PART 2: THE APEX PREDATOR
The man who walked into the quiet room did not look like he belonged in a hospital. He wore a dark, expensive winter coat over his broad shoulders. He walked smoothly and quietly, like a powerful boss. It was Alistair Sanders.
Right behind him were two serious men in business suits. They were top lawyers who cost thousands of dollars an hour. Behind them was a hospital boss, a woman who looked so scared of Alistair that she barely dared to breathe.
“Who are you and why are you walking in here?” Reginald shouted, turning around with an angry face. “This is a private room.”
The whole room went dead silent as Alistair took another step. Reginald lowered his hands, and the black pen dropped out of his fingers, hitting the floor with a loud noise. The color left Barbara’s face completely, making her skin look gray. The mean smile on her face melted into total shock.
“Alistair… Alistair Sanders,” Barbara stammered, her voice shaking in deep fear.
Alistair was not just rich; he was the most dangerous man in the business world. He was a billionaire who made every corporate board scared. He was famous for buying out failing companies, taking them apart, and showing no mercy to people who made mistakes. My parents had spent years begging for a meeting with him, just wanting a little bit of his time.
And now, here he was, standing in their daughter’s hospital room.
Alistair ignored my parents completely. He walked right past them and looked straight at me. The cold, scary look on his face vanished instantly. As he looked at me and the tiny baby on my chest, his eyes became soft and full of love.
“How are you feeling, my love?” Alistair asked gently, leaning down toward my bed. He smelled like fresh rain and clean wood.
“I am tired, but I am happy now that you are here,” I answered, feeling all the stress leave my body.
He kissed my forehead gently. Then, using one big finger, he softly touched Kirk’s small, pink cheek.
“He is perfect, Florence,” Alistair said softly, his deep voice warming me up inside. “He looks just like you.”
“I think he has your angry face,” I said, giving him a small, tired smile.
Alistair let out a quiet laugh. He kissed my face again before slowly turning to look at my parents. The soft look on his face disappeared, replaced by eyes as cold as ice.
“What were you saying,” Alistair asked in a low, scary voice, “about my son having no father?”
Reginald backed up so fast he hit his back against the heart monitor machine, making it beep loudly.
“Mr. Sanders… I… we…” Reginald stuttered, unable to talk right. The loud, mean man who was just threatening me was now shaking like a scared child. “We did not know… Florence never told us anything.”
“Because she did not want your nasty words near my son,” Alistair said coldly, taking a slow step toward my father.
Barbara held her pearl necklace tight with shaking hands. “Mr. Sanders, this is a big mistake,” she said in a rush. “Florence is… she is confused from giving birth. If we knew you were the father, we would have been so happy! We would have thrown a huge party for you!”
“I do not want your parties, Barbara,” Alistair said, looking down at the table. “I want you to leave us alone.”
His eyes hit the yellow folder. Before my father could move, one of Alistair’s lawyers stepped up fast and grabbed the folder off the table.
“What is this?” Alistair asked, reading the legal paper while looking straight at Reginald. “You are trying to force a woman who just had a baby to give up her business shares while she is hurt on hospital medicine? That is a crazy thing to do, Reginald.”
“It is… it is just family business!” Reginald lied fast, sweat running down his face. “Raymond has a buyer for our buildings! We just need her shares so we can complete the sale!”
I sat up a little bit, feeling a small pain in my stomach, but holding Kirk safe. The time to hide was over.
“Raymond does not have a buyer, Dad,” I said clearly.
Reginald turned his head to glare at me, his eyes wide with fear. “Florence, shut your mouth,” he warned weakly. “You don’t know anything about business.”
“I know everything,” I said back smoothly. “Raymond needs my twelve percent because he took forty million dollars out of the company bank accounts for himself, and now the money is gone.”
Barbara gasped out loud and moved closer to me. “That is a lie! Raymond is smart! He is saving our company!”
“Raymond is a thief,” I said, looking right at my mother. “He stole the money. I warned you and Dad about this two years ago. I showed you the fake bank papers, and I showed you the hidden accounts. Remember what you told me, Dad?”
