Chapter 2 - The True Chairwoman
Grant physically swayed, his arrogant posture collapsing. "Her... her gala?" he stammered, looking frantically between Julian and me. "Julian, there’s a misunderstanding. Elena is my wife. She doesn't have anything to do with the Veil Foundation."
"The only misunderstanding, Mr. Mercer," Julian said, his voice dropping to a terrifying, absolute calm that made the surrounding investors shrink back, "is your assumption that you built your company yourself."
Julian turned slightly, gesturing toward the massive gold-leafed crest above the ballroom stage.
"The Veil Foundation was established with the Whitmore endowment," Julian stated, his words carrying clearly across the dead-silent room. "Elena's mother funded it. And upon her passing, Elena became the silent, majority chairwoman of the board. Every grant your company has ever received, every municipal contract you secured through this foundation, was approved by the woman standing in front of you."
Celeste’s hand dropped from her stinging cheek. The triumphant smirk vanished, replaced by sheer, unadulterated panic as she finally understood whose emeralds she had stolen—and whose floor she was standing on.
May you like
"Elena?" Grant choked out, his face turning the color of wet ash. "You... you control Veil? But you never said anything! You just proofread my proposals!"
"I didn't proofread them, Grant," I corrected softly, slipping my mother’s emerald into my clutch. "I rewrote them. I made them viable. I built your scaffolding, and you used it to buy another woman a silver dress."
