Novels by Lady D

The Lawson Tower — Gala Night.The expensive looking black limousine stopped to a halt at the entrance of the hall, as its polished surface reflects the lights of the Lawson Tower. Through the tinted window, Mike saw a sea of reporters and photographers, flashing their cameras like lightning strikes, as they all spoke excitedly, hoping to be the one to go first.And then suddenly, a sharp memory flashed through his mind.He was twenty six. The moon was shining. He had just secured the Lockwood contract, which was the biggest in Bio-Tech’s history last year. His heart was hammering against his ribs, not from the climbing of the corporate headquarters steps, but from hope. Today was the day, Stewart would finally name him partner. He would take his father’s vacant chair as co - CEO of Bio-Tech group. The reporters had crowded him then, too. “Mike! Is it true you have just closed the Lockwood contract?”“Are you being promoted?”“How does it feel to be Stewart’s golden boy?”He had sm

Austra Headquarters - Conference Room. Mike was poring over the guest list for the gala when the static letters appeared in his vision, las a cold reminder of the unfinished buisness. [Austra Wealth System…] [Host: Mike Robinson..] [Primary Task: Acquire 15% controlling stake in Bio-Tech - PROGRESS: 1%] [Time frame: 28 Days Remaining.] [WARNING: Impending Hostile Action Detected. Nature: Unspecified. Threat Level: Elevated. Maintain Defensive Protocols.] Unspecified. The word was a crack in his mind. It was not danger or Buisness. It was something else, something the system could not or would not identify. Cartier’s voice seeped into his subconscious. “Sir, Mr Croft has arrived. He is in the main conference room with Mr Ginger, Mr Austin and Mr. Liam.” Mike stood and smoothened his tie. “Let us not keep our new friend waiting.” In the conference room, Alistair Croft, a man whose posture screamed of betrayal, was nervously accepting a glass of water from an

Bio - Tech Headquarters - Stewart’s office.The door to Charles Stewart’s office slammed shut with a huge force that rattled the windows. Stewart stormed across the room, with pure rage etched on his face. With a swing, he swiped a bottle of wine and two glasses off his desk, sending them shattering against the wall.“That fool! That back side peasant! How dare he speak to me like that in front of Gregory Lawson!” he roared with fury.Simeon stood by the door, with his hands fisted in anger. “And Lawson…his arrogance is beyond belief. Talking about Lillian as if she were…” he paused and forced his voice to be calm, even though it shook with rage. “The problem is Ginger. We almost had Robinson with the SEC. We were inches from putting the federal chain around his neck. Ginger is the shield. Before we can land a blow on Mike, Ginger has to be removed.”Stewart stopped his pacing and breathed heavily. He shook his head in a grim, defeated gesture. “You don’t get it, Simeon. Arthur Ginger

Austra Headquarters —Mike’s Office.Mike’s phone buzzed on his desk with Gregory Lawson’s name flashing on the screen. A wide grin spread across Mike’s face as he answered and placed it on speaker.“Gregory. Tell me you are calling with good news about our digital ghost.”Gregory’s rich laugh boomed through the office. “Patience, Mike. Even ghosts take time to materialize. I am on it. No, I am calling because I just had the most entertaining meeting of my entire career.”“Oh?” Mike leaned back and propped his feet on his desk. “Do tell.”“You will not believe who just showed up at Arthur Ginger’s office, with tails between their legs, begging for an audience.”Mike’s smile widened. “No.”“Yes,” Gregory confirmed with glee. “Charles Stewart and his attack dog, Simeon. I wish you could have seen it, Mike. The sheer, unadulterated desperation. Stewart actually tried to pitch an alliance. ‘For old times’ sake.’”Mike burst out laughing. “He did not! What did Ginger say?”“He gave him ten

