Chapter 4 - The Takeover
The dust settled over Rothford Global faster than anyone in the financial sector had predicted.
Within forty-eight hours of Lucas’s public termination and arrest, the media storm broke. Headlines across The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Bloomberg blasted the explosive details: “MILLION-DOLLAR EMBEZZLEMENT AND AIRBORNE ASSAULT: Rothford Global Heir Fired and Arrested After Boardroom Coup Led by CEO Brother.”
Sophia Miller’s employment was terminated with prejudice, her assets were frozen under federal investigation for accessory to fraud, and she was left facing criminal charges for assault and battery on an aircraft.
Meanwhile, I sat in the sprawling, sunlit corner office of the executive suite on the forty-ninth floor.
It wasn’t Lucas’s old office.
It was Sebastian’s.
He had insisted that I move my temporary office into his suite so I could be monitored by his private medical staff and security detail while managing the transition of the Rothford Foundation—the philanthropic arm of the corporation that focused on maternal health and legal aid for women in crisis.
The heavy oak door swung open, and Sebastian walked in, carrying two cups of chamomile tea and a stack of legal documents.
“Dr. Vance called,” Sebastian said, setting a ceramic mug on my desk before leaning against the edge of the glass table. “She said if my security detail catches you standing by the window staring at the bay for more than twenty consecutive minutes again, she’s personally revoking your release papers and locking you in Swedish Hospital.”
I smiled, taking a sip of the warm tea. “Dr. Vance is a tyrant.”
“She’s a competent physician who understands that you’re carrying my nephew and future primary heir,” Sebastian replied dryly, taking a sip from his own cup.
I paused, looking up at him from over the rim of the mug. “You know, when I first married into this family, everyone told me you were cold, unfeeling, and completely dead inside.”
“They were mostly right,” Sebastian noted without a flicker of emotion. “Emotions cloud judgment. Sentimentality ruins portfolios.”
“Then why did you do it, Sebastian?” I asked softly, the question hanging between us in the quiet, sun-drenched office. “Why blow up your own brother’s career? Why tear down the family dynasty just to protect me and a baby you haven’t even met yet?”
Sebastian’s slate-gray eyes locked onto mine. The cold, impenetrable armor he wore for the rest of the world seemed to strip away, revealing a depth of fierce, unyielding protection that took my breath away.
“My father spent his entire life building Rothford Global on the premise that power without honor is just organized crime,” Sebastian said, his voice dropping into a low, resonant register. “Lucas forgot that. He thought the family name was a shield for his cowardice and cruelty. He thought he could break a woman who had more courage in her little finger than he had in his entire body.”
He reached across the desk, his warm fingers brushing gently against my wrist, feeling for my pulse with unconscious tenderness.
“I didn’t destroy Lucas, Charlotte,” Sebastian whispered. “He destroyed himself the moment he didn’t stand up to protect you. I simply made sure the rubble fell in the right direction.”
I felt a lump rise in my throat. For the first time in three years, I didn't feel small, invisible, or gaslit. I felt seen. I felt anchored.
“What happens next?” I asked quietly.
“Next?” Sebastian smiled faintly, a rare, breathtaking expression that transformed his harsh features into something remarkably handsome. “Next, we finalize your divorce, secure complete control of the family trust for you and the boy, and let my legal team dismantle what’s left of Lucas’s legal standing.”
May you like
He paused, his thumb tracing a slow circle over the back of my hand.
“And after that,” Sebastian continued softly, “you are going to let me take care of you. Properly. For the rest of your life.”
