“Termination?” Mark laughed. A manic, high-pitched sound. “You can’t terminate the owner! I own this place!”
CHAPTER 5: THE CHAIRMAN RISES
DING.
The sound of the central elevator arrival bell cut through Mark’s shouting.
The doors of the VIP elevator—the one Mark couldn’t open—slid apart smoothly.
The lobby went dead silent. Three thousand people stopped moving.
Two large bodyguards stepped out first. They took positions on either side of the doors.
And then, She emerged.
It was Anna.
But it wasn’t the Anna Mark remembered. It wasn’t the woman in sweatpants. It wasn’t the bleeding patient.
She sat in a motorized wheelchair, carbon-fiber black. She was wearing a white power suit, tailored to perfection, sharp enough to cut glass. Her hair was pulled back into a severe, regal chignon. She wore oversized black sunglasses.
She didn’t look injured. She looked like a weapon.
Flanked by Elias Thorne (General Counsel) and Marcus Sterling (CFO), she glided across the marble floor. The crowd parted for her like the Red Sea.
Mark stared, his mouth agape. “Anna? What… what are you doing here?”
He rushed toward her, fueled by confusion and rage. “You should be in the hospital! You look ridiculous in that chair! Is this a stunt? Did you lock my card to be petty?”
He reached out to grab the handle of her wheelchair.
“Don’t touch her,” Elias Thorne said, stepping in between. His voice was low, but it carried the weight of a sledgehammer.
“Get out of my way, Elias!” Mark shouted. “She’s my ex-wife! She’s having a breakdown!”
“Mr. Miller,” Elias adjusted his glasses. “You are addressing the Chairman of the Board.”
Mark stopped. He blinked. “Chairman? Her father is dead. The seat is empty.”
Anna reached up and slowly removed her sunglasses. Her eyes were dark, rimmed with the shadows of exhaustion, but burning with a cold, terrifying fire.
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