The Hidden Heir's Revenge

CHAPTER FOUR: THE TRANSFORMATION

Vincent nodded, accepting the non-answer. He pulled a leather folder from his desk and slid it across to Alex.

"These are the preliminary financial reports. I'll have complete documentation ready by morning, but this should give you an overview of where we stand."

Alex opened the folder. Pages of numbers, charts, projections. Three years of company growth laid out in black and white. His eyes scanned the figures quickly, his mind automatically processing the data.

Revenue up twenty-three percent. Market share increased in seven of nine sectors. The stock price nearly doubled. Vincent had done well in his absence.

"Impressive work, Vincent. My father really made the best choice in choosing you"

"Thank you, sir. Although, there have been many challenges. There have been three attempted hostile takeover bids in the past eighteen months."

"Unsuccessful, I assume?"

"Of course. But they're getting bolder. Your return makes them know that Apex Global is stronger than ever."

Alex closed the folder. "What about my personal accounts? The ones under my real name?"

"Untouched, as per your instructions. You have full access whenever you're ready." Vincent hesitated. "Sir, if I may ask... how have you been living these past three years? Your personal account has been dormant."

"I opened a basic checking account under my assumed name. Kept just enough money in it to appear normal. Enough to pay for groceries, utilities, and small expenses."

"And when that ran out?"

Alex's jaw tightened. "Then I had nothing. Like today at the hospital. That wasn't an act, Vincent. My card really was declined."

"But you're worth billions—"

"Not as Alex Munroe, the unemployed husband. As Alex Munroe, I'm exactly what they think I am. Poor, Powerless, and Pathetic." He stood and walked to the window. "Do you know what that's like, Vincent? To have everything but pretend you have nothing?"

"I can't imagine, sir."

"It's liberating at first. Then it becomes humiliating. Then it becomes who you are." Alex's reflection stared back at him from the glass. "I almost forgot who I really was, I almost started believing their insults."

"But you didn't."

"No. Because of Nora." Alex turned back to Vincent. "She married me when she thought I had nothing. Her family disowned her, her friends abandoned her, but she chose me anyway. I thought that meant she loved me for who I was."

"And now?"

"Now I'm not sure what it meant. Maybe she was just rebelling against her family. Maybe she thought she could fix me. Maybe she actually loved me and three years of poverty killed that love." Alex shook his head. "I have two weeks to find out."

Vincent stood, his expression thoughtful. "What do you need me to do now?"

"First, handle the Parker situation completely. I want it resolved before Nora leaves the hospital tomorrow."

"Done."

"Second, I need a detailed background on everyone in the Davis family. Thomas Davis, Richard, Catherine, Derek. Bank accounts, business ventures, debts, scandals. Everything."

"I'll assign our best investigative team."

"Third..." Alex paused, considering. "I want to acquire a company. A small tech firm called TechVision Solutions."

Vincent's eyebrows rose. "TechVision? That's a modest company. Why the interest?"

"I used to work there. Before I married Nora, I spent two years in their software development department. My boss, Lucas Lewis, enjoyed making my life miserable. He fired me six months before my father died."

"I see. Revenge?"

"Justice," Alex corrected. "Lucas is a bully who abuses his power. He makes his employees' lives hell because he can. I want to show him what it feels like to be powerless."

"Consider it acquired. I can have the paperwork completed within forty-eight hours."

"Make it twenty-four. And Vincent? Use shell corporations for the purchase. I don't want anyone knowing who the real buyer is."

"Of course. Anything else?"

Alex checked his watch. It was nearly five PM. He had been gone from the hospital for almost two hours. "That's all for now. I'll be back tomorrow morning at nine. We'll go over everything in detail then."

"I'll have your office prepared. Fresh coffee, your preferred breakfast, all the reports you requested."

They shook hands at the elevator. As the doors began to close, Vincent spoke again.

"Sir? It's truly good to have you back. The company hasn't been the same without you."