Sawdust Industries - Arthur Ginger’s Office.The reception area of Sawdust Industries was going according to its name…rustic, solid and functional, with the rich scent of polished wood and parchment hanging in the air. It was a stark contrast to the cold glass and steel of Bio- tech or Austra.Charles Stewart stood there impatiently, feeling every ounce of that contrast, every second of the humiliating silence as the receptionist made them wait. Simeon stood beside him, like a statue with tension and worry etched on his face.Finally, the woman nodded. “Mr. Ginger will see you now.”Ginger’s office was an enormous space adorned with bookshelves of rare timber and framed blueprints of historical buildings. But Stewart’s eyes weren’t on the decorations. They were locked on the two men seated in the deep leather armchairs opposite Ginger’s desk.Arthur Ginger sat behind the desk, like a king in a throne room. And lounging casually in one of the chairs, swirling a glass of bourbon, was Gr

Austra Headquarters - Executive Conference Room.The mood in Austra’s conference room was a huge contrast from the funeral atmosphere at Bio-tech. Sunlight streamed through the floor to ceiling windows, shining on a table where Mike, Mr Austin, Mr Liam and a few other core investors sat, not in crisis, but in confident anticipation.“The momentum is undeniable,” Mr Liam was saying, with a satisfied smile on his face. “Every headline, every ticker symbol, is telling the same story…Austra is the future. Bio-tech is the past.”Mr Austin nodded. “The past has a nasty habit of fighting back, Liam. We have all seen it before. Stewart won’t go quietly, you know that.”Mike leaned back in his chair and folded his fingers together. “He does not have to go quietly. He just has to go.”The door to the conference room burst open and Carter stood there, breathless with a tablet clutched in his hand. His usual happy composure was shattered and it’s being replaced by pure unadulterated shock.“Sir,”

Jace’s voice was a calm, authoritative buzz in the spacious office, as he addressed his international investors through the huge monitor. “The dip was always anticipated, gentlemen. It is a market correction, not a crisis. We are using it to secure our position. The panic sellers are simply finding our future acquisitions.”Suddenly, the door to his office swung open without a knock, and Marcus Foster stood there, with a feigned concern on his face.Jace did not flinch. He simply held up a single finger to his cousin, with his eyes fixed firmly on the screen. “If you will excuse me for one moment. The market in Tokyo seems to require my immediate attention.” He muted the call and said calmly, “This is a private conference, Marcus. It had better be urgent.”Marcus strolled in as if he owned the place, which Jace knew, was his intention. “Cousin. I am just checking in. We never finished our conversation about that…unfortunate leak. The board is restless. I am restless. I want to help. H

The sad gloom of the Whitman mansion’s drawing room was interrupted as Ethan Montgomery bursted through the doors, with triumph boldly etched on his face, so unlike his normal expression. He looked like a man who had just stumbled upon a well in a desert.“I found it! I found him!” He announced happily and threw a thick wad of document on the oak coffee table which scattered a few art magazines. “Giovanni ‘Gio’ Chan. A titan in Milan. Private companies, manufacturing, and a growing interest in cutting edge with medical tech. He is interested!”Stella, who had been staring wishfully into the fireplace, sprang to her feet, with her eyes bright with hope. “Ethan! Are you serious?”Finn Whitman, as the cautious brother, remain seated and folded his fingers together. “Interested is a long way from invested, Montgomery. What are the terms? What does he want?”“The terms are what we are to negotiate,” Ethan said as he paced with a restless energy. “But he is agreed to a meeting! This weekend

The luxury mall was a sanctuary of noise and chaos. Jace felt anonymous, in his simple outfit, like a ghost observing the world that had once rejected him. But the peace he felt was interrupted by a familiar, high pitched scream.“DADDY!”A small force of energy slammed into Jace’s legs and wrapped his tiny arms around him. Jace looked down in shock and saw the smiling face of Liam, the little boy he had loved as his own for six years. Before he could organize his emotions, Stella suddenly appeared beside him, with an expression of revulsion etched on her face and dragged Liam away from him forcefully.“Liam! Don’t you ever touch that!” She snarled, and shoved the little boy behind her. Liam scrunched his face in pain, with tears welling up in his eyes.Jace looked at her calmly and said, “He was just saying hello, Stella. No harm done.”“Hello?” She spat at him furiously, which drew the attention of nearby shoppers. “He has nothing to say to a man who sleeps in gutters. Look at you.

