Part 2: Protocol 7 Destroyed Their Empire... But the Biggest Secret Was Yet to Be Revealed
Arthur didn't ask another question.
"Understood."
The line went dead.
For several seconds, the only sound inside the dining room was the steady drip... drip... drip of icy water falling from my hair onto the expensive Persian rug.
Brendan finally laughed again, though this time it sounded forced.
"What was that supposed to be?"
Jessica smirked.
"She thinks she's in some kind of movie."
Diane rolled her eyes.
"Poor thing. Pregnancy must have finally gone to her head."
I simply placed my phone back inside my purse.
Then I stood.
The baby kicked gently this time, almost as if reminding me that I wasn't fighting only for myself anymore.
I looked each of them in the eye.
"You should enjoy the next five minutes."
Brendan scoffed.
"Or what?"
I smiled.
"You'll find out."
Exactly three minutes later...
The first phone rang.
It belonged to Diane.
She frowned at the screen.
"It's the bank."
She ignored it.
It rang again.
And again.
Then Brendan's phone vibrated.
Then Jessica's.
Within seconds every device at the table erupted with calls, emails, alerts, and emergency notifications.
Brendan answered first.
"What?"
His face changed instantly.
"What do you mean the accounts are frozen?"
Across the table Diane answered hers.
"The board meeting has been canceled? What are you talking about?"
Jessica opened an email.
The color drained from her face.
"My contract..."
Her voice trembled.
"They terminated me."
Brendan slammed his fist onto the table.
"This is impossible!"
At that exact moment the front door opened.
Three men in dark suits entered the house.
Not police.
Corporate legal representatives.
The lead attorney walked directly toward me.
"Ms. Cassidy Harper?"
I nodded.
He handed me a leather folder.
"Protocol 7 has officially been executed."
He turned toward Brendan.
"Mr. Morrison, under the terms of the shareholder agreements and executive conduct clauses, every member of the Morrison family is hereby removed from managerial authority effective immediately."
"What?"
Brendan stared at him.
"You can't do this!"
"Oh..."
The attorney smiled politely.
"We absolutely can."
Diane stood so quickly her chair crashed backward.
"My husband owns this company!"
The attorney calmly corrected her.
"No, ma'am."
"He never did."
Silence.
He opened the folder.
"The majority shareholder has always been Ms. Cassidy Harper."
Jessica blinked.
"What?"
The attorney continued.
"Seven years ago, Ms. Harper founded Harper Technologies. Before her marriage, she transferred daily operations into a blind trust for security reasons."
Brendan looked at me as though he were seeing a stranger.
"You..."
I nodded.
"The company you bragged about working for?"
"The one your family claimed they built?"
"I built it."
"No..."
His voice cracked.
"That's impossible."
"It was easier to let you believe I was nothing."
The attorney handed me another document.
"The board has unanimously appointed you back as Executive Chairwoman."
I signed without hesitation.
The attorney smiled.
"Congratulations."
Brendan suddenly rushed toward me.
"Cassidy, wait."
For the first time in years...
He looked afraid.
May you like
Not because he'd lost me.
Because he'd finally realized what he'd thrown away.
