CHAPTER 14
Everything Falls Apart
Josh
The fallout was immediate.
Marcus resigned within twenty-four hours. His resignation letter was professional, cold, and absolutely devastating. "I cannot in good conscience continue to support a CEO who prioritizes personal relationships over fiduciary responsibility."
The board called an emergency meeting at 2 PM. Josh attended via video call from the hotel suite.
"You withdrew a billion-dollar deal without consulting anyone," the chairwoman said coldly. "Explain."
"I made a personal decision," he said.
"The board is initiating a vote of no confidence. You have forty-eight hours to resign as CEO or be removed."
Josh nodded slowly. "I understand."
The call ended.
Josh sat in the silence of his suite and thought about what he'd just lost. Four point two billion dollars in market capitalization. Twenty years of work. His father's approval. Everything he'd built.
All of it gone. Because he chose differently.
He looked at his phone. No messages from Helen. He didn't expect any. She didn't need him. She'd never needed him. She'd been surviving just fine before he showed up.
But he wished she was here. Wishing she was holding his hand. Wishing she was looking at him like he was more than the sum of his failures.
Josh stood up and walked to the window. The Chicago skyline stretched out before him, indifferent to his collapse. The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink.
For the first time in his life, he had no idea what came next.
He thought about calling his father. But he knew what his father would say. "I told you so. You were always weak. You're not my son."
Josh didn't call.
He sat in the dark and watched the city lights flicker on, one by one, until the whole world was glowing.
And he was alone.