The Montgomery Medical boardroom was like a war zone. The long, polished table was like a battlefield, and Ethan and his father, Charles, were surrounded on all sides.“Sign over our remaining shares for a dollar?” Mr Albright roared, his face purple with fury. “It is not a negotiation, it is a execution! You have led us to our own slaughter, Charles!”“We had no choice!” Charles Montgomery shot back with hands trembling on the table. “The clinical trial data…if that gets out—”“You were the ones who buried it!” A mousy faced woman, Director Ivey, shouted and slammed her hands down on the table. “Your negligence, your secret, and now we are all paying the price with our livelihoods? The company has been brought to its knees by your family’s incompetence!”Ethan tried to regain control and raised his voice through the chatter. “We are not here to reminisce the past! We are here to decide on a path forward. This offer, however insulting, is the only one on the table.”“The only one from

Jace listened to Mila’s narration of the dinner, with a blank expression on his face. When she finished, he did not rage or celebrate. “A private meeting,” he snickered as he swirled the scotch in his glass. “They are that desperate.”“They are terrified,” Mila corrected with her arms crossed. “Stella offered me a million dollars in cash. Ethan looked like he was going to be sick. They are drowning, and they think you are the only one who can hand them lifeline.”“Oh, I will throw them a line,” Jace said, his voice turning to deadly whisper. “I will just make sure it is attached to an anchor.” He turned to Reynolds. “Set it up.”Reynolds didn’t shake. “Parameters, sir?”“Anonymous. Neutral ground. A private room at the Oak Room, tomorrow night at nine. Tell them the CEO will meet with Ethan Montgomery alone. No lawyers. No Stella. Especially no Stella. If he brings so much as a bodyguard, the meeting is over before it begins.”Mila frowned. “You are actually going to meet him?”“No,”

The Withman dining hall was like a stage, and every plate setting was like a prop. Stella, dressed in navy blue silk, played the gracious hostess, while Ethan, pale and tense, looked like a man waiting for his execution.“Mila, darling, I am so glad you came,” Stella purred as she topped up Mila’s wine glass with a vintage bottle that cost more than a car. “We simply had to clear the air after that….unfortunate misunderstanding at the penthouse.”Mila offered a thin, professional smile. “There’s nothing to clear, Stella. It was a Buisness dinner that ended abruptly. These things happen.”Ethan cleared his throat and traced his fingers nervously on the stem of his glass. “I owe you an apology, Mila. My behavior was….ungentlemanly. The pressure of the merger, the postponement…” He let the sentence hang like a pathetic plea for sympathy.“The pressure is understandable,” Mila said as she kept her tone neutral, without giving nothing away. She took a small, deliberate bite of her chocolat

The Lockwood penthouse was a sanctuary of coldness and modern art that cost more than most homes. It was a place designed to impress, not to welcome. Mason Lockwood, the king of this strange kingdom, lounged on a white sofa that looked like a sculpted figure, with a glass of whiskey in his hand.Sitting beside him was Peter, a man just like him, cut from the same cloth, expensive, sharp and rough around the edges, and they were laughing about the past.“….so the entire Carlisle fortune, three generations of old money, evaporated in six months,” Mason said with a smirk on lips. Peter shook his head and chuckled. “I still can not believe Eleanor fell for it. You practically led her to the cliff and told her it was a shortcut to paradise.”“Fell for it? Peter, you hurt me,” Mason replied as he feigned offense. “I presented a stellar opportunity. The ‘Nova-World’ resort development on the Bahamas was a sure thing. On paper.” He took a sip from his whiskey and savored the taste. “She was

