Page 100 of Shattered Throne
Then he was gone.
Zoe was crying.
Not loud, hysterical sobs—worse. Quiet tears streaming down her face, her body shaking against mine. She'd heard everything. Freak of a daughter. Never wanted her.
My heart shattered into a thousand pieces.
"Baby." I dropped to my knees, gathering her in my arms. "Baby, look at me. That man is a liar. A bad man who says mean things because he's broken inside. Nothing he said is true. Do you hear me? None of it is true."
"Why doesn't he like me?" Zoe's voice was tiny. "What did I do wrong?"
"Nothing." I held her tighter, my own tears spilling over. "You didn't do anything wrong. You're perfect. You're the most wonderful girl in the whole world, and anyone who doesn't see that is an idiot."
Xavier crouched beside us, his knuckles red and already swelling. “Hey, Zoe.” His voice was soft. Gentle. The cold stranger from the flight had vanished, and in his place was the man who'd carried her on his shoulders, who'd played tea party on my living room floor, who'd looked at her like she mattered.
Like we both did. "Your mom's right. That guy is a grade-A jerk. You know what I do with jerks?"
Zoe sniffled. "What?"
"I punch them in the face." He held up his bruised hand. "See?"
A watery giggle escaped her. "You punched him."
"Twice. He deserved at least four, but I was being nice."
I caught his eye over Zoe's head.Thank you, I mouthed.
He nodded once.
We went inside. I got Zoe into her pajamas, made her warm milk with honey, read her three stories instead of one. She fell asleep clutching her elephant, her face still blotchy from tears but finally peaceful.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead and closed her door softly behind me.
Xavier was sitting on my couch, head in his hands. He looked exhausted. Defeated. The weight of whatever he was carrying was visible in every line of his body.
I sat beside him.
"Tell me," I said. "Whatever it is. Tell me what's happening."
He was quiet for a long moment. Then he ran a hand through his hair and spoke.
"The contract I signed with Cole. The Titan Ventures deal." His voice was hollow. "I didn't read it carefully. I was distracted, and I just signed it. Gerald tried to stop me, but I didn't listen."
My stomach dropped. "What was in it?"
"A clause buried in the fine print. Section 12, subsection C." He laughed bitterly. "Cole's company didn't just invest twenty million dollars. The contract includes a convertible debt provision with accelerated vesting. If Dubois Industries fails to meet certain performance metrics within ninety days—metrics that are nearly impossible to hit—Titan Ventures can convert their debt into equity shares."
"How many shares?"
"Fifty-one percent." Xavier looked at me, his eyes bleak. "Cole didn't invest in our company, Kim. He bought it. One failed quarter, one missed benchmark, and he takes majority control. He'll have the power to remove Sebastian as CEO. To dismantle everything my family built. And it's my fault. I handedit to him on a silver platter because I was too distracted to read the damn contract."
The pieces clicked into place. Cole's smirk. His confidence. The way he'd talked about the board meeting next week.
"He planned this," I whispered. "From the beginning. The deal, getting close to me, all of it?—"
"He used you to get to me. He knew about our arrangement somehow—" Xavier's jaw tightened. "I don't know how. Gerald, maybe. Someone at the office. It doesn't matter now. He knew that if he showed up, you'd run, I'd chase you, and I'd be too distracted to notice what I was signing." Xavier's hands clenched into fists. "I should have seen it. I should have known something was wrong when he kept asking about Zoe, about you. But I was so focused on?—"
"On me."