The elevator descended smoothly. Alex watched the floor numbers tick down, each one taking him further from his real life and closer to his pretend one.

On the ground floor, the security guard from earlier practically jumped to attention.

"Mr. Munroe! Can I call you a car? The company has several vehicles available."

"No thank you. I'll take a taxi."

"Are you sure, sir? It would be no trouble…"

"I'm sure."

Alex stepped outside and hailed a regular taxi. The driver pulled up and Alex gave him the address of the Davis family mansion in the wealthy suburbs.

The drive took forty minutes. Alex stared out the window, watching the city transition from gleaming office towers to expensive residential neighborhoods. Manicured lawns, luxury cars, gates and security systems.

The world where Nora had grown up. The world she had left behind to marry him.

The taxi stopped at the iron gates of the Davis estate. Alex paid and stepped out. The gates were closed, as always. He pressed the intercom button.

"Yes?" A servant's voice, crisp and unwelcoming.

"It's Alex Munroe."

A long pause. Then the gates swung open with a mechanical hum.

The driveway curved through landscaped gardens to a massive colonial-style mansion. Three stories of white columns and expensive architecture, designed to intimidate and impress.

Alex had never felt welcome here. Not on his first visit three years ago, not on his wedding day, not any of the hundreds of times since.

The front door opened before he could knock. Mrs. Green, the elderly housekeeper, stood in the doorway. Her expression was carefully neutral.

"Mr. Munroe. The family is in the study. They asked that you wait in the kitchen."

Of course they did. The kitchen was where the servants belonged. Where Alex belonged, in their minds.

"Thank you, Mrs. Green."

He followed her through the marble-floored entrance hall, past expensive artwork and antique furniture. The kitchen was at the back of the house, large and modern and empty.

"Can I get you anything?" Mrs. Green asked. There was kindness in her eyes. Unlike the family she served, she had always treated Alex with basic human decency.

"I'm fine, thank you."

She left him alone. Alex sat at the kitchen counter, the same place he'd sat countless times before. Waiting. Always waiting for the Davis family to acknowledge his existence.

His phone buzzed. A text from Vincent.

“Parker's situation is in motion. Legal team expects full resolution by 8 AM tomorrow. Also, the TechVision acquisition is moving faster than expected. Might have it completed by midnight.”

Alex typed back: “Good work. See you tomorrow.”

He pocketed his phone and looked around the kitchen. State-of-the-art appliances, granite countertops, a wine fridge that probably cost more than most people's cars.

And he sat here like a servant, waiting to be summoned.

Not for much longer.

Voices drifted from the study. Catherine's sharp tones, Richard's measured responses, and another voice Alex didn't recognize. They were discussing something heated, words occasionally rising to an audible level.

"...can't afford another scandal..."

"...stocks are already down..."

"...need to liquidate assets..."

Alex's ears perked up. That didn't sound like a family in good financial shape. That sounded like a family in trouble.

The study door opened. Derek emerged, his expression troubled. He saw Alex and his face twisted with contempt.

"Still here? I thought you'd have the decency to leave by now."

"I live here."

"Not for long." Derek grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. "Nora's divorcing you. Grandfather already made it clear. You're out, Alex. Finally."

"Two weeks. That's what Nora agreed to."

Derek laughed. "Two weeks? What are you going to do in two weeks? Get a job? Win the lottery? Face it, you're finished."

"We'll see."

"No, we won't see. There's nothing to see. You're a loser who married above his station and now you're paying the price." Derek moved closer, his voice dropping. "You know what the funny part is? Nora actually defended you at first. She actually believed you would amount to something. Now even she sees the truth."

Alex stood slowly. He was taller than Derek, though Derek had always carried himself like the bigger man.

"Is that all?" Alex asked quietly.

"No. Grandfather wants to see you. In the study. Now." Derek smirked. "Better hurry. You know how he hates to be kept waiting."