But I'm the Majority Shareholder

The day after I contacted the private investigator, a stack of glossy photographs was waiting on my desk.

The face of the young woman in those pictures was one I could never forget.

This entire nightmare started with a simple iced caramel macchiato. Felix had handed it to me right after he got home from work.

"Your favorite," he said, his tone as casual as if it were the most natural habit in the world.

I didn't take the cup. A sudden, inexplicable weight dropped in my chest.

"I stopped drinking these years ago," I replied, keeping my voice perfectly level.

He didn't look surprised. "Really? I remember you loving them back in college."

That single sentence confirmed everything. The 'you' he was talking about wasn't me.

Because I spent the majority of my college years studying abroad in Europe.

But I didn't scream or throw the coffee in his face. I just forced a faint, hollow smile. "I guess tastes change when we grow up."

Four years ago, during an infrastructure project in a deeply impoverished rural county, I crossed paths with a young girl being dragged away by her parents. They were forcing her into a marriage with an older man to settle family debts. Her name was Tessa.

Tessa's clothes were threadbare, her face smeared with dirt, but her eyes held a terrifyingly fierce light.

Back then, I thought that light was pure resilience. Ignoring her parents' vicious insults, I paid off their debts, rescued her from that suffocating town, and funded her entire college education.

My phone buzzed. The private investigator had sent a new message.

"Based on my findings, she is staying by Felix's side to 'repay' him for his financial support."

My hand trembled violently around my phone.

Repay his support?

Let us completely ignore the fact that I was the one who pulled Tessa out of that rural hellhole.

Let us talk about Felix. He was a penniless orphan who couldn't even afford his freshman tuition. Every single step he took to reach his current status as a highly respected CEO was paved by my money and the absolute power of the Davis family.

I let out a long, shaky breath, fighting back the tears burning my eyes. My hand instinctively rested over my flat stomach.

A suffocating bitterness flooded my heart.

A tiny life had once fluttered right there.

Two years ago, I discovered I was pregnant. I was ecstatic, meticulously planning the perfect way to surprise Felix.

But before I could tell him, I received a frantic call. Tessa's parents had tracked her down on campus and were trying to kidnap her.

I didn't hesitate for a second. I called the police and rushed to the university with my security team.

In my desperate attempt to pull her away from her violent father, a brutal scuffle broke out. I was shoved hard against a concrete step. And just like that, the child I had barely begun to love was gone forever.

The doctors told me the physical trauma was severe. My chances of ever conceiving again were practically zero.

When Tessa found out, she sobbed hysterically. She fell to her knees, swearing on her life that she would find a way to repay my sacrifice.

And her grand repayment was crawling into my husband's bed and tearing my marriage to shreds.

I whipped my car around and drove straight to my parents' estate.

They were surprised to see me walk through the door unannounced.

"Did Felix upset you?" my mother asked softly.

Looking at the silver streaks in my parents' hair, I swallowed the ugly truth.

"No. He is just swamped with work. The house felt empty, so I wanted to come see you guys."

My father frowned slightly, though his eyes held a glimmer of approval. "He built that company from nothing. It is not an easy feat."

"But no matter how hard he works, he shouldn't neglect his family."

I didn't acknowledge my father's defense of him. Instead, I took a breath and asked the question I came for.

"Dad, when you first invested in Felix's startup, didn't you draft a contingency agreement?"

My father thought for a moment and nodded. "I did. The terms stated that if he ever failed to meet my ethical expectations, his shares would revert completely to me."

"But once he proved himself and the company stabilized, that clause naturally became void," he added.

He paused for a second before continuing. "However, right before your wedding, Felix insisted on transferring half of his total shares to you as a dowry. I thought he had been through enough hardship, so I never actually had you sign the transfer documents."

I fought to keep my face neutral, masking the surge of adrenaline in my veins. "Do you still have those documents?"

"Of course. I keep all the files in the study."

He retrieved the thick legal folder from his mahogany bookshelf and handed it to me.

I took the contract, quickly scanned the legal jargon, and signed my name on the dotted line without a singular ounce of hesitation.

I didn't need the money. But since Felix had the audacity to betray me, he needed to prepare himself for absolute ruin.

The moment I returned to my empty house, I opened my laptop and loaded Felix's corporate website.

A promotional pop-up for his latest media interview immediately filled the screen.

It was a ten-minute video. For nine of those minutes, the interviewer showered Felix with sickening praise. They painted him as a visionary, a man of profound integrity and charity. Every flattering adjective in the dictionary was hurled his way.

