Stretcher 6

Chapter 6

“Or maybe you were just HOPING I’d die?

“Because once I was gone, all those shares Mom left me–all that money–would fall right into your lap. And hers.”

1 gestured toward Jade.

“Isn’t that right, Dad?”

Every word I spoke hit him like a blade to the chest.

Dad completely crumbled. He sank to his knees, face drained of all color, muttering under his breath.

“No… I didn’t… I never…”

Meanwhile, Jade–after the initial shock wore off–had regained her composure.

“So what, Vivian? You made it back. Good for you.”

Her voice dripped with condescension.

“You think some sketchy audio clip and a grainy video are gonna take us down? Dad’s the CEO. I’m his favorite daughter. And you?”

She laughed coldly. “You’re the black sheep who’s done nothing but fight him for YEARS. Who do you think the board’s gonna believe?”

She wasn’t wrong.

Dad had spent decades building his empire at Montgomery Group. His influence ran deep.

Meanwhile, I’d been written off as the rebellious, grief–stricken daughter who couldn’t get her act together. I had zero pull in the company.

If Dad denied everything, these recordings alone wouldn’t be enough to destroy him.

But Jade made one critical mistake.

I never planned on playing the corporate politics game.

“You’re forgetting something, sis.”

I smiled at her–slow and sharp.

“I’m a Montgomery. But my MOTHER? She was a HART.”

Jade’s face went slack.

“You know–the family that founded Hart Industries? The one Montgomery Group absorbed years ago? The one that STILL holds thirty percent of the original shares?”

Her expression finally cracked.

Hart Industries was my grandfather’s life’s work.

When my mother married Dad, the two companies merged.

But Mom was smart. She kept a safety net.

She retained thirty percent of the company’s founding shares under her personal name.

And when she died? Those shares transferred directly to ME.

Chapter 6 This update is available on finḑnovel.net

For years, Dad had been trying to get me to sign them over. I never did.

THAT’S why our relationship went to hell.

He thought I was just some naive little girl sitting on a goldmine I didn’t know how to use.

What he didn’t know?

Mom had spent years teaching me EXACTLY how to wield power.

I’d just been playing dumb this whole time.

“What… what are you planning to do?”

Jade’s voice wavered now. The confidence was gone.

“Nothing crazy.”

I pulled out my phone, dialed Uncle Chen, and put it on speaker.

“Uncle Chen. We’re good to go.”

His calm, authoritative voice filled the room.

“Understood, Miss Montgomery. The joint statement from Hart Industries‘ original shareholders will go live across all major financial platforms in five

minutes.”

“WHAT statement?!”

Jade screamed at me.

I ignored her and turned to address the reporters instead, speaking slowly and clearly.

“A statement announcing that I–Vivian Montgomery–as the largest individual shareholder of Hart Industries, along with several other founding stakeholders, am formally demanding the withdrawal of ALL Hart assets from Montgomery Group.”

I paused for effect.

“Oh, and we’re also calling for an independent financial audit of Montgomery Group’s operations over the past decade.”

“Withdrawal?!”

“An AUDIT?!”

Gasps echoed through the room.

Montgomery Group’s current size and success? Built almost entirely on the assets absorbed from Hart Industries all those years ago.

If those shares got pulled?

The whole empire would collapse like a house of cards.

And an audit? For a company this size?

There was NO way their books were clean. Once investigators started digging, Dad wouldn’t just lose his company.

He’d lose his FREEDOM.

“You wouldn’t DARE!”

Jade was shaking with rage now, glaring at me like she wanted to claw my eyes out.

I smiled sweetly.

“Watch me.”

Dad looked like all the air had been sucked out of him. He slumped forward, unable even to form words anymore.

When he finally looked up at me, his eyes were filled with pure terror and despair.

He finally understood.

The daughter he raised wasn’t a docile little lamb,

She was a wolf.

And she had TEETH.

Sara Lili

Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.