Chapter 31

The room was thick with air, stifling under the enormity of Amelia's declaration.

"I went back to reclaim what is mine."

The conference room remained mired in heavy, stifling silence. The weight of Amelia's statement continued to hang heavy in the air, immobile and dense. Faces once so certain of their rightness now twisted with outrage, shock, and disbelief.

Ronald Wellington didn't budge, his scorching blue eyes locked onto Amelia. His stance was rigid, but there was a menacing piercingness to his look—a warning, a threat. In front of him, Catherine's rage was contained by a thread, her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white.

Beatrice, however, was the first to get her words out. She leaned forward, her immaculately manicured nails tapping on the table, her face deliberately composed despite the rage simmering beneath the surface.

"This is absurd," she said slowly, her voice restrained but laced with venom. "There is no way Jake would leave all his money to. to you."

Amelia's lips curved into a tiny, knowing smile. She had expected this and was waiting for it.

Her words had disrupted the serenity of the Wellington board as abruptly as a hurricane breaking a glasshouse. Eyebrows bleached white, jaws clenched, and shock gasps trembled through the room like thunder in the distance.

Catherine, stunned stiff by the strength of Amelia's announcement, blinks wildly then shakes her head. "Ridiculous!" Her voice is icy, frantic even. "You can't just burst in here and claim it as your own. That isn't how this works!"

Amelia's gaze did not falter, her fingers tapping lightly on the paper she had just handed over. "That's how it is, Catherine. All that Jake left behind belongs to me. The shares, the inheritance, the presidency of Wellington Holdings—it's all in my name. It's legally binding, and there's nothing any of you can do to prevent it."

"Lies!" Beatrice's voice, once so controlled and poised, broke with raw fury. "Jake would never do this! He was a member of this family! This company is owned by the Wellingtons, not some outsider—"

"I was Jake's family," Amelia cut in smoothly, her voice cutting. "No matter if you'll ever acknowledge it or not, he left all of you for me."

There was a burning silence that followed.

Ronald, remaining at the head of the table, had not spoken. His face remained impassive, cold, unreadable. But his keen blue eyes never left Amelia.

Catherine's fists were clenched. "This isn't over," she spat, her voice venomous. "There must be loopholes. This can be fought in court—"

"You’re welcome to try," Marson interjected smoothly, stepping forward. "But you’ll find that Jake was meticulous in ensuring his wishes were carried out. His lawyer, Mr. Daniels, oversaw everything. The legal standing of this document is airtight."

Beatrice’s chest rose and fell rapidly, her eyes burning with rage. "This is a fraud. A disgusting fraud!"

Amelia simply tilted her head to one side. "You can scream your lungs out, but it will never make a difference. It's happening."

Catherine addressed Ronald. "You're not actually going to let this happen, are you?" she demanded. "You, more than anyone, must stand in its path! You're Wellington Holdings' real leader!"

Ronald did not answer right away. He blew out his breath slowly, curled fingers clasped together in thought as he looked at Amelia with unguessable intensity.

Then….

He smiled.

It was faint, almost imperceptible, but Amelia caught it.

"Let her have her moment, Catherine," he murmured, his voice eerily calm. "She’s made her declaration. Now, we’ll see if she can withstand the weight of what she’s taken."

Catherine stared at him in disbelief. "Ronald…!"

But he raised a hand, silencing her. "Amelia wants a battle?" His gaze locked onto hers, sharp and cold. "Then she’ll get one."

For the first time since entering the room, Amelia felt a flare of something different. It wasn't fear no, she had long since left fear behind. But Ronald's calmness, his lack of reaction, was. unsettling.

He wasn't angry.

He wasn't in a state of panic.

He was waiting.

What was he scheming?

One of the oldest and longest-serving board members, an elderly man, at last spoke up. "If this is really what Jake Wellington wanted, then we have no option but to accept Miss Rodriguez as the new president." His words were slow, as though uttering them left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Other members grunted in reluctant concurrence.

A third man shifted in his seat. "While this is. unanticipated, we must consider the legal papers before us. If it is all valid, then we will have no choice but to comply."

Catherine jumped up from her chair. "You're all just going to comply with this?!!" she cried. "After all that."

"Enough, Catherine."

Ronald's voice was gentle, but authoritative. It had the authority of command, and it sent a clear message.

Catherine gulped, her chest heaving and falling quickly with anger. But she said not another word.

Amelia looked around the table, at the faces of the people who had once ignored her, underestimated her. And now they could do nothing but take her in.

"I am expecting complete cooperation," she declared bluntly. "Any resistance will be noted."

Her threat was clear.

She may have just started in this role, but she wasn't afraid to assert her power.

The meeting adjourned, and the board members filed out in subdued murmurs, some still reeling from what had just transpired.

Catherine stormed out of there, Beatrice close behind her, both of them too furious to stay one minute longer.

But Ronald stayed.

And so did Amelia.

The room emptied, leaving only the two of them.

For the first time in four years, they were alone.

Ronald leaned against the table, arms folded, looking at her. "You've changed."

Amelia tilted her head. "And you haven't."

He let out a low laugh, but there was no humor behind it. "Tell me, Amelia… Was this what you wanted? Revenge?"

She met his glare head-on. "I wanted justice."

A silence.

Then….

Ronald moved slowly closer, filling the gap between them.

"Then try to handle it."

His voice was soft, almost a whisper, but there was a sense of fear underlying it.

He never got to see this side of Amelia and he couldn't help but ask himself where she had disappeared to and how much she had changed.

She was like a snake waiting to bite him if she did not agree with what he was about to do. She was no longer the Amelia who would sit in the corner and wear a smile on her face even if he was ignoring her.

There was no sign of the plain wife he once had a few years before and he could not help but question where did she vanish and why did she change suddenly?

A promise. A challenge. A warning.

Amelia batted an eyelash not. She would not give him the satisfaction.

Rather, she twirled about, walking away in silence.

But as she reached the door frame, she overheard him whispering.

"Welcome back, Amelia."

She did not look back.

But she knew…The real fight had only just begun!!