The Hidden Heir's Revenge

CHAPTER SIX: THE APOLOGY

Alex woke at six AM to his phone vibrating. It was a text from Vincent.

“Parker termination complete. An apology letter is being delivered to Davis’ residence at 8 AM.”

Alex dressed quietly and went downstairs. The mansion was silent. He made coffee and waited at the kitchen table.

At exactly eight o'clock, the doorbell rang.

Alex opened it to find a courier holding a large envelope and expensive flowers.

"Delivery for Mrs. Nora Munroe."

"I'll take it."

The courier left. Alex examined the envelope, heavy paper with the Hartwell Industries logo. Inside were two documents.

The first was a formal withdrawal of the lawsuit, signed by David Parker and notarized.

The second was a personal apology letter.

“Dear Mrs. Munroe, I please accept my reserved apology for my inappropriate behavior and the distress I caused you. My actions were inexcusable. The lawsuit has been withdrawn and I am no longer employed by Hartwell Industries. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive my terrible judgment. Sincerely, David Parker.”

Footsteps on the stairs. Catherine appeared, already dressed.

"What are you doing?" She saw the flowers. "Who sent those?"

"David Parker. For Nora."

Catherine snatched the envelope and read both documents. Her face shifted through confusion, shock, disbelief.

"This can't be real."

"It's notarized."

"But how? Parker was threatening to destroy her yesterday. Now he's apologizing and withdrawing everything?"

"Sometimes people realize their mistakes."

Catherine's eyes narrowed. "You did this."

"Me? I'm worthless, remember? What could I possibly do?"

"I don't know, but you're behind this somehow."

"Believe what you want. Nora's safe. That's what matters."

Then I heard more footsteps. Nora came down slowly, one hand on the railing. She still looked tired but better than yesterday.

"What's going on?"

Catherine thrust the documents at her. "These just arrived. From Parker."

Nora read them, her hands shaking. When she finished, she looked at Alex with confusion

"He withdrew the lawsuit."

"Yes."

"And apologized."

"Yes."

"How is this possible?"

Before Alex could answer, Catherine interrupted. "Your husband claims he had nothing to do with it."

"I never said that, I said Nora's safe."

Nora studied his face. "Alex, what did you do?"

"I had a conversation with the right people."

"What people? You don't know anyone with this kind of influence."

Alex just smiled.

Richard appeared, already on his phone. "I'm seeing news reports. Parker was fired from Hartwell Industries this morning. Effective immediately, his career is over."

"Good," Nora said quietly.

"But how did this happen?" Richard looked at Alex. "This doesn't just happen overnight."

"Maybe Parker's uncle finally listened to reason."

Thomas emerged from his bedroom, leaning on his cane. Derek followed in an expensive suit.

"What's this commotion?" Thomas demanded.

Catherine handed him the documents. He read them slowly, his face changed. When he finished, he crumpled the letter in his fist.

"This doesn't change anything. The two-week agreement stands. Parker's withdrawal doesn't prove Alex is suddenly worth keeping."

"It proves he can protect me," Nora said softly. "That's more than anyone else did."

"Protection?" Thomas laughed. "He got lucky. Someone else resolved this and he's taking credit."

"Then prove it," Alex said. "Investigate. Ask Parker yourself, ask his uncle Gerald. Ask anyone at Hartwell Industries."

Thomas glared. "I will. And when I discover you had nothing to do with this, you'll sign those divorce papers immediately."

"Fair enough." Alex picked up the flowers. "I'll take these to Nora's room."

He walked past Thomas, ignoring the old man's burning stare. Behind him, Derek spoke.

"Grandfather, he's bluffing. There's no way he has connections at Hartwell Industries."

Alex climbed the stairs and placed the flowers on Nora's dresser. His phone buzzed. Marcus.

“Can we still see todaty? Coffee at 10? I need to apologize properly.”

Alex typed back. “Meet me at TechVision instead. Reapplying for a job there.”

“Are you serious? Lucas will destroy you.”

“Let him try. See you at 10.”

Alex returned downstairs. The family was in the dining room. Catherine served breakfast while Thomas made phone calls.

"I don't care what the statement says. I want to know who made the decision."

Nora sat at the table, picking at her food. She looked up when Alex entered.

"Will you join us?"

"I have a job interview."

"Where?" Catherine asked.

"TechVision Solutions. My old company."

Derek laughed. "The place that fired you? This should be entertaining."

"Things change."

