Chapter 8
And then, the robbers‘ confessions were obtained.
Howard was temporarily taken to the interrogation room.
Before leaving, he shot me a warning look.
But now, I had nothing left to lose, so what was there to fear?
After giving my statement, I called Stewart from home.
He answered almost immediately, his voice warm and reassuring.
“The child is doing fine.”
1/9
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In short, it was the same variety of complaints.
But the most frequent one was the doubt about my ability as a woman.
A smirk spread across my face as I entered the room, letting my lips curve into a mocking smile.
“You say I, a woman, don’t understand business.”
“May I ask what each of you has accomplished in your careers?”
With that, I angrily slammed the company’s financial reports onto the conference table, pointing at the years of losses, berating
them.
3/9
5 Points:
“This is how you run a business?”
The men who had doubted me for being a woman fell silent, unwilling to speak further.
But then the group who had criticized me for being ruthless began to speak up again.
“Wendy, no matter what, you can’t send Howard to prison.”
“He’s your husband! The father of your child!”
At those words, the others who had been quiet suddenly began to chime in again.
“Exactly, Wendy”
“If
you can send your husband to jail today, you could send any one of us here to jail tomorrow.”
4/9
These words laid their ulterior motives bare for everyone to see.
I pretended not to understand, deliberately asking, “Howard is in jail because he tried to kill his wife and child.”
“Could it be that some of you have committed unforgivable sins as well?”
The directors, accustomed to being in charge, fell silent.
Some tried to save face by making irrelevant comments.
“Wendy, what you’re saying is just one–sided.””
“We don’t know for sure if Howard had someone try to kill you. The police haven’t even made a conclusion yet.”
5/9
I didn’t bother responding to them.
I simply asked, “Who here is willing to support me? Please raise your hand.”
A few of the most vocal critics exchanged glances and sneered.
But, surprisingly, one by one, three, four, and then more people raised their hands.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
The leaders who had been targeting me stared, dumbfounded.
Banging their fists on the table, one shouted, “Are you sure you’ve thought this through?”
“She’s a woman!”
“She’s a woman who knows nothing!”
6/9
I smiled, seeing how many supported me.
“Seems like there are more clear–eyed people than I thought.”
“To the rest of you–leave.”
I said to the few agitated shareholders, smiling all the while.
They were furious with embarrassment.
Just as they were about to charge at me, the police stormed in and blocked them.
I stood up, walked to the table, and slammed down the evidence I had collected.
“Gentlemen, since you know I can send Howard to jail…”
7/9
“Do you really think I’ll go easy on you?”
They froze for a moment, then started shouting in outrage.
“Vicious woman!”
“Lunatic!”
“Wendy, you’ll pay for this!”
But this was nothing more than the rage of the powerless.
I had heard these insults so many times recently that they no longer bothered me.
Finally, they were escorted out in a flurry of
curses.
I had successfully taken control of the
company.
8/9
I then introduced a series of proposals to improve the current situation.
In the meantime, I found some free time and went to visit Howard at the police station.
He looked dejected, his face full of bitterness as he stared at me.
“Wendy, you really have some tricks up your sleeve.”
“You’ve carefully orchestrated this whole thing to put me in prison, didn’t you?”
I didn’t respond, just sat there in silence, staring back at him.
Howard slowly quieted down, then spoke in a voice that seemed to plead, “Wendy, you’ve betrayed the love I had for you.”