The door to Doctor Alice’s office flew open with so much force that made the door hinges rattle. Dante stood in the doorway, with his tie out of place and his tailored suit jacket rumpled as if he had wrestled his way through the hospital corridors. His chest heaved with ragged breath as he tried to steady his composure.“Alice. Eva called. What happened?” he demanded with a growl.Dr. Alice looked up from her desk with stress written boldly on her face, and said dispiritedly, “Dante, sit down. Let me—”But he had already turned and hurried down the corridor. “I need to see Daisy first.”And he was gone before she could form another sentence. In no time, he was already at his daughter’s ward and he entered without a sound, his frantic energy disappearing the moment his eyes found her.Daisy was awake, and turned her small head towards the door as if she had been waiting. Nurse Eva stood quietly by the pod, and offered Dante a small, reassuring nod.“Daddy!” Daisy’s voice was thin thre

The boardroom of Vertex Pharmaceuticals was a sanctuary of power and polished mahogany table and floors. A huge wall of glass offered a magnificent view of the city, but the twelve men and women seated around the table held all the gravity in the room. Dante sat at the end of the table in the midsts of expensive tailored suits and calculating eyes. “The proposal is straightforward, Dr. Vance,” said a silver haired woman, Ms. Croft, the Chairperson. “The ‘Ringdom” project. It is the next evolutionary step in neural regeneration. We want you to lead it. Your work on Luxempin proves you are the only one who can.”All eyes were on Dante. He folded his fingers with an unreadable expression on his face. “I am deeply honored. However, I must decline. But I will recommend Dr. Ben Sharma. His work on the Luxempin delivery systems was brilliant. He is more than capable.”The room fell silent instantly. Then, a man with a sharp goatee, Mr Sterling, leaned forward. “Decline? Dante, we have react

The hushed silence of the ward was broken only by the soft, mechanical hiss of the medical pod, and Clara stood before it, with her arms crossed tightly over her chest and her perfectly sculpted brows raised high in confusion. She watched Daisy sleep, watched the child’s fragile form being a huge contrast to the cold, buzzing technology that covered her. It was a picture of motherly observation, yet it lacked warmth, it was more as an assessment than a vigil.Suddenly, her phone rang loudly, which shattered the quiet atmosphere. Cursing under her breath, Clara fumbled in her leather handbag frantically until she silenced the device.But the damage was done.Inside the pod, Daisy’s eyelid fluttered. She blinked slowly with her gaze unfocused before it landed on the figure standing over her. Then a wave of surprise and pure, unadulterated joy, washed over her pale features.“Mummy?” She whispered weakly.Clara managed a stiff smile and slid the phone back into her bag. “Daisy. You are a

Dante stood in the silent ward, in the crisp, unfamiliar fabric of his suit a clear contrast to the soft, clean environment. He had dropped his unusual casual wear for a tailored dark grey suit, which was a uniform for the war he was about to re-enter. He watched Daisy’s chest rise and fall within the pod, sleeping so fragile in the peace he hates to disturb.A soft knock sounded at the door and Nurse Eva peeked in. “Mr. Vance? There is a gentleman in the lobby asking for you. He says he is from your work.”Dante did not turn, with his gaze still fixed on his daughter, he said quietly, “Send him up, please, Eva.”A few minutes later, another knock, firmer this time. A young man with an eager, intelligent face entered, he widened his eyes slightly at the sight of the medical pod before turning to look at Dante with a profound respect.“Dr. Vance? I am Liam, from the R &D division. Sir, the company car is waiting downstairs whenever you are ready.”Dante finally turned his head with a b

Dante sat in a secluded quiet corner of the hospital lobby as his body still buzzed with fury. He stared, without seeing, at the bustling entrance where his life had been dumped in cardboard boxes just days ago. The confrontation with Clara and Mason played repeatedly in his mind, with each of Clara’s words a fresh lash of whip, and each of Mason’s smirk a deeper poison.The gentle tap of heels on polished floor made him flinch and he looked up to see Dr. Alice approaching, with her flowing white coat, which was a stark contrast to the dark turmoil he felt. He moved to stand instinctively, which was a reflexive courtesy.“No, don’t get up.” She said and waved a hand before taking the seat opposite him, with her eyes filled with concern. “I have been looking for you.”Dante managed to smile weakly. “Is there a problem? Is it Daisy?”“Daisy is stable. This is about you,” she said, getting straight to the point. “Back there, on the hallway…you cut me off. You did not want me to tell them