The Forgotten Heir's Payback

Chapter 17: The Contract Clause

The morning sun had barely risen when a loud noise woke up the Sterling household. Richard Sterling opened his front door and let out a horrified scream.

Spread across his neat green lawn were five bruised men, tied up with thick rope and groaning in pain. Sitting on top of Julian shiny red sports car was a white paper pinned with a sharp knife. The written warning read four simple words: play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Julian stood behind his father, his face turning paper white as he recognized the leader of Black Snake hitmen lying broken on the grass. He knew right then that Lucas was a force he could never defeat with street fights or dirty tricks.

While the Sterling family fell into complete chaos, another storm hit Vance Logistics.

By eight o'clock in the morning, three major truck fleets refused to move their loads. Supply lines across the state stopped working completely. Raw materials were stuck at the harbor, and local factories began calling the main office, screaming that they would sue the company for millions if goods were not delivered by noon.

Chloe sat in her chief office, her hair messy and her eyes bloodshot. She had spent the entire night crying after the disaster at the Imperial Hotel. Her phone rang every two seconds with bad news from angry clients.

Her office door swung open hard, and Beatrice ran inside without knocking. Her mother face was pale, and her hands were trembling violently as she held a thick stack of blue files.

"Chloe!" Beatrice shrieked, dropping the files onto the glass desk. "It is Lucas! That bastard activated the legal clause on the share transfer paper you signed on the hood of your car!"

Chloe grabbed the top document, her eyes scanning the black ink. Her heart sank straight into her stomach.

When Chloe signed her mother thirty percent shares over to Lucas in the freezing rain, she missed a tiny line written in small print at the bottom of the page. The clause stated that if Vance Logistics suffered three consecutive business failures, the shareholder holding the largest portion of shares could call an emergency board meeting to vote out the current management team.

Lucas already held ten percent from an old family deal, making his total ownership forty percent. That made him the largest single shareholder in the whole company.

"No, no, no!" Chloe gasped, dropping the paper as tears welled up in her eyes again. "He cannot do this! This is my grandfather company!"

"He called an emergency board meeting for nine o'clock!" Beatrice cried out, wringing her hands like a crazy person. "The board members are already arriving downstairs in the lobby!"

Chloe wiped her wet face, a sudden surge of anger filling her chest. She stood up straight and pulled down her suit jacket. "I am still the Chief Executive Officer! The independent board members are my father old friends! They will never vote against me for an ex-husband who worked as a cook!"

Chloe marched down the carpeted hallway to the main boardroom on the top floor. She pushed open the heavy glass doors, taking a deep breath to look strong.

Inside the long room, eight old board members sat around a large oval wooden table. At the far end of the room, sitting comfortably in the master leather chair, was Lucas Vance.

Lucas wore a crisp grey suit with a silver tie. Victoria Thorne stood on his right side, while Butler Thomas held a tablet on his left. The six independent board members were all leaning forward, smiling politely and offering expensive cigars to Lucas, trying hard to gain his favor.

Chloe felt a burning sting of humiliation seeing her board members act like eager pets around her ex-husband.

She slammed her hand against the wooden door frame, making a loud banging sound.

"This meeting is illegal!" Chloe declared loudly, walking up to the table with her head held high. "I am the CEO of Vance Logistics! Lucas does not have the authority to call a vote without my personal permission!"

The board members turned their heads, looking at Chloe with cold, unbothered expressions.

Old Director Vance, her second uncle, cleared his throat and spoke in a harsh tone. "Sit down, Chloe. Mr. Vance owns forty percent of the company shares. Under company law, he has every legal right to call this meeting."

"He is a stranger!" Chloe yelled, her voice breaking with emotion. "He is using dirty tricks to ruin my family!"

Lucas raised his right hand slightly, and the room instantly went dead silent. He looked at Chloe with calm, cool eyes, his face completely devoid of any emotion.

"Chloe," Lucas said softly. "The company lost forty percent of its market value in three days under your leadership. You failed to secure supply contracts, and your bad public image is scaring away our investors. You are unfit to lead this business."

"I am unfit?" Chloe laughed bitterly, tears running down her cheeks. "I went to college for business management! You do not even have a degree! You cleaned my kitchen for three years!"

"Then let us vote," Lucas replied smoothly, looking around the oval table. "All those in favor of removing Chloe Vance from her position as Chief Executive Officer, raise your right hand."

Without a single second of hesitation, every single independent board member raised their hand high into the air. All six old men voted against her instantly.

Chloe stood frozen in the middle of the room, her mouth wide open in utter shock.

"Uncle Vance!" Chloe whimpered, looking at her relative with desperate eyes. "You promised my father you would protect me!"

Director Vance looked away, coughing quietly. "Business is business, Chloe. Mr. Vance promised to clear our company debts with Grand Dragon Financial cash. We cannot let the company go broke just to save your pride."

The truth hit Chloe like a heavy iron hammer. Her own family members had sold her out for Lucas money in less than ten minutes.

Victoria Thorne stepped forward from behind Lucas chair, holding a fresh white document stamped with a red corporate seal.

Victoria walked down the side of the table and slapped the paper down right in front of Chloe chest.

"The board has voted unanimously," Victoria announced in a clear, cold voice. "Chloe Vance is officially stripped of all executive powers inside Vance Logistics. You no longer hold any office, salary, or authority in this building."

Chloe clutched her cold chest, staggering backward until her back hit the glass wall. She looked at Lucas, weeping loudly.

"Lucas, please..." Chloe sobbed, dropping all her anger. "Do not take my father hard work away from me. This office is all I have left."

Lucas stood up slowly from the master chair, picking up his dark coat from the stand. He walked over to her, his quiet leather shoes tapping softly against the floor. He looked down at her broken, crying face without a single drop of pity.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a yellow paper notice, and pressed it firmly into her shaking hands.

Lucas hands Chloe an eviction notice for the corporate office, telling her she has ten minutes to clear her desk before her access badge is permanently deactivated.