Reginald swallowed hard, unable to say a word.
“You told me I was too silly for business,” I said in a calm voice. “You told me I was jealous of my brother and ordered me to go back to my desk.”
Reginald looked from me to Alistair, finally understanding what was happening.
“So,” I said, watching them fall apart, “since my own family did not care about the truth, I gave the proof to the one man who had enough money and power to ruin you completely.”
Reginald’s legs gave out a little bit, and he had to hold onto the hospital bed so he would not fall. He looked at Alistair, finally realizing this was not a surprise visit or a secret romance. This was a plan we had built for nine months to crush them.
As Reginald started breathing fast in total fear, Alistair’s head lawyer took out his phone and made a call that was going to destroy the Pembroke name for good.
PART 3: THE MATCH AND THE ARSONIST
“You gave him our private files?!” Reginald screamed, his voice turning into a high squeal that hurt my ears. All his fancy act was gone, showing just how weak and dishonest he really was. “You bad girl! I will take you to court! I will send you to jail!”
He ran toward my bed with his hands out.
Before Reginald could get close, Alistair stepped right in front of him. He put his big hand on my father’s chest and pushed him back hard. Reginald stumbled back, crashing into the wall and knocking a framed picture to the floor, where the glass broke into tiny pieces.
“Do not raise your voice near my family,” Alistair warned in a dangerous whisper. “And never step toward my wife again.”
“Wife?” Barbara gasped, letting out a small cry as she finally got it.
I was not some lonely woman left behind; I was fully protected.
“You cannot take anyone to court when all your bank accounts are locked, Reginald,” the lawyer, Kendrick, said calmly. He tapped his tablet screen without looking at my father. “A judge just locked all your accounts because of the fraud proof your daughter gave us.”
“Locked?” Reginald breathed out, his hands shaking as he pulled away from the wall. “You can’t do that! You don’t have the power!”
“The government does,” Kendrick said simply. “Pembroke Development’s money is frozen while the police check the business. The government knows about the fake papers and the money your son Raymond stole.”
Barbara fell into the visitor’s chair, grabbing her pearls tight. “Raymond… oh no! You are ruining Raymond! Florence, tell them to stop! He is your brother!”
“Raymond ruined himself, Mother,” I answered, feeling no sadness for her. “I just gave the police the proof.”
Reginald walked back and forth quickly, breathing hard. He was trying to find a way out, any way to save his money from Alistair Sanders.
“Fine!” Reginald spat out, pointing a shaking finger at Alistair. “You locked our accounts! But we have real buildings and big properties! We will sell them all, hire the best lawyers, and beat you in court!”
Alistair gave a cold smile. It was not a happy look; it was the look of a big animal about to catch its food.
“You really think I would do this without blocking all your exits first, Reginald?” Alistair asked softly, walking close to my father until he towered over him.
“What do you mean?” Reginald asked, backing up until his back hit the wall again.
“You needed Florence’s shares because your son lost all your money,” Alistair explained in a plain voice. “But you missed one big thing. You needed cash, so you took out a huge loan of sixty million dollars from Vanguard Group.”
Reginald swallowed hard, sweat dripping down his face. “Yes, we took the loan,” he said in a quiet voice. “But they gave us more time to pay it back!”
“Did you ever check who owns Vanguard Group, Reginald?” Alistair asked, tilting his head.
The room was completely quiet. Reginald looked at Alistair, his eyes growing huge as he realized the truth.
“I own Vanguard Group,” Alistair whispered, getting very close to him. “I own your debt, Reginald. Every single dollar. I gave you more time just so you would stay calm while Florence collected the proof against you. And today, I want all my sixty million dollars back. Right now.”
The news crushed Reginald completely. His legs stopped working, and the proud leader of the Pembroke family dropped hard onto his knees on the cold floor. He stared at the broken glass, his money, his power, and his proud life completely destroyed.
“Please,” Reginald cried out, tears running down his red face. “Please, Mr. Sanders. Sixty million… we don’t have it. If you take it, we lose everything. Our house, our cars… we will be poor on the street!”
Alistair looked down at the crying man with cold eyes.
