard a click."
Tye’s f ace drained of colour, and then, a moment later, a look o f pure, unadulter ated fury took over. His fists clenched so hard his leather glove s creaked.
"A t argeted device," he hissed. "Inside the Executive Suite. That means..."
"That means someone walked a bomb through the lobby, past t he scanners, past the elevators, and put it on the CEO ’s desk."
"We ha ve a mole," Tye whispered. "We have a rat inside the Tower."
"Find them," I ordered. "I don’t care who it is. Find them ."