Chapter 5
I raised my head slowly, letting the fake vulnerability drain from my face, replaced by a cold, empty stare that made him pause.
"I won't sign them today, Adrian," I said, my voice steady, dropping the shaky tone completely.
He narrowed his eyes, confused by the sudden shift in my demeanor, his hand dropping from the bed rail.
"Then you are a fool," he growled, reaching into his pocket for his phone, likely intending to call his legal team immediately.
"Before you make that call, you might want to check the modern corporate filings for the state registry," I suggested calmly.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, his thumb freezing over the screen, a flicker of genuine unease crossing his features.
"You've been very busy with Cassandra, celebrating your new executive appointments and planning your public debut," I said, leaning back comfortably against my pillows.
"So busy that you failed to notice a minor administrative change in the ownership structure of your primary supplier, Nova Logistics."
Adrian laughed, though the sound was hollow and lacked its previous conviction.
"Nova Logistics is a independent contractor, Elena, their internal structure has nothing to do with me."
"It does when they hold the exclusive transport permits for the raw materials you just ordered on credit," I replied, holding up my tablet device.
"And it certainly does when you realize that Nova Logistics was acquired forty-eight hours ago by a subsidiary of Vanguard Group."
"The same Vanguard Group that has just suspended your distribution contract due to 'unforeseen compliance irregularities'."
His face drained of color, his skin turning a sickly shade of grey that matched the stormy sky outside the window.
"How do you... how could you possibly know about the Vanguard delay?" he stammered, his legal threats forgotten in an instant.
"Because I own the company that owns the company that just put your entire supply chain on ice, Adrian," I whispered, the words slicing through the room like a scalpel.
"You think you are a wolf because you can walk out on a injured woman?"
"You are nothing but a sheep that has been sleeping in a pasture I bought years ago."
May you like
"Now, take your divorce papers and get out of my sight before I decide to accelerate your bankruptcy by another twenty-four hours."
He stood there, frozen, his phone slipping from his fingers and landing with a soft thud on the linoleum floor, his empire crumbling before his very eyes.