"Not for people like you," Thomas said, covering his phone. "You'll fail like you always do. Twelve days, Alex. Then you're gone."

Alex met his eyes. "We'll see."

He left and caught a taxi downtown. The morning traffic was serious. TechVision was just the beginning. Lucas Lewis had made his life miserable for two years, taken credit for Alex's work, fired him to cover his own incompetence.

Now Alex owned the company. But he wouldn't reveal that yet.

The taxi stopped outside the TechVision building. Ten stories of glass and concrete. Alex had spent two years here, dealing with Lucas's abuse, trying to prove himself.

Marcus waited in the lobby in his delivery uniform, looking uncomfortable.

"Alex." They shook hands. "About yesterday with Diane..,"

"Forget it. She was protecting your family."

"It wasn't right. You needed help."

"You made a choice. I understand." Alex looked around. "What's new here?"

"Worse than before. Lucas promoted himself to VP last year. He's unbearable." Marcus lowered his voice. "Also, rumor is the company might be sold. Corporate acquisition probably and it's making eevryone nervous."

Alex kept his expression neutral. "When?"

"Nobody knows. Could be any day. Lucas is panicking." Marcus studied Alex. "Why put yourself through this again?"

"To prove something."

They rode the elevator to the third floor. The office was busy, programmers at keyboards. Several people looked up, recognizing Alex, expressions ranging from surprise to sympathy.

Lucas's office door was closed. Through the glass, Alex could see him on the phone, gesturing angrily.

"Wait here," Alex told Marcus.

He walked to the office and knocked once. Lucas looked up, saw him, and his face went purple.

"I'll call you back." Lucas slammed down the phone. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I saw you're hiring senior developers. I'm applying."

Lucas stared, then burst out laughing. Cruel, loud enough that people turned to look.

"You want to work here again? After I fired you?"

"You blamed me for your mistakes. We both know the truth."

"The truth is you're incompetent. I did this company a favor." Lucas walked around his desk. "Get out before I call security."

"I'm qualified. More qualified than most people you've hired."

"I don't care if you invented the internet. You're not working here. Ever." Lucas leaned closer. "You're a failure, Alex. You failed here, you failed at marriage, you'll fail at everything. That's who you are."

Alex smiled calmly. It seemed to unsettle Lucas.

"Enjoy your position while it lasts, Lucas."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Things change. Sometimes overnight."

Alex turned and walked out. Marcus was waiting by the elevator.

"That went well," Marcus said sarcastically.

"Better than you think."

"How? He told you to drop dead."

"Which is exactly what I expected." Alex checked his watch. "I need to go. Thanks for meeting me."

"Alex, what's going on? You're acting strange."

"I'm acting like someone tired of being treated like garbage."

They parted in the lobby. Alex caught a taxi to the Meridian Tower.

Vincent was waiting with coffee and files.

"How did it go?"

"Lucas is exactly as arrogant as I remembered. He won't last the week."

"Instructions?"

"Let him run the company for a few more days. I want to see how he operates. Then we'll make changes."

Vincent smiled. "Satisfying."

"Very. What did you find about Thomas Davis?"

Vincent opened a folder. "His company is hemorrhaging money. Thirty days before creditors force bankruptcy. He's been hiding it from the family."

Alex leaned forward. "Does Nora know?"

"I don't think so." Vincent pulled out another document. "Three months ago, Thomas had preliminary discussions about arranging a marriage for Nora."

"To who?"

"Jonathan Blackwood. Heir to Blackwood Enterprises. He's Worth eight hundred million."

Alex felt ice in his chest. "Thomas was going to sell his granddaughter."

"The marriage would have solved his financial problems."

"Except Nora was already married."

"Which is why he's desperate for the divorce. He needs Nora available before creditors close in."

Alex stood and walked to the window. Below, the city stretched out. Nora was home, confused, wondering who her husband really was.

"Vincent, buy Thomas Davis's debt. All of it."

Vincent's eyes widened. "Sir, that's nearly two hundred million."

"I know. Do it. Make sure Thomas doesn't know who bought it."

"It will take a few days."

"You have a week. After that, I want complete control over Thomas Davis's financial future."

Vincent smiled. "This will destroy him."

"No," Alex said quietly. "This will teach him what it feels like to be powerless."

He checked his watch. It's almost noon. Time to head back before they got suspicious.

"I'll be back tomorrow. Have everything ready."

"Welcome back, Mr. Munroe."

Alex took the elevator down and caught a taxi home.

Everything was about to change.