Chapter 16
The moment is finally here.
I stride through the gleaming lobby of Westbrook Industries” headquarters, my siblings J”Mario and Jalisa flanking me like loyal soldiers.
Winston”s arrogance permeates this space—the immense glass front, the gleaming marble, all meticulously crafted to overawe and dazzle.
It makes my skin crawl. But not for much longer.
My chest expands with each measured breath as we approach the reception desk. The petite blonde looks up, eyes widening at the intensity of my stare.
”We”re here to see Winston Westbrook,” I growl, voice a low rumble of menace.
She opens her mouth, no doubt to recite the usual script about scheduling appointments.
A pointed look from J”Mario silences her. ”He”ll want to see us. Trust me.”
The poor girl swallows hard and nods, fingers flying over her keyboard as she buzzes us through to the executive wing.
We cross the atrium in tense silence, the click of Jalisa”s stilettos the only sound. My jaw clenches as flashes of memory assail me--Mama”s anguished sobs, the day we shuttered Knights Brewery for good.
All because of that arrogant bastard.
My fists clench at my sides. Today, he”ll finally understand the bone-deep ache of having everything ripped away.
We reach the oversized oak doors to Winston”s corner office. I pause for the span of a heartbeat, steadying myself for the confrontation ahead. J”Mario shoots me a look, silently asking if I”m ready.
I give a curt nod and shove through the doors.
Winston sits behind his imposing mahogany desk, leaned back like he hasn”t got a care in the world. His gaze lifts, a single gray eyebrow rising in feigned astonishment.
”Well, well...if it isn”t the prodigal Knights brood.” That condescending smirk makes my skin prickle with rage. ”To what do I owe this unexpected visit?”
Beside me, J”Mario tenses--a coiled serpent ready to strike. Jalisa simply stares Winston down, dark eyes glittering with quiet intensity.
I hold up a hand, halting them both. This moment is mine.
Bracing my palms on the desk, I lean forward until I”m mere inches from Winston”s smug face.
”Cut the shit, old man. We both know why I”m here.”
His smile falters the first glimmer of unease flickering in those cold gray eyes.
Good. Let the bastard squirm.
”So you”ve finally grown a pair and decided to try your hand at retaliation?” Winston leans back with a bark of humorless laughter. ”You”re out of your league, boy.”
The words are meant to sting, to poke at the lingering insecurities of my youth. But I”m not that scared kid anymore, paralyzed by the weight of his family”s shattered dreams.
I”m the master of this game now.
A cruel smile twists my lips as I withdraw the thick manila envelope tucked beneath my arm. With a deft flick of my wrist, I send the contents spilling across Winston”s desk. A blizzard of documents and photographs, a veritable roadmap of his company”s most insidious misdeeds.
”I believe you”re familiar with these?”
His bravado crumbles in an instant as those beady eyes widen in recognition.
Pale fingers tremble as he rifles through the incriminating materials--bank statements, encrypted emails, surveillance images detailing every last sordid backroom deal, and unsavory alliances that span the country.
For a long beat, Winston stares in mute shock. When he finally meets my gaze, there”s an unfamiliar emotion flickering in those flinty depths.
Fear.
”Where did you get these?” Winston”s once-commanding baritone is a strangled rasp, the facade finally shattered.
Now it”s my turn to laugh. ”Did you really think your sins would stay buried forever, old man?”
Winston slumps back in his chair, the fight visibly draining from him. With each rattling inhale, I can practically see the gears turning in that devious mind of his, weighing every possible exit strategy.
But I”ve covered all the angles, sealed off every last escape route. This is the endgame, the moment I”ve been meticulously engineering for over a decade.
And he knows it.
”So what now?” The words are little more than a broken whisper. ”You plan to ruin me? Take everything I”ve built? Good luck.”
I slide my hands in my pocket. The picture perfect reflection of a man not bothered. But inside I”m struggling to hold my composure.
Blame the little boy that wanted his father, or the young man that waited for this moment. To finally stand face-to-face with the man who ruined my life.
I grit my teeth, refusing to let him get to me any more than he already has.
It won”t work. Not this time.
”That”s where you”re wrong.” I prowl around the side of the desk, closing the distance between us. Winston flinches as I loom over him, caging him with the solid weight of my presence. ”I”m not here to destroy you.”
His brow furrows, that fleeting glimmer of hope snuffed out in an instant.
”I”m taking over your entire operation.”
The blow lands with devastating precision, rocking him back in his seat.
Winston”s complexion goes ashen as the words sink in, that smug veneer shattering completely.
Sweet, blessed silence stretches between us, broken only by the occasional creak of leather as he sinks lower in his chair.
Winston opens his mouth, ready to protest or bargain or whatever last futile tactic his arrogance demands.
I hold up a hand, cutting him off with a look of pure, unbridled contempt. ”Save your breath, Winston. It”s over.”
He lets out a ragged exhale. In that moment, I can see every ounce of that unearned pride, that toxic swagger...leaching from his being.
The great Winston Westbrook has finally been humbled. And at long last, I feel the wounds of the past begin to scab over and heal.
”Why...” Winston croaks at last, his usually imperious tone reduced to a hoarse whisper. ”Why are harping on the past, Jermaine?”
I regard him through narrowed eyes, reveling in the naked vulnerability radiating off him in waves.
A mirror of my own shattered childhood, of those endless nights spent huddled with Mama and my siblings as our life was turned upside down, instigated by his actions.
Leaning in until I can smell the bitter tang of Winston”s fear, I growl, ”Because you deserve to feel the same agony you inflicted on my parents, you heartless son of a bitch.”
My chest heaves with the exertion of laying decades” worth of rage and torment at his feet. A muscle ticks in Winston”s ashen jaw, but he remains silent, stunned by the full force of my fury.
