He Wants An Open Marriage? Done!

Richard scanned the eager faces surrounding the table. "There is—"

"No, Son," Henry interjected, his deep voice slicing through the air like a blade. He didn’t raise his voice, but the sheer authority in it made Richard freeze. "This is not the time to bring that up."

"Why the hell not?" an investor from the far end of the table demanded, leaning forward as the leather of his chair groaned.

Henry looked across the room, giving a slow, calculated nod. "The most tactical thing we can do right now is let Christian play out every single card in his hand. We let him think he’s won. And when he’s completely exposed and drowning in his own arrogance, we strike."

A dark, dangerous promise flickered in Henry’s eyes. "We make him wish he had never uttered the name Vance."

A wave of pure satisfaction pooled in Roxanne’s chest. She looked at Henry, a slow smile tugging at her lips. Finally, the old lion was showing his teeth.

Richard nodded, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he locked eyes with his father. "That works perfectly for me."

Henry turned his gaze back to the front of the room, fixing his eyes on the man in the center. "What do you say, Keith? Do you still want to force that resignation vote?"

Keith, the board chairman, stared back at Henry for a long, agonizing moment. His face was a mask of cold corporate calculus. Then, the tension in his jaw slowly melted.

"I say we bring in an independent audit team to meticulously audit every single project Westbrook has touched with us. If they find so much as a single speck of dirt, he is utterly ruined."

A soft murmur of relief rippled through the room, accompanied by tentative smiles. Roxanne’s smile was the widest of all. Finally. We are back on the offensive.

"If Christian did commit fraud, we shouldn’t need to spend weeks digging through the archives to find it." Margaret’s voice cut through the newfound optimism, dropping the room’s temperature back to freezing.

She locked her gaze onto Roxanne, her eyes narrowed into venomous slits. "Roxanne should already know exactly where the bodies are buried. Unless, of course, she’s actively covering for her husband."

Roxanne looked directly at the matriarch, entirely unfazed. The tiny smile remained on her lips, dripping with quiet confidence. "You’re just never going to stop, are you, Lady Vance?"

"I am simply stating the obvious," Margaret snapped.

Roxanne let out a dry, breathy scoff. "There is nothing obvious about it. There is no truth in what you just said, only bitterness. But let me make one thing crystal clear to you, and to this entire board: I am standing squarely with Richard, and I will fight alongside him until the end. If I knew a single piece of information that could stop Christian right now, you would have already heard it."

Margaret sneered, looking away in disgust. "We need to move quickly before the stock price tanks completely."

Henry nodded, the finality in his posture signaling the end of the circus. "We will adjourn this meeting until Friday morning."

"Waiting gives Westbrook another forty-eight hours to destroy us," One director said, shaking his head.

"That is right," another person chimed in. "Our lenders won’t wait until Friday."

Henry looked at everyone and nodded. "We are only adjourning. When we reconvene in this room, it will be to completely destroy our enemies."

Keith stood up, adjusting his cuffs. "Are you not going to release a formal press statement to counter Christian’s accusations in the meantime, Henry?"

Henry paused as he pushed back his heavy chair, his tall frame casting a long shadow across the polished mahogany. "I will," he said, his voice quiet but vibrating with absolute conviction. "But not with words. With actions. Westbrook better be ready for what’s coming."

Without another word, the patriarch turned and walked toward the exit. Pamela hurried after him like a shadow, her heels clicking frantically as she mumbled inaudible, tearful pleas to his back.

Margaret did not move immediately, her cold gaze drifting down to where Roxanne sat close to Richard. She walked over, her voice dropping to a stinging, quiet purr.

"You handled yourself well today," she said, looking at Roxanne.

Roxanne smiled, surprise etched in her features. Did Margaret just give her a compliment?

"But it changes nothing," Margaret added after a second. "When this storm blows over, I expect your immediate resignation from this company. You can do whatever you want with my son in your private time. But I won’t support it, and I certainly refuse to sit across another boardroom table from you."

Before Roxanne could even part her lips to reply, Margaret turned on her heel and stormed out, the door clicking shut behind her.

The room emptied rapidly, leaving a heavy, ringing silence in its wake.

Richard immediately reached over, wrapping his warm, strong hand tightly around Roxanne’s fingers. "She will come around," he murmured, his voice a soothing balm against the lingering tension. "Just breathe. Stay calm."

Roxanne looked into his dark eyes, exhaling a slow, shaky breath. The warmth of his skin grounded her. "I’m so sorry all of this is happening, Richard. My mess is bleeding into your family."

Richard shook his head, completely ignoring the few lingering board members whispering near the exit.

"Don’t you dare apologize," he said softly, squeezing her hand. "This is my fault. Nicholas was only able to record that tape because I brought you to that corridor. I know exactly how ruthless my family can be. But right now, we are a team. Don’t doubt for a single second that I am completely with you."

Roxanne felt a genuine smile touch her face, the rest of the chaotic boardroom fading into background noise. "I know, Richard. But we still need to do something drastic to stop Christian, finally."

Richard nodded, a confident edge returning to his features. "We will. But for the next few days, I want you to stay completely away from the office. And stay away from that penthouse."

Roxanne’s eyes flashed, her spine instantly straightening. She pulled her hand back slightly, shaking her head with fierce determination. "No, Richard. I am not running away or hiding in a corner because of him. Besides, I have some unfinished business with that man."

Richard’s brow furrowed, a shadow of worry crossing his face. "What do you mean?"

Roxanne let out a long sigh and reached for her purse. "I need to make a phone call. Right now."

Before she could pull out her device, Richard placed his hand over hers, stopping her. "What are you doing, Roxanne? Tell me this has nothing to do with Christian."

Roxanne looked directly into his eyes, her gaze hardening into steel. "It has everything to do with him. I am initiating the divorce proceedings with immediate effect. Today." She swallowed hard, the finality of the decision tasteable in the air. "I want every single tie severed. I don’t want his name, and I’m changing my last name as well."

Richard studied her face, seeing the unyielding resolve written in the lines of her jaw. He nodded slowly. "What do you need from me? Lawyers? Capital?"

Roxanne shook her head, a soft touch of gratitude softening her features. "Nothing, Richard. This is a battle I need to fight on my own." She met his eyes without wavering. "It’s time Christian learned once and for all that I’m no longer the woman he married."

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