I Was His Secret Genius, Now I’m His Biggest Regret Chapter 20

I Was His Secret Genius, Now I’m His Biggest Regret Chapter 20

After making that promise, Clayton moved with astonishing speed. An internal investigation was launched at Montgomery Distillery, its target aimed squarely at Savannah Beaumont.

The directors who had once been charmed by her became her coldest judges in the face of a plunging stock price. Accusations flew: abusing company credit cards, maliciously firing old employees loyal to Ava, interfering with distilling processes and causing the disastrous failure of a new product.

The investigation lasted several weeks. Every day, Clayton felt as if a piece of his soul was being sliced away.

Until the company’s legal team placed the final report before him.

“The board has voted to permanently bar Savannah Beaumont from all company properties and reserves the right to pursue legal action,” the chief attorney said.

Clayton nodded numbly. He had expected that.

“But this is not the most serious issue.” The attorney pushed another document toward him. “The key finding concerns the accusation of ‘intellectual property theft.’”

Clayton’s heart stopped.

He would never forget that board meeting, when Savannah had “heartbrokenly” exposed Ava’s attempt to steal the “Montgomery family’s ancestral formulas.” And he had allowed it.

“We checked the security footage outside Ava’s studio,” the attorney said, his voice like a gavel striking Clayton’s nerves. “At two in the morning the night before Savannah reported to the board, she entered the studio with a spare key and photographed every page of Ava’s Distiller’s Ledger. She then moved first and submitted the registration applications under the family name.”

Clayton gripped the report so hard the paper crumpled in his hand.

He remembered.

When Ava left, she was still branded a thief.

Everyone in the distillery had looked at her strangely. She had walked down that long corridor with her head down, and not one person had defended her. He even remembered someone spitting out the word “thief” with contempt.

At the time, he had thought that humiliation was what she deserved.

It wasn’t.

It was torture. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to defend herself. She had, and even he wouldn’t believe her.

“One more thing,” the attorney said, a trace of hesitation in his voice. “Regarding the children, Beau and Daisy. The investigation shows they were coerced and misled by Savannah. She told them their mother was a bad person trying to steal from the family.”

The final blow.

Clayton’s vision went dark. He nearly fell from his chair. With his own hands, he had placed the knife that hurt his wife into his lover’s hand. And his children had been used as tools to deliver the final stab.

On the day the investigation ended, Clayton sat alone in the empty CEO’s office. Outside the window stretched the vast estate that had once filled him with pride.

Now, it all felt like a mockery.

There was only one thought in his mind.

He had to find Ava.

He had to tell her, in person, that the truth was out. He had to tell her that everyone owed her an apology, and he owed her the most.