Next week was his highly anticipated product launch.

A cold smile tugged at my lips. I scrolled straight down to the investor relations page.

As a publicly traded company, any shift in executive power or shareholder equity had to be transparent. It took me zero effort to find his corporate structure.

Felix held a fifty-one percent controlling stake.

But the moment my pen hit that paper in my father's study, fifty percent of the company's total shares transferred directly from his name to mine.

I was now the largest shareholder.

I only needed one more percent to secure absolute, undeniable control.

Acquiring one percent of loose equity was a trivial task. I mentally mapped out a buyout strategy within seconds. Then, I clicked on the executive directory.

Sure enough, Tessa's name was sitting right there.

The girl who had once looked me in the eye and swore to dedicate her life to helping others just as I had helped her. She was now my husband's personal executive assistant.

I bit the inside of my cheek, taking several deep breaths to suppress the white-hot fury burning in my chest.

Felix didn't come home until nearly midnight.

In the past, I would have bombarded him with questions about why he was working so late.

Tonight, I just glanced at him from the couch. "Honey, do you remember Tessa?"

Felix froze instantly. He stared at me, completely paralyzed, unable to form a single syllable.

I kept my voice light. "After I rescued her, I always worried her parents would drag her back to the mountains. I had no idea she ended up working as your assistant."

A thin layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Every word that left his mouth was a calculated lie.

"I had no idea she was the student you sponsored."

I gave him a playful, exasperated look. "What are you so nervous about? I am not upset with you."

"I should actually be thanking you. If you hadn't taken her under your wing, who knows what kind of predators would have taken advantage of a lonely girl like her."

Felix offered a stiff, awkward laugh. "I just saw that she was struggling. I wanted to help."

He practically sprinted into the bedroom after that.

I watched the door click shut. The playful warmth vanished from my face, replaced by pure ice.

Struggling? Of course I knew she was struggling.

That was why I funded her life. That was why I pulled her out of the dirt. That was why I sacrificed my unborn child to keep her safe.

And my reward was not gratitude. It was a vicious snake sinking its fangs into my marriage.

If she didn't know how to be grateful, then she couldn't blame me for ripping away everything I had ever given her.

The next morning, I slept in until eleven.

Felix had left for the office hours ago.

I ate a slow breakfast, watching the live feed from the private investigator. The moment I saw Tessa slip into Felix's private office on the screen, I grabbed my keys.

Every employee at his headquarters recognized me. Not a single person dared to stop me in the lobby.

Because Felix had spent years meticulously crafting the image of a devoted family man, no one in the building suspected his vile affair with Tessa. Consequently, no one thought to warn him that his wife was on the elevator.

I didn't even have to rush. I simply pushed open the heavy oak doors to his private suite.

I caught them hopelessly tangled together on the leather sofa, their clothes in disarray.

I walked in, sat down on the armchair opposite them, and watched them with a dead expression.

"It seems I arrived at a bad time."

The shock finally shattered their paralysis. They scrambled apart, frantically adjusting their clothes.

Yet, there was no trace of actual remorse on their faces.

Tessa looked at me, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. "Audrey. It has been a long time."

"It has," I replied, my voice dangerously calm. "The last time we saw each other was two years ago. Right after I pulled you out of that hellhole."

"What was it you said to me back then? Something about serving me like a loyal dog to repay your debt?"

Tessa's smile dissolved instantly.

I flicked my gaze between her and Felix, my tone dripping with absolute disgust. "And this is your grand repayment? Climbing into your savior's marital bed?"

Before Tessa could speak, Felix stepped forward.

He softly told Tessa to wait outside. When he turned back to me, the warmth in his eyes was completely gone, replaced by a freezing hostility.

"Did you really have to come here and make such an ugly scene, Audrey?"

A sharp laugh escaped my throat. "I am making an ugly scene? You have been sleeping with the student I sponsored for years, and you think my presence is the ugly part?"

"Audrey, watch your tone!" Felix raised his voice, his ego flaring. "I simply saw a girl who was pitiful, and I gave her an opportunity!"

"An opportunity?" I sneered. "Felix, every single opportunity you have ever had in your pathetic life was handed to you by my family."

"If it weren't for my mother and father, you would still be rotting in the gutters."

"Where exactly do you get the nerve to take the power my family gave you and use it to fund your little mistress?"

Felix erupted. "Shut your mouth!"

