Chapter 3 - The Board's Ultimatum
Three days passed in a blur of emotional transformation.
Gabriel spent every available hour at Sunshine House. He sat on tiny chairs, played board games, listened to Clara read her favorite storybooks, and learned about her late mother’s final months. The cold, unyielding titan of Mendes Corp was dissolving, replaced by a father desperate to redeem himself.
However, the corporate world he had neglected was not going to let him go without a fight.
On Thursday morning, Gabriel was summoned to an emergency meeting at Mendes Tower.
When he walked into the executive boardroom on the 47th floor, he was met with a wall of cold, hostile faces. The entire nine-member board of directors sat around the polished glass table, led by Richard Vance—a ruthless senior shareholder who had been trying to seize control of Mendes Corp for three years.
Regina stood near the corner, looking pale and deeply anxious.
"Gabriel," Richard Vance said, his tone dry and icy as he adjusted his gold wire-rimmed glasses. "Thank you for finally gracing us with your presence. You've missed three strategic planning sessions, ignored calls from our London investors, and postponed the TechCorp acquisition announcement."
Gabriel sat at the head of the table, his posture straight, but his mind miles away.
"I had urgent personal matters to attend to, Richard," Gabriel replied calmly.
"Personal matters?" Richard scoffed, sliding a newspaper across the glass table.
The front page of the Boston Globe featured a grainy photograph of Gabriel holding Clara’s hand outside Sunshine House.
The headline read: BILLIONAIRE GABRIEL MENDES DISCOVERS SECRET LOVE-CHILD AT LOCAL ORPHANAGE.
"The press is having a field day, Gabriel," Richard spat, leaning forward. "The stock price dropped four percent this morning! Investors are terrified that our CEO has lost his mind over an illegitimate child from his college days!"
Gabriel’s eyes turned into dangerous, lethal slits. He slammed his hand onto the table, the sharp crack making two board members flinch.
"Watch your tongue, Richard," Gabriel said, his voice dropping into a low, terrifying growl. "You will speak of my daughter with respect, or I will personally throw you out of this building."
"She is a liability!" Richard shouted back. "And you are acting irrationally! The board has convened under Section 4 of the corporate bylaws. If you do not step back from this scandal, finalize the TechCorp merger by Friday, and place the child in a private boarding school out of the public eye, we will vote to remove you as Chief Executive Officer!"
The boardroom went dead silent.
Regina held her breath, looking at Gabriel. In the past, Gabriel would have destroyed anyone who threatened his control over the company. Mendes Corp was his life’s work—his fortress, his identity.
Gabriel slowly stood up from his chair. He looked around the table at the faces of the men and women he had spent fifteen years building an empire with. He saw only greed, cynicism, and cold calculation.
He saw the reflection of the man he had been just four days ago.
Gabriel reached down, unpinned the gold Mendes Corp executive badge from his lapel, and tossed it quietly onto the center of the glass table.
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"Keep the company, Richard," Gabriel said softly, his voice full of an absolute, unbreakable peace. "I’m taking my daughter home."
Gabriel turned on his heel and walked out of the boardroom, leaving the directors staring at each other in absolute, speechbound shock.
