Chapter 5
I spent the entire night in the penthouse office, going over every number, every contract, every loophole.
Lila slept in the next room, unaware that the future I’d been building for her was slipping through my fingers.
The share dilution was a nuclear option.
The Langfords would flood the market with new stock, sell it to themselves at a steep discount through their own shell companies, and wipe out every outside investor in the process.
It was illegal.
It was unethical.
And with a friendly judge and a board stacked with Helen’s cousins and uncles, they’d get away with it.
Unless I stopped them.
By 5 a.m., I had a plan.
It was risky.
It would blow my cover completely.
But it was the only shot I had.
At 8 a.m., I walked into the Langford Group headquarters, Elias right beside me.
The building was a glass skyscraper downtown, with the Langford name carved into the marble lobby in gold letters.
The receptionist looked up, confused.
“Can I help you, sir?”
“I’m Daniel Voss,” I said. “I’m here for the board meeting.”
She blinked.
“Mr. Voss? The board meeting is for directors and major shareholders only. I don’t have you on the list.”
I handed her my share certificate.
Her eyes went wide when she saw the number.
18.7% of Langford Group.
More than any single member of the Langford family.
She picked up the phone, her hand shaking.
A minute later, Richard Langford stormed into the lobby.
He was Helen’s older cousin, a spoiled man in his forties who’d never worked a real job in his life.
His face was purple with rage.
“What the hell are you doing here, Voss? This is private property. Security—”
“Security isn’t going to throw me out, Richard,” I said, calm as ice. “I own more of this company than you do. I have every legal right to be in that meeting. And if you try to stop me, I’ll file an injunction with the SEC before you can finish calling the elevator. The resulting investigation will shut this company down for six months. Is that what you want?”
He stared at me, his jaw working.
Then he turned on his heel and marched toward the elevators.
“Fine. Come in. But you’re going to regret this.”
The boardroom was on the top floor, a massive room with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city.
Twelve people sat around the mahogany table.
All Langfords.
All staring at me like I was a cockroach that had crawled in through the window.
Helen was there too, sitting at the far end of the table, a smirk on her face.
“Daniel,” she purred. “How nice of you to join us. Come to watch the end of your little investment?”
I sat down at the empty seat at the end of the table, across from her.
“Actually, Helen, I came to save your family from your own stupidity.”
Richard banged his gavel.
“Order. The first item on the agenda is the election of a new chief executive officer. I nominate myself. All in favor?”
Eleven hands went up.
Richard smiled.
“Opposed?”
I raised my hand.
“One opposed. Motion carried. I am now CEO of Langford Group. Next item: the issuance of 20 million new shares of common stock, to be sold at a 70% discount to pre-approved investors. All in favor?”
Eleven hands went up again.
“Opposed?”
I raised my hand.
“One opposed. Motion carried.”
Helen leaned back in her chair, smirking.
“Told you, Daniel. You lose.”
I stood.
“Actually, the motion fails.”
Richard laughed.
“Are you stupid? Eleven votes to one. That’s a majority. It passes.”
“Under Langford’s bylaws, any share issuance that dilutes existing shareholders by more than 20% requires a supermajority of 75% of the outstanding voting shares. Not 75% of the board. 75% of all shares.”
I pulled a stack of papers from my folder and slid them across the table.
“I own 18.7%. Sarah Chen, who represents the employee stock ownership plan, owns 4.2%. She’s voting with me. That’s 22.9%. More than enough to block the supermajority. Your motion fails.”
The room went dead silent.
Sarah Chen, the only non-Langford on the board, nodded at me.
She’d been my mole for two years.
Helen had thought she was loyal to the family.
She’d been wrong.
Richard’s face went white.
“You can’t do that—”
“I just did,” I said. “And I’m calling for a new vote. I nominate myself for CEO. All in favor?”
I raised my hand.
Sarah raised hers.
“Two in favor. Opposed?”
Ten hands went up.
Helen was staring at me, her eyes burning.
“Tie. The current CEO remains in place,” Richard snapped.
“Wrong again,” I said.
I pulled another set of papers from my folder.
“Last night, I purchased an additional 3.4% of Langford’s outstanding shares from three separate institutional investors. That brings my total stake to 22.1%. Under the bylaws, any shareholder holding more than 20% has the right to call a special shareholder meeting to replace the entire board. I’m doing that effective today. The meeting will be held in two weeks. And by the time it’s over, none of you will be sitting at this table anymore.”
I slid the papers across the table.
The Langfords stared at them, their faces a mix of shock and rage.
Helen stood, her hands shaking.
“You think you can take my family’s company from me? You have no idea who you’re dealing with, Daniel. I have friends in high places. I will destroy you.”
I looked her dead in the eye.
“Try me.”
I turned and walked out of the boardroom, Elias right behind me.
We’d won.
For now.
But as I stepped into the elevator, my phone rang.
It was my younger sister, Mia.
She was sobbing so hard I could barely understand her.
“Daniel,” she cried. “Oh my god, Daniel. Mom just signed the papers. She gave Helen power of attorney over the entire family estate. Including our 8% stake in Langford.”
The elevator doors closed.
I froze.
8%.
If Helen voted those shares with the family, she’d control 24% of the company.
More than me.
Enough to call her own shareholder meeting.
Enough to fire me before I even got started.
And worse—my own mother had given it to her.
May you like
The elevator began to descend.
And I realized the war had just gotten a whole lot more personal.
