Chapter 4 - The War for the EmpireI looked down at the tablet screen. The board members—men and women I had enriched over the last decade—were already receiving leaked press reports manufactured by my mother's public relations team.
“Billionaire Nathan Brooks Suffers Mental Collapse in Central Park; Threatens Family.”
"She's trying to lock you out before you can use your father's trust," Caroline realized, stepping up beside me, her eyes filled with cold realization.
"She thinks she can play chess with me," I said, a cold, ruthless smile touching my lips for the first time in hours. "She built me into the CEO I am today. She taught me how to destroy my corporate enemies. She forgot that I learned everything from her."
I turned to Dominic. "Call Arthur Vance, our chief legal counsel. Tell him to meet me in the hotel study in ten minutes. I want a full forensic audit of my mother's executive expense accounts over the last five years. I want every property transfer, every offshore trust, and every wire payment investigated."
"Already on it, sir," Dominic replied. "And what about the legal flag on Miss Miller's record? The corporate theft charge?"
"Clear it immediately," I commanded. "File a formal admission of corporate error from my personal office, assign a ten-million-dollar settlement fund to Caroline's name for damages, and issue an immediate arrest warrant for the executive administrator who signed the false report five years ago."
"Understood, Mr. Brooks."
Dominic bowed his head and left the suite.
I turned back to Caroline. She was watching me with a mix of awe and lingering pain.
"You don't have to fight this war, Caroline," I said gently. "You and the babies can stay here. I will secure your future, your housing, and your independence. You will never have to worry about a single dollar for the rest of your lives."
Caroline looked at the bedroom door where our three children were peacefully sleeping, then looked back at me.
"Five years ago, I ran away because I was alone," she said, her voice growing surprisingly strong, her eyes flashing with a fierce, motherly light. "I let your mother crush me because I had no power. But those three babies in that room deserve the truth. They deserve to know that their father didn't abandon them, and they deserve to take back what was stolen from them."
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She stepped closer to me, taking my hand in hers. Her touch sent a surge of electricity straight to my heart.
"I'm coming with you to that board meeting tomorrow, Nathan," she said firmly. "Together."
