Chapter 3: The Fall of a King
By noon, Andrew arrived at Whitmore International furious.
He stormed into the boardroom.
“Who authorized this?”
Nobody answered.
The executives avoided his eyes.
Then the doors opened.
Mariana walked in.
The room went silent.
Andrew stared at her.
For a second, he forgot how angry he was.
Then his pride returned.
“You.”
Mariana sat at the head of the table.
“Yes.”
Andrew laughed.
“You think this is some kind of revenge game?”
“No.”
She looked at him calmly.
“This is business.”
The chairman stood.
“Mr. Whitmore, please take your seat.”
Andrew looked confused.
The chairman had always supported him.
“What is happening?”
The lawyer placed documents in front of him.
“You are no longer the majority owner of this company.”
Andrew picked up the papers.
His hands began shaking.
“No.”
He looked at Mariana.
“This is fake.”
She didn’t react.
“You signed every agreement.”
“You just never read the names behind the investments.”
His face turned pale.
Four years.
Four years he had controlled a company that was never truly his.
“You lied to me.”
Mariana looked at him.
“No, Andrew.”
A pause.
“I trusted you.”
The words hurt more than anger.
“I wanted to believe that if you knew who I was, you would still choose me.”
Andrew looked away.
Because deep down…
he knew the answer.
He wouldn’t have.
That evening, Andrew returned home.
But the mansion felt different.
The same marble floors.
The same crystal chandeliers.
The same luxury.
Except now he knew the truth.
Everything belonged to her.
Brenda was waiting.
She rushed toward him.
“What happened?”
Andrew didn’t answer.
She grabbed his arm.
“Tell me.”
He looked at her.
For the first time, he saw clearly.
The expensive dresses.
The fake concern.
The ambition behind her smile.
“You knew.”
Brenda froze.
“Knew what?”
“You knew I was hurting Mariana.”
Silence.
“You encouraged it.”
Her expression changed.
Only for a second.
But Andrew saw it.
“You said she was nothing.”
Brenda stepped back.
“Andrew…”
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“You made me believe I was better than her.”
But the truth was worse.
He wasn’t better.
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He was simply standing on everything Mariana built.
And he had destroyed the one person who truly loved him.
