Chapter 2 - Shadows of the Past
The private elevator ascended smoothly to the top floor of the Reed Tower. Sarah sat on the velvet sofa inside the penthouse, a warm mug of tea resting between her hands. She was wearing one of Alexander’s crisp white shirts and silk trousers—simple, clean, and safe.
Alexander stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out over the glittering city skyline. The storm outside lashed against the glass, matching the turbulent thoughts inside the room.
"Two years, Alexander," Sarah said breaking the heavy silence. "Two years I slept with your shirt under my pillow. Two years I went to the morgue to check unidentified bodies. Two years I let Mark take over the business because he convinced me he was carrying out your last wishes."
Alexander turned around slowly, his expression etched with profound guilt. He walked over and sat on the coffee table directly in front of her, placing his large hands over hers.
"The plane crash wasn't an accident, Sarah," Alexander revealed, his voice dropping low. "The engine failure was caused by a deliberate explosive charge planted in the landing gear."
Sarah gasped, her hands going cold. "What?"
"I survived because the pilot managed to water-land near a remote fishing island off the coast of the Philippines," Alexander explained. "I was in a coma for eight months in a small village clinic without records or technology. When I finally woke up, I had severe memory loss. It took me another year to piece together who I was, who had tried to kill me, and why."
"Who did it?" Sarah asked, her knuckles turning white.
"The sabotage came from inside Reed Enterprises," Alexander said grimly. "And Mark Thompson wasn't working alone. He was just the pawn placed next to you to keep you distracted, vulnerable, and penniless while the real mastermind liquidated my assets."
"Who is the mastermind?"
"My stepbrother, Julian," Alexander said, the name dripping with venom. "Julian hired Mark three months before my plane went down. Mark was instructed to target you, play the loyal friend, gain your trust while you were grieving, and slowly sign over the board voting rights to Julian’s shell company."
Sarah felt a cold chill run down her spine. The depth of the deception was horrifying. Every warm phrase Mark had spoken, every time he pretended to comfort her when she cried over Alexander, had been a calculated tactic to rob her of everything.
"Mark told me tonight that you were 'choosing' Lena," Sarah said, feeling a residual sting of the public embarrassment. "He wanted to destroy my spirit completely so I wouldn't fight back when they finalized the board takeover tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Alexander’s eyes flashed with a dangerous light. "Is the annual shareholder meeting tomorrow?"
"Yes," Sarah nodded. "Julian scheduled an emergency vote to strip me of the remaining founder shares. Mark was supposed to bring my signed surrender documents tonight. When I refused to sign them earlier today, he orchestrated that scene at the restaurant with Lena to break me publicly."
Alexander smiled—a sharp, lethal smile that sent a shiver through Sarah, but this time, it wasn't fear. It was anticipation.
"They thought they broke you," Alexander said, standing up and straightening his cuffs. "They thought they left you with nothing. But they forgot one crucial detail."
"What detail?"
"They forgot that as long as I am breathing, you are the most powerful woman in this country." Alexander held out his hand to her. "Tomorrow morning, Sarah, we don't just attend that shareholder meeting. We tear their kingdom down to the ground."
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Sarah looked at his outstretched hand. The timid, heartbroken woman who had been slapped in the restaurant was gone. In her place, a quiet fire began to burn. She reached out and placed her hand securely in his.
"Tell me what to do," Sarah said firmly.
