Chapter 146
Penelope’s POV
57
50 vouchers
Penelope sat in her home office with a glass of wine, watching the security footage for what must have been the twentieth time. Every viewing brought fresh satisfaction.
The video quality was grainy but more than adequate. The fire exit stairwell, dimly lit but clear enough to see faces. Marcus pressing Elara against the wall, her dress hiked up around her waist, his hands everywhere. The desperation in their movements, the way they couldn’t get enough of each other.
It was explicit. It was unmistakable. And it was absolutely perfect.
Penelope took a sip of wine and paused the video at a particularly incriminating moment. Marcus’s face was visible in profile, clearly identifiable. Elara’s head thrown back, mouth open in what was obviously pleasure.
This wasn’t just evidence of a relationship. This was proof of the exact moment their entire house of cards had been built on. December twentieth. The night that had led to the pregnancy, to the rushed wedding, to Marcus’s desperate attempt to satisfy his grandfather’s will.
And now it would be the night that destroyed him.
Penelope’s phone showed 11:47 PM. The twenty-four hour deadline she’d given Elara would expire tomorrow at 2 PM, just hours before the emergency shareholder meeting scheduled for 4 PM.
She hadn’t really expected Marcus to resign. The man was too proud, too stubborn, too convinced of his own righteousness. He’d refuse the ultimatum and then she’d get exactly what she wanted anyway: the satisfaction of destroying him publicly.
Penelope opened a new document on her laptop and started outlining her presentation for the shareholder meeting. She needed to be strategic about the order of revelations, building the case piece by piece until the conclusion was inescapable.
Step One: Present the corporate sabotage evidence that Marcus had already uncovered. Let him think he’d won that battle, let him present Gerald Chen’s testimony and feel vindicated.
Step Two: After Marcus’s moment of triumph, introduce the sex tape. No warning, no preamble. Just play it for the entire board. Let them watch their CEO fucking his assistant in a fire exit like a teenager who couldn’t control himself.
Step Three: While they’re still reeling from the video, present the pregnancy timeline. Show the medical records proving Elara was already pregnant when they married. Let the board do the math themselves.
Step Four: The killing blow. Present the payment receipt from the original contract. Proof that Marcus had literally paid Elara two million dollars to marry him.
By the time she was done, the board wouldn’t just question whether the marriage satisfied the will’s terms. They’d be disgusted by Marcus’s manipulation, by his willingness to treat marriage as a business transaction, by his complete lack of respect for his grandfather’s intentions.
Penelope saved the document and closed her laptop, feeling deeply satisfied. Years of planning, years of
16:59 Mon, May 11 M
Chapter 146
:
careful positioning, years of waiting for exactly the right moment to strike And now it is finally here
Her phone rang. Eduardo Rodriguez, one of the senior board members and a man Penelope had been cultivating for months.
“Eduardo.” Penelope answered warmly. “Thank you for calling back so late.”
“You said it was urgent. About tomorrow’s shareholder meeting.”
57
“It is. I wanted to give you a heads up about some information that’s going to come to light. Information that I believe will be deeply disturbing to you and the other board members.”
“What kind of information?”
“The kind that suggests Marcus has been manipulating all of us from the beginning. That his marriage to Elara Vance was never genuine, but rather a calculated move to satisfy the terms of his grandfather’s will while maintaining absolute control of the company.”
There was a pause on the other end. Eduardo was a traditionalist, a man who believed in proper procedure and ethical business practices. He’d been skeptical of Marcus’s sudden marriage from the start.
“That’s a serious accusation, Penelope. Do you have proof?”
“I have overwhelming proof. Video evidence, medical records, financial documentation. Everything needed to prove that Marcus entered into a contract marriage for the sole purpose of circumventing the spirit of the
will.”
“A contract marriage? Are you saying they signed a legal agreement?”
“I’m saying Marcus paid Elara Vance two million dollars to marry him. I have the receipt.”
Another pause, longer this time. Penelope could practically hear Eduardo’s mind working through the implications.
“If this is true,” Eduardo said carefully, “it would constitute fraud. Marcus would have violated the terms of the inheritance clause. His claim to the seventy percent stake would be invalid.”
“Exactly. Which is why I’m bringing this to the board’s attention. Not because I want to cause trouble for my stepson, I love him but I believe in upholding my husband’s late father’s wishes. The will was very clear about requiring a genuine marriage.”
“What do you want from me, Penelope?”
“Nothing unethical. I simply want you to keep an open mind tomorrow when I present the evidence Don’t let your personal relationship with Marcus cloud your judgment. Look at the facts objectively and vote accordingly.”
“I’ve always voted based on facts and company interests.”
“I know you have. That’s why I’m calling you first.” Penelope took another sip of wine. “I’m calling Robert Morrison next, and then Lisa Chen. The three of you are the most influential voices on the board. If you’re
16:59 Mon, May 11 M…
Chapter 146
united in your response to this evidence, the rest will follow.”
“You’re asking us to vote to remove Marcus as CEO.”
༢
57
55 vouchers
“I’m asking you to do what’s right for the company and for honoring the true intent of the will. If that results in Marcus’s removal, so be it.”
Eduardo was quiet for a long moment. “Send me a preview of the evidence. I want to review it before the meeting.”
“Of course. I’ll email you everything within the hour. But Eduardo, this is extremely sensitive material. Some of it is quite explicit.”
“Explicit how?”
“The video evidence shows Marcus and Elara engaging in sexual activity. In a corporate fire exit. During a company event. Three weeks before their wedding.”
She could hear Eduardo’s sharp intake of breath. The man was seventy years old, deeply Catholic, with very traditional views about propriety and professional conduct.
“Send me the files,” Eduardo said, his voice tight. “I’ll review them and make my own determination.”
“Thank you. I knew I could count on your integrity.”
After hanging up, Penelope composed an email with carefully selected excerpts from her evidence. Not everything, just enough to plant the seeds of doubt and disgust. The full presentation would come tomorrow during the meeting.
She sent similar emails to Robert Morrison and Lisa Chen, each one tailored to what she knew would resonate with that particular board member. Morrison cared about family legacy and honoring the wishes of the deceased. Chen cared about corporate governance and ethical leadership.
By midnight, all three had responded confirming they’d received the materials and would review them before the meeting.
Penelope poured herself another glass of wine and returned to her window, looking down at the penthouse where Marcus and Elara were probably sleeping, blissfully unaware of exactly how thoroughly she’d prepared for tomorrow.
She thought about Marcus’s mother, about the night fifteen years ago when everything had changed. The hit and run that Dante’s investigation was slowly uncovering. Penelope had been careful, had covered her tracks well, but she knew the evidence was out there somewhere.
Let them find it, she thought. By the time they do, I’ll already own this company. I’ll already have won.
Her phone buzzed with one more email. Aurora, confirming she’d sent the staged photos to Elara as instructed. Penelope smiled. That had been a nice touch, one more destabilization tactic to keep Elara off balance.
Though knowing Marcus, he’d probably already explained it away. The man was frustratingly good at talking
16:59 Mon, May 11 M
Chapter 116
his way out of situations.
57
65 voucherE
But not this time. This time, the evidence was irrefutable. This time, there would be no talking his way out.
Penelope raised her wine glass to her reflection in the dark window.
“To tomorrow,” she said softly. “To watching Marcus Thorne fall from his throne.”
She took a long drink and set the glass down, her smile sharp and satisfied.
“By the time I’m done, Marcus won’t just lose the company. He’ll lose his dignity.”
AD
Comment
Send gift
No Ads
