Calvin's Industry

Chapter 5: War Is Declared.

Everyone else in the room gasped. The collective sound was so loud that it could be heard in the hallway.

Ronald's pen fell to the floor, and Stephanie's coffee cup rattled against its saucer. Abigail looked shocked but not too surprised.

She noticed this as she angrily stared at her stepdaughter. Something about Abigail's face suggested she'd known this was coming for a long time but said nothing.

"You all heard me correctly," Calvin said with a bolder and more confident tone.

"I'm leaving this company today. I'm starting my own label."

Calvin faced Nathan once again.

"I'm going to show you how to run a music business the right way. It will be just me, my agent, and my artists. There will be no army of uninspired writers or corporate handlers destroying ambition and creativity."

He dropped the grape-flavored candy on the table for Nathan before quickly picking up his briefcase, ready to leave.

"I'll teach you what real leadership looks like, and it will be much better than everything you've managed to accomplish in twenty years. So watch and learn, Mr. Harrington," Calvin said before briefly addressing everyone in the room.

"Good day, everyone."

And with that said, he walked toward the door. Hidden in the briefcase were unsigned contracts with three of Nathan's biggest stars printed on them.

The names were Jason McCallister, Gabriella Santos, and Marcus Thorne. These were the same artists that Nathan had dismissed as problems, and soon they would be Calvin's secret weapons against him.

He lost it at this point. Everyone in the room could see the veins bulging from Nathan's forehead like twisted ropes.

"Now listen to me, you pathetic excuse for a man! If you walk out that door, I will see to it that you never succeed in anything. I swear to God, I will destroy everything that gives meaning to your worthless existence!"

Calvin looked over his shoulder one last time. His gray eyes were calm, showing no expression.

But to Nathan, it showed that Calvin didn't see him as a threat. He was nothing more than a ranting old man who couldn't do anything, and it angered Nathan even more.

Then, without saying anything, the young man left the room and headed toward the elevator.

Abigail stood up. Her decision was already made.

"And where do you think you're going?" Nathan asked.

For the first time in years, she looked at her father. All the usual fear was gone, and Abigail looked like a completely different person.

"I'm going with my husband."

Just like Calvin, she wasn't making a blind decision. In her purse was a flash drive containing all the financial documents she and her husband had been compiling for months.

Abigail too had made arrangements with those she trusted. One of her friends was a reporter at Music Weekly ready to publish a Pulitzer contender based on all the information she and her husband had compiled.

Nathan nodded slowly.

"Of course you're leaving with your husband. But when everything falls apart and you come crawling back here begging for my forgiveness, don't say I never warned you. You've made too many stupid decisions in your life. Please don't let this be the one that makes me give up on you."

She surprised everyone by speaking up without a trace of uncertainty.

"Goodbye, father."

As the elevator door closed behind them, Calvin looked at his wife. He was a bit surprised she was there with him.

"You came along," Calvin said.

"What did you expect?" Abigail asked, looking at him with a slight hint of anger for doubting her loyalty.

He smiled as he pulled out another lollipop and handed it to her. This one was vanilla-flavored, her all-time favorite.

"This isn't going to be easy, you know. You've just made him your enemy, and he will do whatever it takes to destroy us."

Abigail unwrapped the candy and put it in her mouth.

"I know."

They both took a deep breath as the elevator doors slid open. The couple had just become enemies of the most powerful music empire in America.

But Nathan Harrington's empire was built on more than just recording contracts and radio deals. Hundreds of dead bodies lay buried beneath the foundation of his success, and lots of blood had been spilled to secure his throne.

And now, Calvin would learn exactly what happened to those who dared to challenge the king.