Chapter 2 - The Corporate Confrontation
Three weeks passed. I moved straight from the hospital into Rachel’s guest house, refusing to step foot back into the mansion I had shared with Michael. With the help of a top-tier family attorney recommended by Rachel’s corporate contacts, I prepared my counterstrike. I wasn't just Michael’s wife; my family's initial investment was what had launched the Harrison Group a decade ago. Michael had forgotten that. It was time to remind him.
The day of the Harrison Group’s annual shareholders' meeting arrived. Michael believed I was hiding away, broken and crying. He had no idea I still held a fifteen-percent voting share in the company.
I walked into the glass-walled boardroom wearing a tailored emerald-green suit, my hair styled perfectly, and Maya asleep in a baby carrier strapped securely to Rachel's chest right behind me.
The room fell completely silent the moment the heavy doors swung open.
Michael was standing at the head of the table, projecting a slideshow. Amber Collins sat to his right, wearing a smug smile that instantly vanished the moment she saw me. Michael’s jaw dropped, his face draining of all color.
"Catherine?" Michael gasped, dropping his presentation remote. "What are you doing here? You should be resting. And why did you bring... why is the baby here?"
"I'm here to exercise my rights as a primary shareholder, Michael," I said smoothly, taking a seat at the opposite end of the long mahogany table. I looked directly at Amber, whose hands were visibly trembling as she tried to organize her papers. "And I brought Maya so she could see exactly how her mother takes back her life."
"Catherine, this is a highly sensitive corporate transition," Amber chimed in, trying to regain her footing, her voice laced with forced professionalism. "Unregistered guests aren't permitted in the boardroom during voting."
I turned my gaze to her, locking eyes until she looked away. "You must have mistaken me for someone who answers to you, Amber. Three weeks ago, you told me my life wasn't Michael’s responsibility. Today, I'm here to ensure that this company is no longer his responsibility either."
The board members began whispering frantically among themselves.
"What is the meaning of this?" the oldest board member, Mr. Vance, asked, looking between Michael and me.
"The meaning, Mr. Vance," I announced clearly, sliding a thick legal dossier into the center of the table, "is that Mr. Harrison has been using corporate funds to finance a personal apartment downtown registered under Ms. Collins' name. Furthermore, I am filing for divorce on the grounds of adultery and abandonment, and I am formally moving to vote for the immediate removal of Michael Harrison as CEO due to the misappropriation of company assets."
Michael slammed his hands on the table. "This is malicious slander! Catherine, you've lost your mind because of postpartum depression! You can't prove any of this!"
"Actually, she can," Rachel stepped forward, tossing a flash drive onto the table. "Inside you'll find every financial transaction, every hotel booking, and the full audio recording of the phone call from the night Catherine went into labor. The night the CEO of this company was occupied using corporate resources while ignoring his family's medical emergency."
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The board members rushed to grab the documents. Amber stood up, her face red with embarrassment. "Michael, do something!" she hissed.
But Michael couldn't do anything. He stared at me, seeing for the first time that the gentle, yielding woman he thought he could control was gone forever. In her place stood a mother protecting her child's future.
