The Reaper's Redemption

Chapter 007

The next morning, sunlight cut through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Chairman's office at Northgate Group.

Nicholas Hoult, the Chairman, bowed respectfully to the towering man standing before his mahogany desk. "Mr. Depp, thank you for agreeing to join Northgate. With you here, I am confident we will become the absolute apex of Armeria."

Robert tossed the unsigned equity contract onto the desk. "I won't be signing this. I have no interest in sitting on your board as Chairman," Robert stated flatly. "Instead, you will hire me on a salary as the President of Northgate."

Nicholas was stunned but immediately agreed. Securing Robert as a protective umbrella was a monumental victory for the company, regardless of the official title he demanded. "Of course! However, we already have an active President," Nicholas suggested cautiously. "Replacing him outright might trigger unnecessary corporate backlash. How about we establish a Co-President structure with equal authority?"

Robert nodded. "Acceptable. Now, let's discuss Lily Lohan."

"I haven't forgotten," Nicholas said quickly, carefully watching Robert's expression. "I've reserved a Vice Director position for her in the Sales Department. If that's too low, I can immediately bump her up to full Director."

Standing by the door, Viper frowned, clearly displeased by the perceived slight. Nicholas, a shrewd corporate veteran, caught the lethal subordinate's glare. "Mr. Depp, what position do you believe is appropriate for her?"

Robert slowly flipped through the pages of Lily's employment file. "Start her at the absolute bottom," he commanded coldly. "Since graduation, she hasn't produced a single professional achievement. Her resume is a blank slate covered in black marks. Who would possibly respect her as a Director?"

Robert looked up, his gaze locking onto Nicholas. "Have HR call her in for an interview today. Offer her two choices. First option: Executive Assistant to the President. A five-year contract with an annual salary of five hundred thousand dollars. Second option: Entry-level Sales. But you will write a draconian clause into that specific contract. She must generate eighty million dollars in sales within two years. If she fails, she is bound to Northgate for life. If she tries to break the contract and leave, she owes a fifty-million-dollar penalty."

Nicholas stared at him in absolute horror. Is this a contract or an execution order? Initially, he thought Robert was pulling strings to protect Lily, but this looked like a blood feud. The absolute best sales elites in Liverton barely scraped thirty million over two years. Eighty million was a mathematical impossibility. It was a death sentence designed to crush her.

"Stop asking questions and go prepare the paperwork. Bring the sales contract directly to me when it's drafted," Robert ordered, his eyes flashing with a chilling intensity.

Terrified, the Chairman of Northgate Group practically fled his own office to obey.

The moment the door clicked shut, Viper slammed his hands on the desk, his normally disciplined composure breaking. "Boss, what the hell are you doing?! I thought we came back to make amends, not to torture her!"

Robert looked at his furious, fiercely loyal subordinate and a faint, sad smile touched his lips. "Look at her file, Viper," Robert said, gesturing to the papers. "Ignore the heavy drinking and smoking. Five years ago, she was locked up three times just for street fighting. She has a history of severe, erratic depression and a suicide attempt. To the corporate world, she is a liability. A lunatic. Without us actively pulling strings, no legitimate company would ever hire her."

Robert stood up, turning to look out over the sprawling city. "Her survival skills in this society are severely limited. Giving her a fake title won't fix that. I destroyed her future as a dancer, so I will forge her into Armeria's most ruthless, brilliant business titan. This is my true compensation. Even if she never forgives me, even if we can never be together, I want her ruling the boardroom, not being mocked in the streets. She is Jenna's mother. I want her to succeed."

Viper’s anger dissolved into quiet realization. He nodded slowly. "I understand, Boss. Your intentions are profound."

"Eighty million in two years isn't a death sentence," Robert murmured softly, watching the traffic far below. "It's just the crucible. The beginning of her legend."

Meanwhile, on the blistering concrete of Construction Avenue.

A small, ridiculous bear mascot was weaving quickly through the pedestrian traffic, frantically handing out promotional flyers. Despite the oppressive, suffocating heat, the mascot worked with desperate speed, emptying a stack of a thousand flyers in under two hours.

Lily Lohan pulled the heavy bear head off, gasping for air. Her face was flushed dark red, her hair plastered to her forehead with sweat.

A female supervisor walked over and handed her a couple of crumpled bills. "Here. Your pay. Two hundred dollars."

"Thank you," Lily said, accepting the meager cash with both hands and a polite, exhausted smile.

"Come back tomorrow," the supervisor called out, walking away.

Lily tucked the two hundred dollars carefully into her worn pocket. She sat heavily on the curb, drinking from a cheap bottle of water, her eyes drifting toward the towering, glass-fronted corporate skyscrapers in the distance. A deep, painful longing swelled in her chest. She dreamed of working in one of those buildings, but with her broken history, she was doomed to scavenge in the streets and bottom-tier temp jobs. Is this really how the rest of my life is going to be?

Ding.

Her cheap phone vibrated. She pulled it out and blinked. It was a bank notification. Radiant Media’s finance department had just wired her three thousand dollars. Her blank exhaustion was instantly pierced by a sharp thrill of surprise. She had written that money off forever, assuming John Campbell would withhold it. Suddenly, her luck seemed to be violently turning.

A second later, the phone rang. The caller ID showed Northgate Group HR.

"Hello, is this Miss Lohan?" a crisp, professional voice asked. "We have reviewed your resume and are highly interested. We have two potential roles for you to interview for: an entry-level Sales position, or Executive Assistant to the President. Can you come in for an interview today?"

Executive Assistant to the President?

Lily’s eyes lit up with sudden, blinding hope. That was exactly the kind of high-level environment she had desperately wanted to break into, a place where she could actually learn and rebuild her worth.

"Yes!" Lily replied immediately, all her exhaustion evaporating. "I'll be there right away. Thank you!"