Chapter 18 – The New CEO
I woke up feeling good. The sun was out, the birds were singing, and the memory of Lorenzo’s stunned face at last night’s banquet played in my head like my favorite movie.
His jaw had practically dropped to the floor. The silence. The whispers. The look in everyone’s eyes when they realized I wasn’t a ghost.
It was perfect.
I got dressed in a cream blazer and matching skirt, added some nude heels, and pulled my into a sleek bun. Clean, powerful, and simple-like the kind of woman I’d become.
hair
When I walked downstairs, my father and grandfather were already having their morning coffee.
‘Going somewhere important?” Grandfather asked, raising a brow at my outfit.
smiled. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
‘You look like a woman about to destroy someone,” my father said, sipping his drink.
‘Then I must look exactly right,” I replied with a grin. “I’ll see you both later.”
‘Be safe,” Grandfather added. “And show no mercy.”
left the house with a spring in my step. At the office, Mateo was already waiting for me at the
entrance.
He leaned against the hood of his black car, dressed in a fitted suit and sunglasses. He looked dangerous-and annoyingly charming.
Ready to crush someone’s dreams?” he asked.
smiled. “Lorenzo won’t know what hit him.”
He opened the passenger door for me. “It’s time you let him know who owns him.”
As we drove through the city, I looked over at him. “Thank you… for continuing to help me.”
He shrugged. “As much as I’m doing this for my own reasons, I can’t deny I’m enjoying watching
‘ou rise.”
blushed a little. “Still, thank you.”.
He smirked. “You’re welcome, mia regina.”
When we arrived at Lorenzo’s company, the receptionist looked up and blinked like she’d seen a jhost.
didn’t stop walking. Mateo stayed at my side as we walked down the long hall to the boardroom.
From the corridor, I could already hear Lorenzo’s voice raised in frustration.
‘Who the hell scheduled a board meeting without informing me?” he barked. “I am the CEO!”
“We didn’t call it,” one of the board members said nervously. “We thought you did.”
Lorenzo scoffed. “Then who the hell has the right-?”
I stepped into the room.
“That would be me,” I said, my voice calm and clear.
Every head turned. Lorenzo’s face twisted into a scowl the second he saw me.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he growled. “Get out of my company!”
I stepped further into the room, Mateo following beside me like my shadow.
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Lorenzo,” I said, placing a folder on the boardroom table. “This isn’t your company anymore.”
He laughed. “You’re delusional. Security!”
“Wait,” I said, raising a hand before the guards moved. “Before you embarrass yourself, you might want to take a look at the documents I’ve just passed around.”
Mateo began handing the documents out-clear, stamped, official. The board members started reading. Murmurs filled the room.
“What is this?” one man asked. “Sixty-two percent of the company?”
“How is this possible?” another muttered.
Lorenzo snatched the copy in front of him, eyes scanning the pagès.
His smug expression dropped. He read again. Then again. His hands started to tremble slightly.
“This… This can’t be…”
“Oh, but it is,” I said sweetly. “Over the past few months, anonymous investors bought shares from smaller stockholders. That investor… was me.”
“You set me up,” Lorenzo muttered, still staring at the papers.
“No,” I corrected. “You set yourself up. You let your guard down. You thought I was gone. Dead. But I was busy buying what you didn’t protect.”
“Now, I wanna nominate a new CEO,” I finished with a smirk.
“This is fraud!” he shouted. “You can’t—”
“It’s not fraud,” one of the older board members cut in, adjusting his glasses. “These are valic transactions, all legal. The majority shareholder has the right to call a meeting… and appoint a
new CEO.”
Lorenzo’s head snapped to him. “You’re choosing her?”
“She owns sixty-two percent of the company,” the man replied. “There’s nothing to choose.”
“I built this company with my own hands!” Lorenzo shouted. “She can’t just waltz in and take it!”
“I can,” I said. “And I just did.”
The boardroom fell silent again.
“I am now the new owner of Moretti Global,” I continued, walking to the head of the table. “And also… the new CEO.”
“No,” Lorenzo muttered, shaking his head. “No, no, no—”
“It’s done,” another board member said firmly. “There’s no going back.”
Lorenzo looked around the room as if someone would save him. But no one said a word.
He opened his mouth to argue again-but no sound came out.
I sat down at the head of the table.
“Now,” I said, folding my hands together, “shall we begin?”
