The rise of a cab driver son-in-law to a billionaire.

09

Chapter 09: A Family Divided

Ethan's jaw falls back, the warmth of reuniting with his father instantly vanishing by the icy treatment from his sister, Alessia. Her words, rings a sounding bells in Ethan's ear.

Carl isn't wrong all along. He has giving him all he needed to know about this whole family things.

"Easy way?" she suad, her voice sharp as a broken pieces of glass. "He just walks in after all this time and expects everything handed to him on a silver platter? Does he have any idea what we've sacrificed, the sleepless nights, the mountains of work we've poured into this company?"

Mr. Joel, his hands form trembling with unusual, he hated seeing Alessia not in her best behaviour always, lifted a hand in a fail attempt to stop her. "Alessia, that's enough!"

He said without any feelings of letting his voice be nice this time. He need Heir to his whole billionaire's companies.

Alessia stared at her father, the who had never screamed like that at her before. She was actually going to be treated like a failure now that Ethan is back.

Mr Joel realised instantly that he just screamed on her.

"Ethan is your brother." With a soft voice he said.

Alessia scoffed and couldn't believe her father was trying to play cool when he's obviously playing with fire.

"He may be your son," she said back, her eyes flashing between Ethan and their father, "but he's a stranger to me. A ghost from the past who threatens everything we've built."

Ethan had dreamt of finding a family, a sense of belonging, but the reunion was turning out to be a bitter pill to swallow.

Not even from his sister.

Mr Joel said, "Ethan is resuming as the CEO of the Bigtale corporation tomorrow and you will be is general manager. If you don't want that, then you will be moving to Kala city to resume as the CEO of the BigTop cooperation there. You have three minutes to choose or i like will choose for you, Alessia. And you know your father."

Alessia calmed down immediately, she stares blankly at her father and Ethan.

"This is totally unbelievable father!"

"This is just fact, daughter. If you don't want my son.., your brother here. Then, you better prepare to leave to Kala city." Mr Joel said.

"Fine, I'll stay here with him. I hope he's smart as you think he is." Alessia said as Mr Joel smiled. He sure know how to his daughter.

Just then, a soft knock on the door broke the suffocating silence.

A young woman with blonde hair and warm brown eyes entered the room, a gentle smile playing on her lips.

"Father, I heard raised voices…" she trailed off as her eyes landed on the unfamiliar Ethan seated beside the bed.

Huge surprise crossed her features, quickly replaced by a tentative smile.

Mr. Joel managed a weak smile.

"Christina, this is your brother, Ethan."

Christina's eyes widened in surprise. She approached Ethan cautiously, her hand outstretched.

"Ethan?"

Ethan, touched by the warmth in her eyes, met her halfway.

Her hand, clasped firmly in his, felt genuine, different from Alessia's behaviour from earlier.

"It's so wonderful to finally meet you," Christina said, her voice sincere. "Welcome home, brother."

The simple gesture, the genuine welcome from his sister Christina, was a balm to Ethan's wounded spirit.

The next morning, Ethan found himself standing in the grand office overlooking the bustling cityscape.

Just a day, his life changes from bad to good. From grass to grace.

A knock on the door drew his attention. Alessia walked in, with seriousness in her eyes.

"Here are the contracts you need to review," she said, placing a thick stack of folders on the desk.

"Mr. Joel wants you to start familiarizing yourself with the company's operations. He has also decided that I will be your general manager, assisting you in your transition."

Ethan asked instantly, "Why call him Mr Joel? What about the word, 'Dad'?"

"Well, this is work and father trained me to call him like that whenever we are at work. I'm not ready to change anything for now. Including formality." Alessia replied.

Ethan smirked and then returned to what she was saying earlier.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "General manager?"

Alessia's lips curled into a tight smile. "Yes, Mr. Joel feels it would be beneficial to have someone with experience guide you." The implication was clear - she intended to keep him on a tight leash.

Ethan spent the next few hours pouring senses and reasoning over contracts, his brow furrowing as he noticed a familiar name - Elena Mick, his ex-wife. A large contract had been awarded to her family's company just the previous day. Anger, hot and potent, passed through him.

Perhaps, maybe this is how things will begin again between them.

"Alessia," he called out, his voice firm.

Alessia walked back into his office, with her mind wondering what he wants now.

"Cancel the contract with the Micks immediately." Ethan said.

Alessia grabbed a chair.

