The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 200

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Anyone in Havencrest City’s business district could instantly tell which family enterprise was involved just by glancing at the news, and so could everyone who knew the people at the center of the scandal.

“Ramona… you promised. You said if I gave you the shares, you wouldn’t—”

Jotham stared at the news report, humiliation burning through him as if someone had stripped him naked in public. Rage and panic choked the air from his lungs.

How could the woman who once loved him so completely now turn on him with such ruthless finality?

“Jotham, after everything you did, years of lies, every dirty trick in the book, you really think I owe you honesty? Or mercy? When did I ever say that giving me the shares would spare you both?”

Even Ramona found herself smirking as she said it. Where did Jotham get the nerve to believe that, after all she'd suffered, she would just forgive and forget? Did he expect her to turn the other cheek? He really had no idea who she was.

Jotham hesitated, stunned. “Ramona! This is underhanded!”

The night she’d threatened him with their secrets, Jotham naturally assumed she just wanted leverage for the shares. He never thought she’d actually go this far.

But Ramona had no intention of wasting any more time on him. She turned on the wavering board members who were still on the fence.

“Gentlemen, the Holt Group’s reputation is collapsing by the second. If you continue siding with Jotham and his father, you know exactly what’s coming. Are you really prepared for that?”

Her words were the final straw.

If they stuck with the Holts, they’d all go down in flames and lose everything they’d worked for. But if they sided with Ramona, there was still a chance to salvage what remained.

One board member drew a shaky breath, summoning his courage. He avoided Griffin’s murderous glare and said, voice low, “I… I agree with Ms. Jarrett. We need to remove Jotham as CEO, and strip Chairman Griffin of all authority. We can’t let them drag the company down any further.”

The other board member jumped in at once. “I agree, too. Ms. Jarrett, please take over immediately!”

“You ingrates! Traitors, the lot of you!” Griffin’s voice trembled with fury as he jabbed a finger at them, but before he could finish, a violent cough overtook him. His face flushed, then turned an alarming shade of blue as he staggered, nearly fainting.

Jotham rushed to steady him, his own face drained of all color.

“Ramona, after all these years, do you really have to be so heartless? Is revenge the only thing that will make you happy now?” Jotham’s voice broke.

“Now do you see, Jotham?” Griffin rasped, clutching his son’s hand with desperate strength. “That woman you protected, the one you trusted with everything, look at how she repays you. See how ruthless she really is…”

Before Ramona could respond, a senior executive quietly summoned security and requested that the Holts be escorted out.

A handful of guards surrounded Jotham and Griffin. Though they hesitated, their tone was firm. “Gentlemen, please leave. If you refuse, we’ll have to call the police.”