Regret Came Too Late (Grace and Ethan) novel Chapter 331

After leaving the hospital, Grace glanced up at the gray, overcast sky, feeling like her heart was wrapped in the same heavy haze.

She drove straight to Lambert Group, and the senior executives who now followed her lead hurried out to meet her.

"Ms. Lambert, have you found Mr. Lambert yet?"

Just then, Sebastian pushed the door open.

Grace was surprised to see him. "I thought you were at the hospital with your family," she said.

Sebastian frowned, and there was a hint of unease in his voice. "After you called me, I had a bad feeling. What's going on?"

Grace motioned for the others to leave, keeping only Sebastian behind. He had worked with Quentin for years and had helped Liam without complaint. He was someone she could trust.

She quickly filled him in on what had happened with Liam, then showed him the scandal online. It was obvious the person behind it was deliberately dragging things out, waiting for the right moment to push Liam's scandal to the top of social media.

Once it hit number one, they would expose everything.

And when that happened, it wouldn't just destroy Liam. The entire company would become public enemy number one.

At this point, Grace knew there was only one move left.

She looked up and locked eyes with Sebastian. The understanding in his gaze was immediate.

Sebastian said solemnly, "Ms. Lambert, you have to step up and take the CEO position. It's the only way to calm the public."

What had happened crossed a line—not just for the country but for the people. It didn't matter if Liam had been led astray.

Wrong was wrong, and mistakes came with consequences.

Grace tugged lightly at the corner of her mouth. The reason she had helped push Liam into that position in the first place was because Carmen had always been wary of her, suspecting she was after the Lambert family's wealth.

Carmen had never treated Grace kindly. But when it came to Quentin and Liam, her devotion was undeniable. So much of what Quentin had built came from Carmen's efforts as well.

No matter how dark the world got, Grace was determined to live with a clear conscience. But right now, there was no other way—especially with Alice now paralyzed.

She took a deep breath, her gaze sharpening with resolve. "Alright, let's do it this way. Release a public statement and admit our wrongdoing. Make it clear that Liam was manipulated into it, but he's already been detained by the authorities. We won't cover for him, and we won't excuse his actions."

The public, more often than not, just wanted to see a stance. The more they tried to suppress a scandal, the harder it would hit when it exploded.

Sometimes, it was better to face it head-on by being honest, issuing a public apology, and putting some money toward helping the police crack down on stuff like this.

The Lambert family was already on shaky ground. With that plot of land still tied up, they were cash-strapped as it was.

Grace made a five-million-dollar donation. It wasn't her money. The money came from Ethan, passed to her through Yancey a few days ago as hush money for what happened with Jodie.

Once the statement went out and the donation was made, everything hit at once.

In just three hours, Lambert Group underwent a brutal internal overhaul. The executives were wiped clean, and a wave of younger employees were promoted to key positions.

At the very least, it sent a clear message. The new CEO wasn't afraid to act, and she wasn't there to play nice.

Out of the five executives who stayed on, Zachary Yeager and Nathan Cooper were the ones who stood out. Both men were in their 40s, seasoned enough to read the room clearly. When someone looked like they were about to speak up, Zachary quickly tugged the man's sleeve.

He leaned in and whispered, “Think about how you got that seat you're sitting in. We already agreed, didn't we? From now on, we follow Ms. Lambert's lead. Trust me—I'm good at reading people, and she's got more than enough edge to handle this.”

Zachary had already made the switch. His tone when mentioning Grace was more respectful now.

The man he pulled back took a deep breath, swallowing his doubts. "Alright."

From that point on, no one at the table questioned a single decision.

The younger executives Grace had promoted looked up to her as a benchmark—someone to follow, not just respect.

Back when Liam was in charge, he leaned heavily on the old guard—the people who had helped him build the company from the ground up. But that generation had long since fallen out of step with the times.

People like Edric were especially dangerous. They were more concerned with protecting their turf than nurturing real talent. Anyone who showed promise was suppressed.

Because of that, Lambert Group lost a lot of good people over the years.

Now, Grace had kicked those deadweights out and replaced them with people who actually knew what they were doing.

No one knew yet where she would lead the company next, but one thing was already clear. She had outdone Liam in one crucial area.

Liam had many strengths. But as Edric once said, his biggest flaw was that he clung too tightly to old loyalties. And in business, there was no room for that.