0012

Xavier's eyes, as well as the other two brothers, widened in shock. "What...?" They blurted out in surprise, least expecting what they had just heard. They must have sell the groups but they never planned on evicting their seats in each companies.

"You heard me right, uncles!" She told them, looking each one of them directly in their eyeballs. "Did you guys signed the documents without reading what the content might be? Ah, that's too lame of you!"

Xavier felt as though he was being hit on his gut. ‘Did this cockroach just try to fire me off my post as the executive director?’ He thought within himself, boiling with rage!

"But that's too sudden, Lisa!" Xavier argued.

"It states; ‘with immediate effect’, did you not understand or do you want me to call the security on you?" Lisa sounded as though she was speaking with a hardened criminal, her gaze saying nothing less. "You shouldn't have signed the documents if you won't be abiding by it conditions."

"We are family, remember?" Xavier uttered, decided to play his last card on her. "You can't do this to a family, you can't turn your back on us by being reckless, Lisa. You have to reconsider, okay?"

—if only Xavier had known, he wouldn't have bothered wasting his strength and just do as ordered. He had thought her to be the same clueless and pitiful Lisa they had all known for long, she did changed but he failed to catch the clue.

Lisa's expression didn't soften. "I know that we're family, uncle but it doesn't count when dealing with business." she said, her tone still firm. "But that doesn't mean that I have to put up with the way things have been going. The company has been struggling, and I'm determined to turn things around."

"But this isn't fair!" Xavier protested, clenching his fists and trying to suppress his anger. "You can't just come in and take over like this!"

"Come in and take over you say?" Lisa asked rhetorically with a stifled laughter. "You should have thought about the consequence of your action when you sold the groups off to me? I paid you more than we bargained for!"

"I know that you paid me well, Lisa," Xavier replied, feeling cornered. "But I didn't think that you would take over the company like this! I thought you would just be a silent investor!"

"You didn't even know who the buyers was and do you expect buyers to turn into silent investor overnight?" She asked him, her brows raised in questioning. "You should think twice before opening your mouth to sprout lame words out!"

Xavier felt like a child who had been scolded by a parent, realizing how much fool he made of himself before the executives. He had thought of using cunning words to buy himself out but he wasn't dealing with a toddler.

"I understand that you're upset, Xavier." Lisa said, but she sounded the opposite of her words; who would ever try to understand a greedy man? "When you were busy embezzling the companies fund and squandering them on unnecessary things, you should have it that someday you will lose what you don't value!"

Xavier took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He knew that Lisa was right but he still felt betrayed. "If only you will give me another chance to make things right once again." He muttered, trying to keep his tone level.

"I'm sorry but I don't trust you enough to give you another chance, uncle." She told him bluntly. "Keeping you around when the things are critical would only make things once, I can't afford to lose what I just purchase newly!"

"I understand your position, Lisa," Xavier said, feeling a sense of defeat. "But I really do want to make things right. I know I made some bad decisions, but I've learned from my mistakes. I want to be a part of the company's future, and I know I can help make it a success. Please give me another chance."

Lisa looked at him for a moment as though she's weighing his words. "I'll tell you what." She enounced, after a long pause. "There isn't second chance in my agenda, I don't believe in it. Everyone has to pay for their own mistakes and you can't be spared, Mr. Xavier!"

Fred and Niel, Lisa's other uncles, realizing how much they're going to lose if Lisa act by her words, quickly rushed towards Andy and grabbed his wrists pleadingly.

"Andy, you can't just stand here and watch Lisa humiliate your father like this." Fred told him, urging Andy to help talk this out with Lisa but he seems unmoved.

"This is business we are talking about here, Mr. Fred." Andy countered in a flat tone. "Bringing family into business will only drag business down; not after how much wreck you guys has caused the companies at large."

Andy's words hit Fred and Niel hard. They knew that he was right —they had made some bad decisions that had hurt the companies financially. But they couldn't bear the thought of losing their only source of income and embezzlement.

"We know we've made mistakes, Andy," Niel said, his voice shaking. "But we don't want to lose everything. Please, you have to help us talk things out with Lisa. We'll do anything."

Andy looked at them both, his expression unreadable. He knew that they were desperate, and he felt a small pang of sympathy for them. But he also knew that they weren't the type to change; they only needed second chance so as not to lose from the companies funds and not because they felt the need to change.

After a long moment, Andy spoke. "I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do to change the chairwoman's decision." He said, showing them he has no interest in helping them satisfy their greed. "She own Dela Cruz now and she will control everything the way she pleases."

Just when Fred wants to say something, the huge door opened abruptly, cutting him off and drawing others attention. Three men had just entered the room and they were security officers, Andy had called them a few moment earlier.

"Good thing you are here at the right moment. Please, do escort these men outside the company, I don't want to see them around anymore!" Lisa told the security officers, referring to her uncles. "Make sure I don't see them anymore if you still value your job!"

Fred, Xavier and Niel looked at each other, panic written on their faces. They had never expected things to turn out this way. But they had no choice but to go with the security officers, who ushered them out of the room.

As they were leaving, Xavier turned towards Andy angrily, paranoid that his son had joined hand with Lisa. "You know better than turning your back against your father, Andy." He blurted out angrily but Andy did not even raise a brow over what he had said.

"I don't regret doing this for her, father and I would never regret it..." Andy enunciated before gesturing to the security officer holding his father to escort him out.

Xavier was embarrassed, the least he had expected was his son putting him through humiliation...