MARRY YOUR KILLER
Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Boardroom
---
The call came at six in the morning.
Jay was in the kitchen, coffee in hand, Keifer beside her, Keiran's voice echoing from the living room where Percy was teaching him some game that involved a lot of shouting. The house was warm. The sun was rising. Everything was normal.
Her phone buzzed. Freya's name flashed on the screen.
"The board called an emergency meeting," Freya said. "Your mother is there. Your uncle's lawyers are there. They're trying to freeze the accounts."
Jay set down her coffee. "When?"
"Nine. They're moving fast. They must have known you wouldn't be ready."
Jay looked at Keifer. His face had gone still.
"I'll be there," she said.
She hung up. Keifer was already moving, already reaching for his jacket, already calling Percy.
"I'm coming with you," Keifer said.
She shook her head. "This is my company. My family. I have to do this alone."
He walked to her. He took her face in his hands. His eyes were steady.
"You're not alone," he said. "You've never been alone."
She looked at him for a long moment. Then she nodded.
"Together," she said.
"Together."
---
The Mariano Logistics building was in Makati, glass and steel, rising above the city like a monument to everything her father had built. Jay stood at the entrance, Keifer beside her, Freya behind her. The guards opened the doors. The lobby was empty. The elevators were waiting.
"Your mother is already upstairs," Freya said. "Your uncle's lawyers are with her. They're claiming you mismanaged company funds during the war. They're claiming you used company resources for personal gain."
Jay's face didn't change. "They're claiming I funded the war."
"They're claiming you're unfit to run the company."
Jay stepped into the elevator. Keifer stepped in beside her. Freya stayed behind.
"This is your fight," Freya said. "But I'm here if you need me."
The doors closed.
---
The boardroom was at the top of the building.
The walls were glass. The city was spread out below. The table was long, dark, polished. Her mother sat at one end, her face calm, her hands folded. The lawyers sat on either side of her, their faces sharp, their papers ready.
Jay walked in. Keifer was beside her.
Her mother looked up. Her eyes went to Keifer. Her face didn't change.
"This is a family matter," her mother said.
Keifer's face was calm. "She's my family."
Her mother looked at Jay. "You brought him here."
"I brought my husband."
Her mother's jaw tightened. The lawyers shifted in their seats.
Jay sat at the head of the table. The chair where her father had sat for thirty years. Keifer sat beside her. His hand was on the table, close to hers.
"Let's begin," Jay said.
---
The lawyers spoke for an hour.
They laid out the claims. The mismanagement. The funds that had been moved during the war. The weapons that had been bought. The men who had been paid. Her uncle's name was everywhere. His lawyers had been preparing for months.
Jay listened. Her face was calm. Her hands were still.
When they finished, the room was quiet. Her mother was watching her. The lawyers were watching her. The whole room was watching her.
Jay stood up.
"You've made your claims," she said. "Now let me make mine."
She opened her laptop. The screen lit up. The boardroom screen lit up behind her.
"You said I mismanaged funds during the war," she said. "Let me show you where those funds went."
She clicked. The screen filled with numbers. Accounts. Transfers. Names.
"This is the money my uncle took from the company," she said. "Thirty years of theft. Thirty years of moving funds to accounts in Singapore, in Hong Kong, in places where he thought no one would find them."
The lawyers shifted. Her mother's hands tightened on the table.
"You said I funded the war," Jay said. "Let me show you who really funded it."
She clicked again. The screen filled with photographs. Her uncle. The man in Singapore. The warehouses. The weapons.
"My uncle started the war," she said. "He's been funding it for thirty years. He's been using our company, our money, our name to do it. And now he's trying to blame me."
The room was silent.
Jay looked at her mother. Her mother's face was pale. Her hands were shaking.
"You knew," Jay said.
Her mother didn't answer.
"You knew about the money. You knew about the war. You knew about my uncle. You knew everything."
Her mother stood up. Her chair scraped against the floor.
"I did what I had to do," her mother said. "To protect this family. To protect you."
Jay walked to her. She stood in front of her mother. Her face was calm. Her eyes were not.
"You let me believe the war was my fault," Jay said. "You let me believe I was the one who had to end it. You let me almost die."
