Chapter 7: The Hostile Takeover
The next three days blurred together—fear, exhaustion, negotiations. Chloe remained unconscious, her body a warzone. I survived on bitter coffee and sandwiches Arthur ordered in.
Arthur transformed the ICU waiting room into a command center. Three laptops, two assistants, nonstop lawyers.
He fought two wars at once: Chloe’s life and his empire.
“Tell the board if they oust me, I’ll dump my stock,” Arthur shouted into his phone. “I’ll crash the price so hard they’ll beg for a bailout.”
He slammed the phone down, rubbing his temples. His beard was thick. He hadn’t slept.
“They’re moving,” he said. “James—the snake—is rallying votes. He’s calling me unstable. Using Sarah.”
“Can you go?” I asked.
Arthur glanced at the ICU door. “If I leave… and something happens…”
We both knew.
“I can go,” I said.
Arthur stared. “What?”
“I know numbers. Operations. And I know you. Give me a proxy.”
Arthur laughed bitterly. “You? Walk into a boardroom of sharks?”
“I have nothing to lose,” I said. “Let me tell them the truth.”
Arthur studied me, then nodded. He typed, signed, printed.
“Go,” he said. “Destroy them.”
I entered the boardroom at Sterling Tower. Twenty executives turned. James smirked.
“And who is this?” he asked. “Arthur’s new charity case?”
I stood.
“My name is David,” I said. “And I’m the father of the girl Arthur is saving.”
Silence.
“You think Arthur is weak because he’s grieving,” I continued. “But you’re staring at reports, not the future.”
I slammed the file down.
“The trial works. Her immune system is killing the cancer. This isn’t just saving my daughter—it’s a fifty-year monopoly in oncology.”
I locked eyes with James.
“If you remove him, you lose the vision that built this company.”
My phone buzzed.
Awake.
I smiled.
“Excuse me,” I said. “My daughter just woke up. And Arthur Sterling is the reason why.”
They didn’t remove him. The stock climbed.
