Chapter 9 - The Plea on the Floor
Two heavy-set security officers grabbed Claire by her elbows, dragging her screeching and kicking out of the boardroom while executive staff watched through the glass walls.
Once the doors slammed shut, the boardroom returned to a suffocating silence.
Richard Vance looked at his son, then slowly stood up. He walked over to Marcus, looked him in the eye, and slapped him hard across the face.
PAH!
The sharp crack echoed off the glass walls. Marcus stumbled back, clutching his reddened cheek, tears of shock filling his eyes.
"You destroyed fifty years of my hard work in one night," Richard said, his voice trembling with broken rage. "You threw away an empire because you couldn't keep your mouth shut for twelve hours."
Richard turned to Evelyn, sinking back into his chair, looking twenty years older. "Evelyn... please. I worked my whole life for this company. Don't destroy us."
Marcus fell to his knees beside Evelyn’s chair, grabbing the edge of the mahogany table, all his previous arrogance completely shattered.
"Evelyn, please!" Marcus sobbed, his voice cracking with desperate, pathetic panic. "I was wrong! I was arrogant! I was stupid! I'll do anything! We can make the marriage real! I'll cut Claire off completely! I'll publicly apologize to your family! Just please... don't take my company!"
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Evelyn looked down at Marcus kneeling at her feet. Her face remained an impenetrable mask of pure composure.
👉 Read PART 10 to see what secret evidence Evelyn was about to reveal next!
