Chapter 5 - An Empty Hall and a Silent Promise
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Within ten minutes, the grand ballroom was completely deserted.
Catering staff hurried through the side exits, whispering among themselves in utter disbelief.
Socialites and corporate executives had gathered their designer coats and fled into the night.
Only four people remained beneath the towering crystal chandeliers.
Grant, Mia, Julian, and myself.
Celeste had fled through the front doors, weeping uncontrollably while shielding her face from the paparazzi outside.
Julian stood by the bar, pouring himself another massive glass of bourbon with shaking hands.
“You think you’re a hero, don't you, Grant?” Julian sneered, turning around with bloodshot eyes.
“You think you can just blow up a fifty-million-dollar corporate merger over a waitress?”
Grant didn't even look at him.
He walked over to Mia, gently pulling out a gold banquet chair for her.
“Sit down, Mia,” Grant said, his voice softer than I had ever heard it in six years of working for him.
Mia sat down slowly, her eyes wide with exhaustion and emotional shock.
Julian took a heavy swallow of his drink and laughed bitterly.
“You can't fire me, Grant,” Julian said, pointing his glass at him.
“The bylaws of Holloway Enterprises require a sixty percent shareholder vote to remove a managing director of the family office.”
“You only control fifty-two percent.”
“The Monroe family controls eight percent.”
“Together, Richard Monroe and I have enough voting power to block any action you take.”
Grant finally turned his gaze toward his cousin.
“Rachel,” Grant said without breaking eye contact with Julian.
“Yes, Mr. Holloway?” I replied.
“Call building security.”
“Have them escort Mr. Julian Holloway off these premises immediately.”
Julian’s face tightened with sudden panic.
“You can't trespass me from a company-owned facility!”
“I own fifty-two percent of the building company, Julian,” Grant said with ice in his voice.
“And right now, that is more than enough to have you dragged out through the loading dock.”
Two burly private security guards in black suits stepped through the main doors.
They had worked for Grant for years and recognized the tone of his voice immediately.
“Is there a problem, Mr. Holloway?” the head guard, Marcus, asked.
“Escort Julian to the sidewalk,” Grant ordered calmly.
“Revoke his electronic keycards to all Holloway properties as of right now.”
Julian set his glass down so hard the stem snapped, spilling amber liquor across the white tablecloth.
“You’re making the biggest mistake of your life, Grant!” Julian shouted as the two guards grabbed him firmly by his arms.
“I know where every body is buried in this company!”
“I will tear Holloway Enterprises to the ground before I let you give a single penny to that bastard girl!”
The guards dragged Julian toward the back service exit, his manic shouts echoing down the hallway until the heavy doors slammed shut.
Silence returned to the cavernous ballroom.
Grant stood beside Mia, looking down at the bundle of returned letters tied with the faded blue ribbon.
He pulled a chair up next to her and sat down.
His broad shoulders seemed to carry the weight of twenty years of betrayal.
“Mia,” Grant whispered, looking directly into her brown eyes.
“Tell me about your mother.”
Mia took a deep, trembling breath, her eyes welling with fresh tears.
“She loved you, Grant,” Mia said softly.
“Even at the very end, in that terrible hospice room, she kept your photograph in her nightstand.”
“She told me that you had the kindest heart in the world, and that if you ever knew the truth, you would have moved heaven and earth to protect us.”
Grant buried his face in his hands, his broad frame shaking with silent, agonizing sobs.
May you like
Mia reached out and gently laid her hand on his tattooed wrist.
For the first time in twenty-two years, the brother and sister were finally together.
