8. Chapter Eight #3
I refuse to be tied to a man who did so much damage.
A man who used greed and jealousy to take the things that never belonged to him.
Patrick raised me to believe my surname was something to be grateful for.
Now I understand it was never a gift. It was another thing he’d stolen.
The biggest burden I hadn’t known I’d carried.
My path was always destined to end at the Cardinals, but it feels tainted having been tied to him.
It should have remained in the Welsh family.
Just like my grandfather had desired. Standing here now, I can’t help but wonder how many times my grandfather walked these same corridors waiting for my father.
How many times he walked these corridors reliving the unimaginable.
Wondering if he’d find me. My small body.
But I was never gone.
And now he is.
Reclaiming the Cardinals is me taking it all back in the only way I know how.
The team will be inherited through blood, bearing the Welsh name, no matter the circumstances.
I won’t let it be sold off or stolen. Handed to men that only want to destroy.
For nearly three decades, this club had been owned by someone who saw it as a means to an end.
To hide in plain sight. A bargaining chip in case someone came knocking for answers.
Asking questions. A symbol of power. Never again.
The team was originally built on sacrifice, loyalty and family, and that’s exactly what it will return to.
On top of the concessions I requested, I had one a little bit smaller than that.
I wanted my purchasing of the team to remain quiet.
I wanted to make the announcement to my new employees myself.
Then eventually, the team. Or what’s left of them.
I’ll be sure to inform those who walked out when I did on the off chance they’d return.
I wouldn’t be upset if they didn’t. But they deserve to know all the same.
If they decided that distance would be easier than the impending scrutiny that will happen in the media, I’d understand.
They mourned the team they loved. They could see the downfall play out as I did, and they deserved safety.
For their careers and their families. They stuck by me, even the ones that remained and I want them to know that this time, I’m not going anywhere.
Things will be different this time.
Everything will be different this time.
I take a deep, steadying breath, pausing at the door to the conference room where the entire team and staff are waiting with Clive, who has been giving them all a speech, informing them of their new buyer.
The polished timber beneath my shoes creaks softly as I shift my weight.
The air smells faintly of sweat and something savory, masking the lingering bite of disinfectant.
It tugs at the memories I hadn’t realized I’d avoided.
Somewhere further down the hallway a phone rings before being silenced.
A photocopier hums to life. Beyond the heavy door, voices rise and fall in quiet speculation, followed by the scrape of chairs across the floor and the occasional nervous laugh.
I can picture every face waiting on the other side without even opening the door. The trainers. The analysts. The front office staff. The people who kept this place running long after I walked away.
The players…
My chest tightens and I can feel my blood pumping loudly in my ears.
I shouldn’t be nervous. The last time I introduced myself, I had wanted these people to believe I’d earned my place, just as those who came before me did.
To prove I was more than my designation.
And I am. It was the biggest moment in my career, however brief it may have been.
But I couldn’t have been more wrong. This time, everything is on my terms. No one is introducing me.
No one is handing me an opportunity they can take away again.
I am the one in control and fuckass Alphas aren’t going to stand in my way this time.
I spent years believing I needed to fight to belong inside these walls.
After all, I am a woman. An Omega. That was one of the reasons I pursued a career in law.
I could fight it out in a courtroom and force people who hid behind wealth, influence and carefully drafted contracts to answer for the damage they’d caused.
Justice wasn’t always guaranteed, but accountability was something I could fight for.
They had to respect me there otherwise they’d lose.
But now, I know the truth.
Some legacies are inherited.
Mine had to be reclaimed.
No matter how long the truth is buried, it has a way of demanding the light.
Today, it’s my turn.
I was never fighting for a place that wasn’t mine. I was fighting my way back to it.
Every rejection. Betrayal. Every sleepless night spent wondering whether I was good enough, whether I deserved to be here, whether I belonged inside this organization…
None of it was because I was an outsider trying to force myself in.
Patrick stole my childhood. Brett tried to steal my future.
But neither of them managed to steal who I was.
A Welsh.
The rightful owner of the Vadena Cardinals.
And today, everyone on the other side of this door is about to find that out.