My mother slapped me twice at my engagement party because I refused to hand over my $60,000 inheritance to my sister. Everyone witnessed her trying to humiliate me in front of the people I loved – but what she didn't know was that I had made a decision that would destroy the life she had built on controlling me. / Chapter 36 / 40

Chapter 36 - The Desperate Strike|

The boardroom erupted in panic. Board members scrambled out of their chairs, rushing toward the doors, but Silas’s men held the line, refusing to let anyone pass.

“Sit down!” Victor roared, holding the detonator high. The room fell into a terrified silence. He turned back to Natalie, his eyes filled with a psychotic glee. “Did you think you left your sister safely in a bunker? My men breached that bunker an hour ago.”

Natalie’s heart stopped. Her breath caught in her throat.

“I have men standing over Chloe right now,” Victor lied smoothly, hoping to break her. “You sign those shares back to me, you hand over the master key, or I make the call, and your sweet little sister dies.”

For a moment, the old, fearful Natalie threatened to surface. The urge to submit, to sacrifice everything to protect her family, clawed at her throat. But she looked at the scar on Victor’s face—the face of the monster who had murdered the only father she ever loved—and the fear vanished, replaced by cold calculation.

She remembered Ethan’s warning. He will use whatever leverage he can find.

Natalie didn't flinch. She reached into her blazer and pulled out her own phone. She dialed a number and put it on speaker, placing it right next to Victor’s legal binder on the table.

“Ethan,” Natalie said calmly into the phone. “Status report.”

“Bunker is secure, Boss,” Ethan’s voice rang out through the boardroom, raspy but strong. “Victor’s strike team is neutralized. We have them zip-tied in the garage. Chloe is painting in the living room.”