"You know exactly what state your family's company is in! Everything I have achieved here is built on my own blood and sweat!"

"You are the one relying on me now! I am the one propping up your parents' lifestyle and their failing investments! If you don't want to see your family go bankrupt and end up on the streets, you will keep your mouth shut and accept Tessa!"

Our argument ended in absolute hostility.

But my visit was not a failure.

Every disgusting word that left his mouth, every vile threat he made, was crystal clear on the recording device hidden in my purse.

It was the exact ammunition I needed for the killing strike.

I didn't return to the house I shared with him. I drove straight to a luxury hotel suite I had booked in advance.

Noah was already waiting for me in the lobby. He was another student I had sponsored years ago, and the private investigator I had hired to expose Felix.

The moment he saw me, he rushed over and handed me a thick leather binder.

"Ms. Davis, here is the physical summary. I sent the heavily encrypted, detailed files directly to your private server."

I took the binder with both hands and offered a genuine smile. "Thank you, Noah."

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking slightly embarrassed. "You never have to thank me. If you hadn't stepped in back then, my sister and I wouldn't have survived the winter."

Once I was safely locked in my suite, I skimmed the physical documents before opening my laptop.

The physical file was a broad overview of Felix and Tessa's romantic timeline. The digital server held the real poison.

Every hotel booking, every expensive dinner, every timeline discrepancy was laid out in agonizing detail.

But the real treasure was buried in the final folders. It was a comprehensive paper trail of Felix's desperate, illegal maneuvers to inflate his profit margins over the last few years. Tax evasion, corporate bribery, embezzlement.

I memorized every detail, copied the financial evidence onto a secure flash drive, and anonymously mailed it to a rival executive in Felix's company who had despised him for years.

With the traps set, I stayed in the hotel, waiting quietly for the product launch next week.

I wanted silence, but Felix refused to grant it.

Over the course of seven days, he bombarded my phone with relentless calls and text messages. He cycled between vicious threats about ruining my family and pathetic, manipulative pleas for me to come home.

I didn't block him. I just watched the notifications pile up.

On the morning of the launch, I finally sent a single text back.

"See you at the venue."

Felix had no idea what that meant.

Until he saw me walking down the center aisle of the auditorium.

His heart must have stopped. He rushed over, grabbed my elbow, and dragged me into a secluded corner, his teeth gritted. "Audrey. What the hell are you planning?"

I batted my eyelashes, looking the picture of innocence. "It is my husband's biggest product launch. Am I not allowed to support you?"

I shifted my gaze to Tessa, who was standing nervously near the backstage curtain. My voice dropped to a lethal whisper. "Or were you planning to let her stand in my place under the spotlight?"

Felix, who likely had entertained that exact thought, looked like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over his head.

"No," he muttered through clenched teeth.

I beamed at him.

Seeing my smile, Felix foolishly assumed I had surrendered to his threats. He let out a long breath of relief, muttered a quiet warning for me to behave, and hurried off to prep the stage.

I took my VIP invitation and walked straight to the center seat in the front row, waiting comfortably for the curtain to rise.

The auditorium filled. The lights dimmed. Felix stepped into the spotlight.

He was practically glowing with arrogance. He delivered a charismatic opening monologue, soaking in the applause, before gesturing to the massive screen behind him for the promotional video.

The moment the screen lit up, the entire auditorium inhaled a collective, horrified gasp.

The sleek product animation was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, a high-definition video of Felix, his face twisted in vicious rage, echoed through the massive speakers. It was the recording of him screaming at me in his office, threatening to bankrupt my family if I didn't accept his mistress.

The blood drained completely from Felix's face.

In those agonizing thirty seconds, his meticulously crafted mask of a philanthropic genius was shattered into a million pieces.

A deafening wave of whispers and camera shutters flooded the room. The corporate board members sitting near me looked like they were going to be sick.

Timing it perfectly, I stood up and walked onto the stage before the chaos could spiral out of control.

I took the microphone. First, I offered a poised, deeply sincere apology to the investors and media present for the disruption.

Then, I turned to face the crowd and officially announced the immediate termination of Felix as the Chief Executive Officer.

Felix whipped his head toward me, his eyes wild. "Audrey, you have absolutely no authority to do that."

I cut him off without a shred of emotion. I projected the signed transfer documents and my newly acquired equity portfolio onto the screen.

"I have every authority."

"I currently hold fifty-one percent of the total voting shares."

"I am the majority shareholder. My word is absolute law."