He Left Me For His Pregnant Ex, So I Took Everything Chapter 04

He Left Me For His Pregnant Ex, So I Took Everything Chapter 04

The next morning, Ruby’s message came first.

[Scarlett, we’re having a family dinner tonight at the Vance house. Mrs. Vance would like to talk things through.]

I replied, [Not available.]

She wrote back: [Garrett’s here too. He says this is your last chance.]

I deleted the message.

Ten minutes later, Summer walked in with an envelope. “Ms. Stirling, the Vances sent this.”

I opened it.

It read: If you don’t come, there will be consequences.

I fed it through the shredder.

“Get the car ready.”

Summer blinked. “I thought you weren’t going?”

“To see what exactly those consequences are.”

The Vance family dinner had over twenty people seated around the long table.

When I walked in, Mrs. Vance was bouncing the baby on her lap for relatives. Ruby sat beside Garrett like the true lady of the house.

Garrett stood when he saw me. “You came.”

I didn’t respond.

Mrs. Vance smirked. “Still knows how to walk through a Vance door.”

I pulled out a chair. “You’re the ones who invited me.”

One of the relatives chimed in. “Scarlett, you were married once. Don’t make this uglier than it needs to be.”

I asked, “Who’s married to whom?”

The relative choked.

Ruby jumped in: “Scarlett, we’re all just trying to help Garrett.”

“So you admit I’m not trying to help him?”

Her eyes went wet.

Mrs. Vance immediately threw a protective arm around her. “Scarlett, stop bullying people in my house!”

I picked up a teacup, then set it back down. “Fine. Business, then.”

Garrett sat back down. “Transfer your shares to me. I won’t pursue the property sales.”

I almost laughed. “Pursue what?”

“Your hostile takeover destabilized the company.”

“I bought shares with real money. You call that hostile?”

Ruby said, “Scarlett, Garrison Group is Garrett’s life. Name your price—anything—just don’t use the company to punish him.”

“I want him to pay for what he took.”

Mrs. Vance’s voice went cold. “What exactly are you demanding?”

I looked at her. “What can the Vances even afford right now?”

She choked.

Garrett said, “Scarlett, I admit I wronged you. But don’t drag personal grudges into the company. Think about the thousands of employees.”

I asked, “Did you think about them when you tried to use my properties to secure loans?”

His knuckles went white on his glass.

Ruby murmured, “Garrett was just desperate.”

“So being desperate makes robbery okay?”

Mrs. Vance couldn’t hold back. “Stop talking about robbery! You ate from this family for five years—that money was always owed back!”

I pulled out my tablet and played a video.

Her voice filled the room: “A divorced woman should stay in her lane. You can’t give Garrett a child. What’s wrong with him finding Ruby?”

Dead silence.

Garrett turned to his mother. “You said that?”

Mrs. Vance stammered. “I was angry. It was just talk.”

I put the tablet away. “Listen carefully, Garrett.”

“I don’t owe the Vances anything.”

“And Garrison Group isn’t yours alone.”

He stared at me. “Who’s behind you?”

A knock at the door.

The Vance butler entered. “Sir, several Garrison Group shareholders are here. They say it’s urgent.”

Garrett shot to his feet.

So did I.

“Looks like dinner’s over.”

Ruby grabbed his arm. “Garrett, don’t go. She’s baiting you.”

I turned back to her. “Ruby, what are you afraid of?”

She let go.

I walked toward the door.

Garrett caught up and said under his breath: “Scarlett, think carefully. Once you make your move, I won’t hold back out of old feelings.”

I replied, “That’s exactly what I’ve been waiting for.”

The shareholders’ meeting was held at Garrison Group headquarters.

By the time I arrived, Garrett was already seated at the head of the table.

Ruby didn’t have a seat at the table, but she stood outside the door waiting.

She blocked me. “Scarlett, are you really going to destroy him?”

“Move.”

She lowered her voice. “Don’t think owning shares means you’ve won. Garrett will never let you onto that board.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Ruby smiled faintly. “Do you know why he never publicly acknowledged your divorce?”

I paused.

She stepped closer. “Because he was already planning to cut you out. You think he’s in love with me? No. He was guarding against you from the start.”

I looked at her. “Thanks for the tip.”

She faltered.

I pushed the door open.

The conference room was packed.

Garrett opened: “Scarlett Stirling has purchased shares in bad faith, disrupting company stability. I move to suspend her participation in this meeting.”

Miles Montgomery cleared his throat. “Garrett, that’s not in the charter.”

Garrett shot him a look. “Miles, what are you doing?”

Miles kept his eyes on his papers. “Under the shareholding structure, Ms. Stirling has the right to be here.”

Garrett’s face dropped further.

I sat down.

He forced a cold smile. “Fine. Since you’re here, listen up. The company has a two hundred forty million dollar funding gap. If you really care about Garrison Group, hand your shares over to management and inject emergency capital.”

I asked, “Hand them over to who?”

“Me.”

“Take my shares, my money, and keep funding Ruby?”

Several shareholders looked down at the table.

Garrett slammed his hand. “Scarlett!”

The door opened again.

Lawyer Davis walked in, followed by a representative from Crestview Ventures.

Garrett’s brow furrowed as he recognized them. “What are you doing here?”

Davis distributed documents to everyone.

“On behalf of our client, I’m here to disclose Crestview Ventures’ latest shareholding position.”