Chapter One Hundred Nine: The New Challenge at Work
The email arrived on a Tuesday morning, and Lina knew immediately that something was wrong.
It was from Margaret, her mentor and the former owner of Elite Events. Margaret had been retired for years now, living in Florida with her wife, sending postcards and occasional emails about the weather and the beach. She did not send urgent emails.
Lina,
I need you to call me as soon as you get this. It's about the company.
—Margaret
Lina's heart began to pound.
The company. Elite Events. Her company. The business she had built from the ground up, the business that had saved her life, the business that was her legacy.
If something was wrong with the company, something was wrong with everything.
Lina picked up the phone and called Margaret.
---
Margaret answered on the first ring.
"Lina. Thank God."
"What's wrong?"
"Someone is trying to buy Elite Events. A competitor. They've made an offer to your board. A very generous offer."
Lina's blood went cold.
"What board? I am the board."
Margaret was quiet for a moment. "Not anymore. Someone has been buying shares. Quietly. Over the past year. They now own forty-nine percent of the company."
Lina sat down at her desk.
"How did I not know this?"
"Because they were careful. Because you trusted the wrong people. Because you were busy with your family."
Lina's hands were shaking.
"Who is it?" she asked.
Margaret hesitated. "You're not going to like the answer."
"Who, Margaret?"
"Victor Reyes."
Lina's heart stopped.
Victor. Her father. The man who had waited thirty years to be part of her life. The man who had loved her from a distance. The man who had never stopped hoping.
"Why?" Lina whispered.
"I don't know. But you need to ask him."
---
Lina sat in her office, staring at the wall.
Victor. Her father. Buying her company.
She could not believe it. She did not want to believe it. Victor was not like her mother. Victor was not like Ryan. Victor was not like the people who had betrayed her.
But the evidence was there. Forty-nine percent of her company. Bought in secret. Hidden from her.
Lina picked up her phone.
She called Victor.
---
Victor answered on the second ring.
"Lina! What a nice surprise."
"We need to talk."
Victor heard the tension in her voice. "What's wrong?"
"Forty-nine percent of my company. Bought in secret. Over the past year."
Victor was silent.
"Did you do it?" Lina asked.
Another long silence. Then, "Yes."
Lina's heart broke.
"Why?"
Victor was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "I wanted to protect you."
"Protect me? By stealing my company?"
"Not stealing. Investing. I wanted to make sure no one could take it from you. I wanted to make sure you were safe."
Lina's eyes filled with tears.
"I don't need you to protect me," she said. "I need you to trust me."
Victor's voice cracked. "I do trust you."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Victor was silent.
Lina hung up the phone.
---
Lina told Ethan that night.
They sat on the couch, the twins asleep, the penthouse quiet. Lina's eyes were red, her voice hoarse.
"Victor bought forty-nine percent of my company," she said. "In secret. Behind my back."
Ethan was quiet for a moment. "Why?"
"He said he wanted to protect me."
"Do you believe him?"
Lina thought about the question. She thought about Victor, waiting thirty years to be her father. She thought about Victor, never giving up. She thought about Victor, loving her from a distance.
"I don't know," she said. "I want to believe him. But I don't know."
Ethan pulled her into his arms.
"Then talk to him," he said. "Give him a chance to explain."
Lina leaned into him.
"What if I can't forgive him?" she asked.
"Then you can't. But at least you'll know."
---
Lina met Victor at a small café the next day.
They sat across from each other, cups of coffee growing cold between them.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Lina asked.
Victor was quiet for a moment. "Because I was afraid."
"Of what?"
"Of you. Of your reaction. Of losing you."
Lina's heart ached. "You thought buying my company in secret would make me trust you?"
Victor shook his head. "I thought protecting you would make you safe. I didn't think about trust."
Lina was quiet for a long moment.
"I'm not my mother," she said. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to leave you. But I need you to trust me."
Victor's eyes filled with tears.
"I do trust you," he said. "I've always trusted you."
"Then act like it."
Victor nodded slowly.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked.
Lina took a breath.
"Sell the shares. Give me back control of my company. Trust me to run it myself."
Victor was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Okay."
Lina blinked. "Just like that?"
"Just like that. I bought the shares to protect you. If selling them is what you need, I'll sell them."
Lina's eyes filled with tears.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Victor reached across the table and took her hand.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you."
Lina squeezed his hand.
"I forgive you," she said.
---
Victor sold the shares.
Lina regained control of Elite Events. The company continued to thrive. The crisis was over.
But something had changed.
Lina trusted Victor differently now. Not less. Not more. Differently.
She knew he was capable of making mistakes. Capable of being afraid. Capable of hurting her, even when he meant well.
But she also knew he loved her.
And love, she was learning, was not about being perfect.
It was about trying.
---
End of Chapter One Hundred Nine