Her mother's face was white. "Jay—"
"I ended the war," Jay said. "I found the truth. I saved this family. And now I'm going to save this company."
She turned to the lawyers. Her voice was steady.
"The accounts are frozen. The evidence has been filed with the courts. My uncle is gone. His money is gone. His power is gone. This company belongs to me now. And I'm not going to let anyone take it away."
She looked at her mother. "Not even you."
---
The boardroom was empty when the lawyers left.
Her mother was still standing by the window, her back to the room, her hands at her sides. The city was spread out below her. The sun was high. The glass was bright.
Jay walked to the window. She stood beside her mother.
"You knew," Jay said. "All those years. You knew what he was doing."
Her mother's voice was quiet. "I knew."
"You let him. You let him start the war. You let him kill our family. You let him—"
"I let him because I was scared."
Jay waited.
Her mother turned. Her face was wet. Her hands were shaking.
"Your father was dying," her mother said. "Your uncle was powerful. He had the money. He had the connections. He had the people. If I had stopped him, he would have killed us. He would have killed you."
Jay looked at her mother. The woman who had raised her. The woman who had taught her to be still, to be silent, to be the daughter her father needed.
"You should have told me," Jay said.
Her mother's face crumpled. "I was trying to protect you."
Jay took her mother's hands. They were cold.
"I don't need your protection," Jay said. "I need your trust. I need you to believe that I can fight my own battles. That I can make my own choices. That I can—"
Her mother pulled her close. Her arms were tight. Her face was in Jay's hair.
"I'm sorry," her mother said. "I'm so sorry."
Jay held her. The woman who had been cold. The woman who had been distant. The woman who had been scared.
"I know," Jay said.
---
Keifer was waiting in the hallway when she came out.
His face was calm. His hands were steady. He looked at her. At the tears she hadn't wiped away. At the hands that were still shaking.
"You're okay," he said.
She walked to him. She leaned against him. His arms went around her.
"I'm okay," she said.
He held her. The hallway was empty. The building was quiet.
"Your mother," he said.
"She's scared. She's been scared her whole life."
He kissed her hair. "And you?"
She pulled back. She looked at him. His face was close. His eyes were steady.
"I'm not scared anymore," she said.
He smiled. "Good."
---
The car was waiting when they came down.
Freya was at the door, her face sharp, her arms crossed. She looked at Jay. At the tears that were gone. At the hands that were steady.
"You won," Freya said.
Jay walked to the car. "I won."
Freya opened the door. "Your mother?"
Jay looked at the building. At the glass and steel. At the top floor where her mother was still standing at the window.
"She's coming home," Jay said. "She's coming home with us."
Freya nodded. She closed the door.
---
The house was full when they got back.
Ci N was in the living room, his phone in his hand, his face bright. Percy was in the kitchen, making noise, making food. Aries was beside him, their hands in their pockets. Yuri was in his corner, his arms crossed, his face cold.
Keiran ran to Jay. His arms went around her waist.
"Ate Jay," he said. "You're home."
She knelt. Her side screamed. She didn't let it show.
"I'm home," she said.
He hugged her. His arms were small. His hands were tight.
"Did you win?" he asked.
She looked at Keifer. He was standing in the doorway, watching her.
"I won," she said.
Keiran smiled. He ran back to Percy, to the noise and the food and the normal.
Jay stood up. Keifer walked to her. His hand found hers.
"You won," he said.
She leaned against him. "We won."
He kissed her forehead. "We won."
---
The night came.
Her mother was in the guest room, asleep, her face soft, her hands still. The company was hers. The war was over. The truth was out.
Jay stood at the window of her room. The garden was dark. The steps where she had sat with Keifer were empty.
He came in behind her. His arms went around her waist. His face was in her hair.
"You're thinking," he said.
"I'm always thinking."
He turned her to face him. His hands were on her face. His eyes were steady.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked.
She looked at him. The enemy. The stranger. The man she had married.
"I'm thinking about the future," she said. "About the company. About the family. About—"
He kissed her. Soft. Slow.
"About us," he said.
She smiled. "About us."
He pulled her close. His arms were tight. His heart was steady.
"The future can wait," he said. "Tonight, we rest."
She held him. The house was quiet. The city was quiet. The whole world was quiet.
"The future can wait," she said.
---
END OF CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE