Chapter 3

~Natalie~

I had no idea what I was about to face. It hasn't been up to 24 hours yet, my life has turned into a chaotic mess. Silently holding onto the hope that I might be able to convince the board—I have done so much for the company, there shouldn't be any doubt what I could pull off as the CEO. I kept telling myself that over and over again in my mind like a mantra that would give me strength, something to anchor me to the idea that all this wasn’t as hopeless as it looked from the outside. I knew the company inside out—I knew its heartbeat.

All I want to do is fix this. I had to become the woman my father, Leon Michael Banks, raised me to be—and not the girl I was last night, the girl who made a reckless decision and now stood in the eye of a storm she could not escape.

‘Just hold on, Dad!’ I will make it right!’ I said inwardly, forcing the words to steady my shaking hands.

My heels echoed against the marble tile as I strode into the boardroom, every step heavier than the last. The glass walls, once a symbol of transparency and power, now felt like a cage, a cruel exhibition box where I would be judged by people who probably never cared about me or what I had accomplished. And seated at the long round mahogany desk were old men, young men, and women in perfectly tailored suits; their cold, calculative eyes on me like I was some pathetic creature whose failures amused them.

Sebastian sat at the head of the table, a sly smug appearing on his lips as he leaned his back on the chair that rightfully belonged to my father. He was supposed to be my father’s best friend, only to turn out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a man so capable of deception that he could smile in my father’s face all these years while sharpening a knife behind his back.

For how long has he been a deceiver? How long had he been plotting this takeover?

I took the empty seat beside him, adjusting my blazers with trembling fingers. I told myself not to let them see how rattled I was. Not to let them see they’d already pushed me to the edge of despair.

“Now shall we begin! Miss Banks, you may update the board,” Sebastian said smoothly, which aggravated me so much I felt my teeth grind together. The way he acted as if he was doing me a favor by letting me speak in my own boardroom nearly broke my composure.

I wanted to smack him and drag him out of that seat, to scream at him that he was a traitor and a thief, but Freya had pleaded with me to keep things cool until I figured everything out, until I had something concrete I could use to fight back.

“We want to make things right, Natalie. Causing a scene would only worsen it,” she had warned me on the phone this morning, her voice tight with worry.

I clenched my fist at the side before standing up. “Despite the headlines,” I began to speak, carefully keeping my voice steady.

Eyes on the board members as they listened, some pretending to care while others looked as though they’d already made up their minds. “Sterling Group remains stable. We’ve launched internal damage control, cut unnecessary overhead, and retained key clients. We are not in a crisis—”

“We will be the judge of that,” Crane, one of the board members, interrupted. He didn’t even bother to hide his disdain. “Your reputation is a liability,” he added, and I held back the snort that threatened to fall out.

“Excuse me? A liability? It’s something that can be taken care of within minutes and that’s not an issue,” I countered, wishing they could hear the conviction in my voice and not the panic fluttering underneath.

“And what about the debt? How are you going to take care of it?” Donovan chimed in, his brows arching as if he was daring me to lie.

I exhaled sharply, “Give me a month and I will take care of it,” I proposed, my heart hammering as I imagined the headlines if I failed.

“A month and the whole company is nothing but dust. That’s a huge risk to take, Natalie, and how are we sure you would be able to pull that off? Through a loan?” he snorted, not even trying to disguise his contempt.

I clenched my teeth together, “That would buy us time,” I retorted, my voice shaking a little despite my efforts to sound composed.

A ripple of laughter traveled down the table, the kind of laughter that strips you bare in front of your enemies.

“You’re barely holding your name together, you think the bank is going to grant you a loan,” Sebastian mocked, his tone dripping with satisfaction.

“We have no idea if they will truly grant me a loan or not, unless I try,” I stated, though inside I knew he might be right. But I couldn’t admit that.

“The only option is for you to marry my son, which you rejected, and to do that you have to appease me, Natalie,” That brute of a man insisted, which got me boiling, my blood screaming in my veins.

“Me, beg you? For a company that is rightfully mine! My father built it from scratch. You all sat here year after year while I studied balance sheets in his office. I have fought for every deal, every partnership, and every late-night phone call while you vacationed. Don’t you dare reduce me to nothing!” I spat the words before I could stop myself.

The board remained silent. Dismissed, I stormed out of the room with my jaw clenched and vision blurry. My hands were shaking as I pushed the heavy doors open, a rush of shame and rage nearly making me stumble.