I let out a cold laugh and slapped a document onto the conference table.
"Duke, let's get one thing straight. This conference room—this entire company—was built with my money. Every chair you're sitting in, every computer on every desk, was purchased with funds from my accounts." My gaze cut through him like a blade. "So tell me: what right do you have to offer me a handout?"
I turned to Stacy, my smile sharpening. "And you—repaying my kindness? By sleeping with my husband and throwing your escort money at me as thanks?"
The color drained from Stacy's face. Her composure crumbled, and she threw herself into Duke's arms, her voice a pitiful whimper.
"Duke, you know I never wanted any of this. How can she say such things about me..."
Duke's expression turned thunderous. "Gertrude, don't push your luck!"
"Fine—I'll pay back every cent from back then, with bank interest," he snarled. "But stop acting so high and mighty, like I've been freeloading off you all these years."
His finger jabbed in my direction. "Keep humiliating Stacy, and I swear I'll throw you out with nothing. You'll be sweeping streets for a living."
I couldn't help but laugh.
Playing the victim while standing on a pedestal of lies. She thought scrubbing her past clean would erase what she'd done. And him—the audacity of a man who'd built his throne on my fortune, now threatening to cast me out.
Thirty years. EmpireStar Group was no longer the modest startup I'd funded with a few hundred million. Through our combined efforts—my efforts—it had grown into a multi-billion-dollar empire. And now he had the shamelessness to offer me back my "original investment"?
I picked up the microphone from the table. My voice, laced with mockery, echoed through the conference room.
"Duke, let me show you what 'pushing your luck' actually looks like."
On cue, Victor began distributing documents to each board member.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced, "before you is a complete financial audit of EmpireStar Group since its founding, along with a detailed record of Mr. Stephens' asset transfers over the past decade."
He paused, letting the weight of his next words sink in.