Chapter 6 - THE FOUNTAIN PEN
The elevator doors closed, leaving a suffocating silence in the penthouse.
I looked at Violet. She was trembling, holding Celeste as if the world were trying to rip the baby from her arms.
“He knew,” Violet whispered, tears streaming down her face. “My own doctor lied to me. He orchestrated everything.”
I didn't hesitate. I crossed the room and wrapped my arms around both of them. I pulled them against my chest, burying my face in Violet’s hair.
“He is not taking our daughter,” I swore, my voice vibrating with absolute certainty. “He is not touching either of you.”
I pulled away, my mind shifting instantly from father back to CEO. The grief was gone. Only war remained.
I walked to my desk, pulled out my encrypted laptop, and dialed my chief legal counsel, David.
“David. Wake up the entire legal team,” I barked into the phone. “Marcus Sterling just filed a fraudulent emergency custody petition using fabricated medical insolvency claims against Violet Laru.”
“Beckett, it’s 2 AM,” David groaned, then paused. “Wait, custody? You have a child?”
“I have a five-week-old daughter. And Marcus is trying to use her to extort my voting shares for the German merger.”
Silence on the line. Then, David’s voice shifted to pure, ruthless professionalism. “What do you want to do?”
“I am stepping down as CEO,” I said.
Violet gasped from the sofa.
“Beckett, no!” David shouted through the speaker. “If you step down, Marcus instantly becomes acting CEO. He controls the board!”
“Let him have the title,” I said coldly. “Because before my resignation takes effect at 9 AM, I am executing the Alpha Protocol.”
David sucked in a breath. “Are you sure?”
“Draft the papers. I’m signing them in one hour.”
I hung up the phone.
Violet walked over to the desk, her eyes wide. “Beckett, what is the Alpha Protocol? You can't throw away your father’s company for me.”
“I am not throwing it away,” I said, opening a hidden drawer in my desk. “I am gutting it.”
I pulled out a heavy, velvet-lined box. Inside rested a vintage gold fountain pen.
“My father used this pen to sign the original patents for every single drug Valiant Holdings manufactures,” I explained, looking down at the gold nib. “The company owns the manufacturing rights. But legally, as his sole heir, I personally own the patents. I just lease them to the company for one dollar a year.”
Violet’s eyes widened as she realized what I was saying.
“If Marcus becomes CEO without those patents…”
“He inherits an empty shell,” I smiled grimly. “He gets the factories, but he loses the legal right to produce a single pill. The German merger will collapse the second they realize the company is worthless.”
An hour later, David arrived at the penthouse with the printed documents.
I took my father’s gold fountain pen. I didn't hesitate. I signed the transfer papers, legally moving every single pharmaceutical patent out of my name and into a newly formed irrevocable trust.
“It’s done,” David said, closing the folder. “The patents are safe. Marcus has no leverage.”
“Who is the beneficiary of the trust?” Violet asked, rocking Celeste gently.
“She is,” I said, looking at my sleeping daughter. “Celeste is the sole beneficiary.”
David packed his briefcase, looking relieved. But just before he walked out the door, his phone buzzed. He looked at the screen, and the blood drained completely from his face.
“Beckett,” David whispered, looking up at me with terror in his eyes. “We have a massive problem.”
“What is it?”
David held up his phone. “The trust transfer was just rejected by the federal registry.”
“That’s impossible,” I snapped. “I am her biological father.”
“Not legally,” David said, his voice shaking. “I just pulled the birth certificate from the hospital archives. Your name isn't on it, Beckett.”
May you like
He turned the phone around so Violet and I could see the screen.
“Someone else is listed as the father.”
