I used to think power was given.
Handed out from men in suits, dressed in boardroom smiles. But power, I realized, is not given.
It's taken.
And today, I was taking back everything that was stolen from me and my mother.
Sterling Enterprises gleamed in the morning sun like it owned the skyline. Thirty-four floors of glass and steel, a corporate empire built on my mother's vision—and quietly seized by my father after her death.
Now, it was time to sign it back into the hands of the rightful owner.
Me.
I walked through the main doors flanked by two lawyers and Gregory, who carried the sealed will and authorization from the vault in Merrowind. The documents were impossible to contest—they were signed by my mother before her death and backed by silent shareholders still loyal to her name.
The elevator ride to the executive floor was silent. Tense.
The boardroom held twelve men and one woman—members of the executive board. And at the head of the table, my father.
His expression when I entered was priceless. Surprise. Confusion. Then that icy rage I knew too well.
"Ava," he said, rising slowly. "What are you doing here?,This isn't the time."
"It's exactly the time," I replied, setting the leather portfolio on the table. "Per Isadora Lorne's final will and the Lorne Shareholders' Preservation Clause, effective immediately—I am the new majority owner of Sterling Enterprises."
He laughed, cold and sharp. "That will was invalid. It was—"
"Authenticated. Stored in a legal trust. Witnessed. Dated a month before her death," Gregory interrupted, placing the evidence on the table. "And you'll find this clause"—he slid another document forward—"explicitly strips you of voting rights due to breach of fiduciary duty. Embezzling from your late wife's charitable foundation was a bold move, Richard."
The room erupted into murmurs.
My father's face paled.
"And as of this morning," I added, calm and lethal, "the board has already voted. Your shares were bought out by the Women's Sovereign Trust. And guess who chairs it now?"
Gregory placed the final document in front of me.
I picked up the pen and signed my name in ink so black it looked like vengeance.
AvaIsadoraSterling.
"You'll ruin this company," he hissed.
"No," I replied. "I'll rebuild it. The way she would hav wanted"
And then I turned to the board.
"Gentlemen," I said, letting my words carry through the room. "This is the new face of Sterling Enterprises."
As I walked out, the gold nameplate on the door caught my eye. Richard Lorne – CEO
By tomorrow, it would say Ava I. Sterling – CEO & Chairwoman.