chapter 7

After I had Victor thrown out of the hospital, Sean immediately posted extra security outside Belle's ward.

It was time for me to return to the company and reclaim what was rightfully mine.

When I walked into the company, the staff were fawning over Luna, who was supposedly still recuperating.

Their faces twisted into unconcealed scorn and mockery the moment they saw me.

They mocked,

"Ivy, you had the nerve to show your face? Look what you did to our Luna!"

"You’ve been fired! Leo has taken your office, and Luna has all your projects. The only reason it wasn't official on the website was to spare you the embarrassment! How could you even come back here?"

I just smiled.

The real reason it wasn't official was because they were terrified my father would see it.

Victor descended the staircase, surrounded by several sycophantic shareholders.

His face darkened instantly when he saw me.

He growled angrily, "You shameless slut! How dare you show your face here?"

I let out a cold laugh and sneered, "If you didn't want to see me, you should leave. After all, this was my family's company. You're just a glorified, overpaid dog."

I had ripped off his mask. He completely lost his composure.

He screamed, "You bitch! How dare you! I am the CEO of this company!"

I flung a document onto a nearby desk.

Someone read aloud, confused."Temporary Acting CEO Agreement?"

I said coolly. "Victor, my father temporarily put you in charge. Did sitting in that chair for so long make you forget it was never really yours?"

He lunged forward to shred the document, but I snatched it back.

Humiliated and furious, he pointed a shaking finger at me and snarled, "It was a forgery! You fabricated this!"

The shareholders, their eyes calculating, quickly lined up behind Victor.

They chattered away.

"Ivy, this was in poor taste. You could have parted amicably. Bringing a fake document to slander the CEO was unacceptable."

"Even if you forged papers, no one here would believe you. Leave now before this gets ugly!"

"When the police arrived, you would have a slander charge on your record. Good luck finding a job after that!"

The employees, seeing the long-tenured shareholders take this stance and even mention the police, were now convinced my document was fake.

They surged forward, eager to curry favor by throwing me out.

But then, a powerful, resonant voice echoed from the entrance.

My father strolled with his hands clasped behind his back, and said, "If the document was in question, would my personal word suffice?"

He was supposed to be vacationing in other countries.

Victor's face froze.

The shareholders dropped their gazes, not daring to look my father in the eye.

My father continued, "My own daughter got fired from her own company by an outsider. That was the funniest joke I had heard all year. Didn't you agree, Mr. Granger?"

He smiled a humorless smile and delivered a stinging slap to Victor's face.

Victor could only clutch his cheek and swallow the blood in his mouth.

Because everyone present knew that Arthur Sullivan was the true, undisputed master of this company.

The shareholders immediately switched allegiance, fawning over my father.

"Mr. Sullivan! What a surprise! We didn't know you were back! Did you and Mrs. Sullivan have a pleasant trip?"

"Ah, it was all a misunderstanding! Victor here simply failed to explain the situation clearly."

"In that case, hurry to welcome my dear niece Ivy back immediately! The company can’t run well without her!"

My father gave the groveling men a dismissive glance.

Then, he methodically slapped each one of them across the face.

He barked at them, "It seemed you had all grown senile! After decades by my side, you had forgotten who signed your paychecks?"

My father fired the lot of them on the spot. Victor was stripped of his acting CEO title.