CHAPTER 13
The Truth Comes Out
Helen
Helen didn't sleep either.
She spent the night on the phone with Richard, with her lawyers, with anyone who could help her stop the takeover. But it was too late. The votes were locked. Josh Baylor had already won.
By 8 AM, she was exhausted, defeated, and absolutely furious.
She stood in front of her bathroom mirror, staring at her reflection. Dark circles under her eyes. Hair a mess. She looked like someone who had lost.
Because she had.
She walked down to the lobby. The morning crowd was already moving — businessmen with briefcases, families checking out, staff preparing for the day. None of them knew that in one hour, this place would belong to someone else.
She saw Josh standing by the front desk. He looked terrible. Dark circles under his eyes — worse than hers.
He saw her. Walked toward her.
"Don't," she said.
"I have to tell you something."
"I don't want to hear it."
"I'm stopping the deal."
Helen froze. The world stopped. The sounds faded.
"What?"
"The tender offer. I'm not launching it."
Helen stared at him.
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"This is a trick."
Josh shook his head. "It's not."
"Then why?"
He looked at her. And for the first time, she saw something in his eyes that wasn't calculation or control. It was vulnerability.
"Because I'd rather lose everything I built than spend my life knowing I destroyed the only person who ever made me feel like I wasn't empty."
Helen's throat tightened. Tears burned behind her eyes.
"That's not an answer," she whispered.
"It's the only one I have."
She wanted to believe him. God, she wanted to believe him. But she'd been lied to before.
"You have a lot to prove," she said finally.
"I know."
"And I don't forgive you."
"I know that too."
"But I'm not throwing you out. Yet."
Josh nodded slowly.
"Thank you," he said.
Helen turned and walked away. She didn't look back. Because if she looked back, she might cry.