Chapter 9 - The Spider’s Web
Ethan and Agnes were dragged out of the building under the blinding glare of paparazzi flashbulbs. Footage of Ethan screaming obscenities as two uniformed officers pushed him into the back of a taxi was already going viral on TikTok and Twitter before the elevator doors even closed behind him.
Inside my office, I sank back into the leather armchair, closing my eyes.
A sharp, stabbing ache pulsed through my pelvic bone. I gripped the armrests, breathing through the sudden wave of pressure.
*Not yet, little one,* I thought, pressing my palm firmly against my stomach. *Just a little longer. Stay safe.*
The door clicked open, and Samuel walked in, holding a secure tablet. His expression was grimmer than usual.
"Elena, are you alright?" he asked, noticing the slight paleness in my cheeks.
"I'm fine," I lied, exhaling slowly until the contraction subsided. "Just Braxton Hicks. What did you find on Julian Ross?"
Samuel placed the tablet on my desk. On the screen was a detailed corporate flowchart showing Ross Capital’s recent acquisitions.
"It’s worse than we thought," Samuel explained, tapping the screen. "Julian Ross didn't just back Ethan financially. Over the last four months, while Ethan was systematically draining our liquid operational reserves, Ross Capital secretly bought up three of our key intermediate suppliers in Asia and Europe. They now control our entire microchip supply chain for the new medical tech division."
My eyes narrowed. The medical technology division was the crown jewel of Aurelia Group’s future—a revolutionary non-invasive fetal monitoring system that my father had patented before his death.
"Ross is preparing a hostile takeover bid," Samuel continued. "He’s calling for an emergency extraordinary shareholder meeting in three days. He claims that due to Ethan’s embezzlement scandal and your... 'compromised medical condition,' the current leadership is incapable of protecting shareholder value. He intends to force a vote of no confidence and propose a buyout at a forty-percent discount."
"A forty-percent discount?" A cold, dangerous smile curved on my lips. "Julian thinks because I’m eight months pregnant and dealing with a scandalous divorce, I will roll over and hand him my father’s life work?"
"He has already secured the backing of twenty-eight percent of the minority shareholders," Samuel warned. "If he flips the Henderson and Chen voting blocks—the directors you forced to resign yesterday—he will cross the fifty percent threshold."
"Then we make sure he never gets the chance," I said, standing up despite the dull ache in my back. "Call Victor Sterling."
Samuel looked at me in shock. "Victor Sterling? Elena, Sterling hasn't invested in a public firm in over a decade. He’s completely reclusive. He hated your father!"
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"He didn't hate my father," I corrected, walking over to the floor-to-ceiling glass window overlooking Central Park. "They were rivals who respected each other. And more importantly, Victor Sterling despises Julian Ross with every fiber of his being. Ross bankrupted Sterling’s younger brother ten years ago."
I turned back to Samuel, my eyes burning with lethal determination. "Set up a private meeting with Sterling tonight at eight. I don't care if I have to go into labor in his living room—I am going to cut the ground out from under Julian Ross before he even steps foot inside our boardroom."
