THE SOVEREIGN RISE OF THE ABANDONED HUSBAND

The Vanguard Apex Prize

"To think we allowed that ungrateful stray to breathe our air for three whole years!" the matriarch hissed, her eyes scanning the room. "Victoria, this is the result of your daughter’s soft heart. If you had listened to me back then and married Chloe off to Julian Montgomery, our family wouldn't be facing this public humiliation today!"

Victoria quickly stepped forward, smoothing down her designer dress, her face pale with anxiety. "Mom, please calm down. Chloe was young and naive, but she knows better now. Look at how she protected her purity! She never let that delivery boy touch her. And right now, Julian is recovering in a premium resort, waiting to merge his family's real estate assets with ours. This little setback with Ethan is nothing."

Chloe, still kneeling on the floor, wiped away another stray tear. "Grandma, my mother is right. I only stayed with Ethan because I didn't want the public to think the Pierces break their promises. But yesterday, when he brought his filthy delivery coworker into our home... I knew I couldn't protect his dignity anymore. We must punish him according to our company enforcement protocols. He must sign a full legal confession acknowledging his physical abuse and infidelity, or our family's reputation will be ruined before the investors arrive!"

"She is absolutely right," Oliver, Chloe’s ambitious cousin, chimed in with a smirk. "If the media catches wind that a Pierce daughter was being abused by a common courier, our stock price will plummet before noon. We need that signed confession to blackball him legally and protect our image."

Old Mrs. Pierce raised her hand, instantly silencing the room.

"The delivery boy is a minor rodent," the old woman said. "We will handle him. But right now, we have a far more massive mountain to climb. Stand up, Chloe. Fix your makeup. The international venture capitalists and our primary shareholders are already entering the lower lobby. Today is the Annual Corporate Gala, and the very survival of the Pierce Group hangs in the balance."

The board directors sat up straight, their expressions turning dead serious.

Old Mrs. Pierce leaned forward, placing both hands on her silver-headed cane. "As you all know, our Pierce Group has been facing a critical cash-flow deficit due to the delays on The Grand Meridian District. We desperately need an injection of capital. And just three hours ago, my contacts in the upper financial circuits confirmed a piece of earth-shattering news."

She paused, letting the weight of her words sink in.

"The legendary Vanguard Apex Group—the multi-trillion-dollar global conglomerate—has just been entirely acquired in an all-cash transaction worth three hundred billion dollars. The previous board has been dissolved, and a mysterious, newly appointed Supreme Chairman has assumed absolute control of the empire."

Gasps and murmurings could be heard all across the long conference table.

"Three hundred billion... in pure cash?!" Benedict Pierce, Chloe's uncle, said in absolute awe. "Who could possibly possess that kind of liquidity? Is it an international banking dynasty? A royal sovereign wealth fund?"

"Nobody knows his name, his face, or his background," Old Mrs. Pierce stated. "He is a ghost operating from the highest shadows. But Vanguard Apex Group holds the ultimate monopoly over the commercial supply chains and financing channels in this city. If the Pierce Group can secure a strategic funding merger or even a minor investment from Vanguard today, our family will ascend into the true billionaire tier of high society."

The old matriarch’s gaze hardened as she looked at her children and grandchildren.

"The representative of the new Supreme Chairman is scheduled to review local corporate portfolios during our gala this morning. I am putting a reward on the table right now. Whichever family member manages to successfully intercept the Vanguard representative, establish a direct bridge, and secure that funding deal... will immediately be appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Pierce Group, with an automatic fifteen percent share of the family inheritance!"

The boardroom erupted into a frenzy, everyone looking at one another. CEO status and fifteen percent of the Pierce family fortune was enough to guarantee absolute power over the entire lineage.

Oliver immediately adjusted his tie, his mind spinning with strategies. "Grandma, leave it to me! I have a former classmate who works in the mid-tier management of Vanguard. I will utilize every connection to get us an audience with the Chairman's inner circle!"

Herman, Chloe’s father, sneered at his nephew. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Oliver. Capital financing has always been under my jurisdiction. My team is already preparing the pitch decks. The Vanguard prize belongs to my branch of the family!"

"Enough bickering!" Old Mrs. Pierce snapped, cutting them off. "The guests are arriving. Start entering the main ballroom and prepare the welcoming committees. But before we present ourselves to Vanguard's representatives, we must tie up our loose ends. We cannot have a filthy delivery boy running around the city claiming he is Chloe’s husband."

She looked over at Chloe’s older brother, Richard, who had been standing near the back of the room, silently cracking his knuckles with a cruel expression.

"Richard," the matriarch commanded. "Take the legal team's drafted confession document. Find that useless trash, drag him back to the headquarters, and make sure his signature is on the paper before the main banquet begins. Use whatever force is necessary."

"Yes, Madam!" Richard replied. He eagerly snatched the legal papers from the corporate attorney, turned on his heel, and strode out of the boardroom. He practically sprinted down the executive corridor toward the private parking garage, his mind racing with all the ways he was going to humiliate Ethan on the asphalt.