Straightening, I turn on my heel and stalk toward the door, J”Mario and Jalisa falling into step behind me. As we reach the threshold, I can”t resist one final, parting shot.
”Oh, and Winston?” I glance over my shoulder, holding that withered soul”s gaze with a cruel smile. ”This is only the beginning. You”re going to spend the rest of your miserable life atoning for your sins.”
With that vow hanging in the air, I push through the doors and into the hallway beyond, my chest expanding with each lungful of sweet, liberating oxygen.
It is done.
The plan has been executed to perfection. My family”s honor has been restored.
So why does this victory feel so..._hollow_?
The answer comes in a fleeting memory--the rich, intoxicating scent of Londyn”s skin, the warmth of her body pressed against mine as we moved together in the darkness.
My steps falter as a fresh surge of guilt washes over me, quickly smothered beneath the ruthless single-mindedness that”s driven me for over a decade.
No. I can”t afford doubts or second-guessing, not when everything is finally falling into place.
I exit Winston”s office, the heavy oak door slamming shut behind me. Jalisa and J”Mario flank me, their expressions grim.
”You good, little brother?” J”Mario”s deep voice rumbles with quiet concern.
I give a terse nod, jaw clenched. I can”t afford to dwell on Winston”s pathetic whimpering. Not when there”s so much still to do.
We stride down the marble hallway in tense silence.
Jalisa shoots me a sidelong glance, lips pursed. I know that look—she”s itching to voice her doubts about this whole damn operation.
Sure enough, she clears her throat. ”So...what”s next?”
My steps slow as I consider her question. Next is watching that arrogant prick squirm while I dismantle his empire piece by piece.
”We let him sweat it out for a few days,” I growl, nostrils flaring. ”Let the reality of his situation really sink in before we make our final move.”
J”Mario nods slowly, dark eyes assessing. Always the voice of pragmatic reason. ”You want him softened up before we go for the kill.”
The muscle in my jaw ticks at his choice of words. ”Something like that.”
Jalisa worries her lower lip, a familiar crease forming between her brows. ”You sure about dragging this out? That man”s a snake—he could try to retaliate while we”ve got him on the ropes.”
I bark out a humorless laugh, the sound harsh even to my own ears. ”Let him try. At this point, anything he does is just delaying the inevitable.”
The tense line of Jalisa shoulders softens fractionally. ”Just...don”t lose sight of the bigger picture here, Jermaine. This is about restoring our family”s legacy, not petty revenge.”
I bristle at the insinuation, ready to unleash the full force of my fury. But J”Mario”s steadying hand on my bicep stops me cold.
”Let”s take a walk, little brother,” he rumbles, already steering us toward the exit. ”Get some fresh air before we hash out next steps.”
Swallowing back the taste of rage, I give a curt nod and fall into step beside him. Jalisa trails a few paces behind, mercifully silent for once.
We emerge into the bright afternoon sunshine, the lush grounds of Westbrook Industries” headquarters stretching out before us. My shoulders loosen as I draw in a deep, grounding breath of fresh air.
J”Mario steers us toward a nearby courtyard, all manicured hedges and burbling fountains. The epitome of corporate opulence and excess.
Something inside me hardens at the sight. This entire gleaming complex is built on the shattered dreams of families like ours.
Sweat, tears, generations of hard work, and sacrifice were all devoured by Winston.
Well, not for much longer.
J”Mario settles onto a marble bench, his dark eyes boring into mine. ”Talk to me, Jermaine. What”s eating at you?”
I rake a hand over my cropped hair, buying a moment to collect my raging thoughts. ”It”s that smug son of a bitch, acting like he still holds all the cards.”
Jalisa”s face gives nothing away. But J”Mario...he just watches me steadily.
”Maybe it is a game to him,” he muses at last. ”Men like Winston have been playing with other people”s lives for so long, it”s all they know.”
I halt mid-stride, pinning him with a pointed stare. ”You think I don”t know that?”
J”Mario holds up a placating hand, his deep voice a steadying force against the raging storm inside me. ”I”m just saying...don”t let the bastard get in your head, little brother. You”ve already won this round, so don”t jeopardize everything by acting recklessly.”
His gaze bores into me, drilling the words home.
I exhale. As much as I hate to admit it, J”Mario”s right. ”You”re right. I can”t get sidetracked with his bullshit.”
We resume walking to the waiting SUV. ”We”ll hit him from all angles until he has no choice but to surrender the company.”
”And if he still refuses to go quietly?” Jalisa asks.
My lips twist into a cruel smile. ”Then we take the whole damn thing by force. Hostile takeover, leveraged buyout—whatever it takes to wrest control from his greedy fucking hands.”
She rolls her eyes, but doesn”t argue. Smart girl—she knows there”s no reasoning with me when I get like this. Not when I”m this close to victory.
J”Mario stops at the SUV and the driver opens the door. We all climb inside.
He resumes once the sound-proof partition is closed. ”You know the board”s gonna fight us tooth and nail if it comes to that. Even with the evidence we have, they”ll try to protect Winston”s interests.”
”Let them try. We both know that entire bloated bureaucracy is just as corrupt as their fearless leader.”
Jalisa snorts, a wry smile playing at the corners of her lips. ”That”s one way to put it. But I think those sniveling cowards will turn on Winston in a heartbeat if it means saving their own asses.”
I consider her words. If she”s confident the board is poised to abandon Winston, to let him twist in the wind...then it”s only a matter of time.
”Fine,” I growl at last. ”Then we let them come to us once the full scope of this shit-show sets in.”
J”Mario nods slowly, seeming to weigh my words. ”Just don”t lose sight of the bigger picture here, little brother. We want to acquire Westbrook”s assets, not scorch the entire damn earth.”
”Speak for yourself.”