Chapter 39 #2
The room falls silent. He narrows his eyes on me. “You want to explain why you’re throwing away millions? Why you’re sabotaging a deal the entire board agreed to?”
“Because.” I hold his stare, unblinking. “Some things are worth more than profit.”
His expression barely shifts, but it’s enough.
“You have no say here. It’s my asset to do as I wish. These are my wishes.”
“With all due respect,” Matthew Bilson begins, his finger tapping on the table, “you explicitly said you’d be sharing this asset with the company. You sold us the idea. Not to mention the prospects of securing real estate on Park Avenue and taking this company into another area of expertise.”
I look him square in the eye, ready with an answer. “I did promise those things, but as we know, deals sometimes fall through. This is one of them.”
“It can’t be as simple as that.” His nostrils flare. “Many of us had hopes in this new venture.”
They all nod their agreement.
“Do you think you can make me change my mind?” I challenge, raising my brows.
“I’m sure we could do something.”
“Try it, and I’m gone.”
The ripple of shock cascades around the room again, louder this time.
That threat was the ace up my sleeve. A test of my worth. People say you should never make the mistake of thinking you’re irreplaceable. I never have. But I am irreplaceable.
I just never owned it. Until now.
Regardless of the scandal, I’ve more than made up for my mistakes and salvaged my name. My father may have put the Global in the company name, but I secured it. No one has been able to do the things I’ve done. And they all know it.
“Knox, let’s not venture down those paths,” Dad says, looking panicked. “Leaving this company shouldn’t even be an option in your mind.”
“I will if I must.” I’ll do it for her. For Isla. The more I speak, the more I realize how wrong I was to put her through this shit.
“Would this by any chance have anything to do with your wife?” Lila asks, staring down at me over her bone-rimmed glasses. “We assume she didn’t know about the demolition plans until the press leak.”
“That is correct.”
“But you married the girl for this very reason. That was the plan. If she has a problem with it now, it’s tough.”
I glance at my father and hope he can see what I’m seeing, what we’ve always seen.
Too much power in the hands of the wrong people. Dorian said it best months ago. Our father allows the board far too much authority.
I’ve always understood the value they bring to the empire, but there has to be a line. And I’m done letting them blur it.
I look away from him and back at Lila. It’s time to shut this down and put her and those against me in their places.
“First of all, we’re Vale Global, and I am Knox Vale.
We can find property elsewhere. It may not be prime location on Park Avenue yet, but we can do it.
There’s so much we can do. There’s so much I can do.
Second, you will respect my wife.” The cutting stare I give Lila is enough to redden her face and widen her eyes with fear.
“Don’t you ever fucking dare tell me that if she has a problem with something, it’s tough. Do that again, and you’re gone.”
My threats are not empty. Everyone with the surname of Vale in here has more voting rights than the rest of them.
That’s how my grandfather set things up.
As the eldest, I have nearly as much as my father, and I know my brothers would instantly have my back.
It wouldn’t even matter if my father did or not.
Lila stiffens, her breath catching. “Apologies.”
“Yeah. I think so. And we’re done here.”
Lila lowers her gaze, and the rest of the board follows her lead, shrinking under the weight of my authority. The silence is thick, charged, almost reverent.
For once, they finally understand who’s in control here. Even my brothers look like they have a newfound respect for me.
And finally, I understand it too.
I stand, smoothing a hand down the front of my suit.
“From this point on, the restaurant is off the table. The demolition is off the table. Any proposals related to that property are off the fucking table. If there are further discussions or objections, come and see me. But I suggest you save your breath.”
My father watches me with something I can’t quite decipher—part pride, part disbelief, part fear that I’ve evolved into a version of myself he can’t manage anymore.
Good.
I’ve spent years letting people dictate what I owed them, what I needed to fix, what I needed to prove. That ends now.
No one says a word as I walk out.
Not one person dares.
And for the first time in a long damn time, I feel the power settle back where it belongs.
In my hands.
I loosen my tie when I step into the hallway. I’m going to find Isla and fix everything between us.
Yesterday, I joked with her when she said the job was the best thing that happened to her.
The truth is: she is my something good. She is the best thing that ever happened to me. None of this wealth and power means anything if I don’t have her.
I’d go through all of this—every single part of it—again and again and again if I knew I’d have her.
She needs to know that.
“Knox.” My father’s voice stops me when I turn the corner.
I face him, knowing he’s disappointed.
“Just a word,” he says when he catches up to me.
“Sure.”
“You okay?” He looks me over from head to toe.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Just want to make sure you’re not walking out for good.” A small smile cracks the corner of his mouth.
“I’m not.”
“Great, because I would hate that to happen. I don’t want to even discuss such a thing with you.” He shakes his head.
“That’s good to hear.” I sigh and set my shoulders back. “Dad, I’m sorry about the restaurant. I know I sold the idea to you more than anyone. But I can’t do it. If that means you choose Dorian to take over from you when you head off next year, I accept that. He’d make a fine CEO.”
His smile widens. “One thing I love about you and your brothers is you’ve never been in competition with each other.
You work together as a unit. That’s priceless.
Dorian and I have our own problems, and I don’t doubt that he’d make one of the best CEOs the company has ever had, but that’s always been your job. ”
The tightness inside my chest loosens somewhat. One less burden to worry about. “That means a lot to me, Dad.”
“I wanted to settle that before you left. It’s my fault you had to do so much to prove yourself. You’ve more than done enough; I just thought this one last thing would seal the deal. It shouldn’t have come to this, where I presume it’s caused a wedge between you and Isla.”
“Yeah. It has. I know it was supposed to be a contract, but I… fell for her.”
He places a hand on my arm. “Let me tell you a secret.”
“What?”
“I knew this would happen.” He winks at me.
I give him a narrowed stare. “You knew?”
“I mean, I still thought the plans for the restaurant would go through, but I suspected you had feelings for her, and I was right.”
“How did you know?”
“It was the way you looked when you spoke about her, son. And when I first saw you two together, pretending to pretend, I knew it was no pretense. I was just waiting for you to realize it yourself.”
My lips part. I’m stunned, and I don’t know what to say.
“Go fix it,” he urges.
I smile. “I’ll fix it.”
He nods and heads back down the hallway.
I continue on, feeling lighter and more hopeful than I have in months. All I need to do now is get my wife back.
My phone rings when I get outside the building. I pull it from my pocket.
It’s Mia. She’s never called me before. I only gave her this number for emergencies.
I answer immediately. “Mia.” Her name rushes out of me.
“Knox, I’m sorry to trouble you.” The moment I hear the tremor in her voice, something primal snaps to attention inside me. “I know you and Isla are going through some stuff right now, but I need your help.”
My chest becomes a bottomless pit. Something’s wrong. “What happened?”
“It’s Isla’s mom,” Mia says quickly. “She collapsed yesterday. The doctors had to bring her back. She’s in a coma.”
“What!” Every muscle in my body goes tight.
“They’re running tests, but… Knox, they’re talking about surgery. Isla’s alone at the hospital. I’m in St. Lucia. I’ve been trying to get a flight back, but it’s gonna be awhile. She needs you.”
“I’m on my way.”