Alessia, who had been busy fiddling with her phone, looked up, surprise cross her eyes. "Cancel the contract? But that's a multi-million dollar deal! And besides, Mr. Joel approved it himself yesterday."

Ethan leaned back in his chair, a firm glint in his eyes. "There have been some… developments that Dad may not be aware of. Cancel the meeting. Now."

Alessia hesitated, then a knowing smile slowly spread across her face. "As you wish," she said, her voice smooth as highway. "The meeting is cancelled."

Across town, in a lavish penthouse overlooking the city, the Mick household has been in the family meeting Immediately they heard about the cancellation of the contract.

Elena, her face flushed with fury, slammed the phone down on the table.

"What do you mean the meeting's cancelled?" she asked, her voice filled with shocks. "That was a huge contract! We were counting on that money!"

Davidson, Elena's cousin and business partner, swore under his breath. "Something must have gone wrong. Did they give a reason?"

Elena shook her head. "No, they didn't. Just said the meeting was cancelled. This is outrageous! We need to find out what's happening."

Mr. Mick, Elena's grandfather, a portly man with thinning hair, wriggle his hands nervously. "Maybe we should just wait and see if they reschedule," he suggested.

Elena scoffed. "Wait? We can't afford to wait, grandpa! This contract was crucial for our expansion plans. We need answers, and we need them now!"

Davidson, chimed in. "Look, panicking won't solve anything. Let's call a meeting with our lawyers first thing tomorrow. They can advise us on the best course of action."

There's a hand slammed on the table, everyone looks, that is Lucien Mick, Elena's uncle.

"I always knew since Elena came here saying that she secure the deal. I knew she was a loser and a loser will always be..."

"Shut up Lucien and don't you ever call my daughter a loser. What else do you want? She want to marry Mr Charleston because of you guys just to secure a good partnership relationship with Mr Charleston's family." Stella, Elena's mother said.

"And should I remind you that ten contracts from Mr Charleston doesn't amount to the lucrative amount of money we will be earning from this one contract from Bigtale corporation." Elena's aunty, Flora said.

"My daughter has nothing to do with this." Stella replied.

"Of course, you and your daughter are worthless. You should think about that."

"Enough!" Grandpa, Mr Mick said. "Tomorrow, Davidson and Elena will pay them visits that is all."

There were a lot of silence murmuring among them all.

Why would Bigtale suddenly cancel a lucrative deal? Could it have something to do with Ethan?

Meanwhile, it's evening time at Joel's family.

Ethan walked out of his room only to finds Alessia busy with her phone. He walked over.

"Alessia."

Alessia stared at him before returning back to her phone. "What do you want?" She asked.

"Why do you agree to cancel the contract fastly?" Ethan asked.

Alessia dropped her phone and replied. "That is why I hate working under someone like you. You gave me instructions as the CEO and it's my job to carry it out."

"No, I don't have to make the whole decision, you know this. You're as much as CEO too." Ethan replied. "You can talk to me-"

"I'm sorry, I have to leave now."

Alessia picked her phone as she walked away. Ethan scoffed, as he grabbed a glass of wine and sipped.

The next morning, Elena and Davidson arrived at Bigtale Corporation with a hope of resolution.

They stormed into the reception area, demanding to see the person responsible for cancelling the meeting from an ordinary staff

The receptionist, a young woman with manners walked over, apologized.

"I'm sorry if she has spoken to you badly." The receptionist said.

"That is fine," Davidson said. "We want to see the CEO, Mr Joel's daughter, Alessia."

"Alessia isn't the CEO anymore." The receptionist replied.

"CEO?" Elena sputtered, her anger rising again. "What CEO? Mr. Joel is the CEO of Bigtale, if he's not around. Alessia always take over!"

The receptionist gave a tight smile. "Mr. Joel is no longer actively involved in the company's day-to-day operations. Mr. Ethan, his son, has recently assumed the position of CEO. Alessia is the current General manager of this company"

Davidson's eyes narrowed. "Ethan? Who is he??"

The receptionist sighed. "He's Mr Joel's son. He just arrived."

Elena and Davidson exchanged a shocked look. The pieces were starting to fall into place. It seemed Ethan's return had thrown a wrench into their carefully laid plans.

Defeated, they left Bigtale Corporation, the once-promising contract now a distant dream.

Back at the penthouse, they are seated with their lawyer, Mr. Thompson, a wiry man with a sharp mind.

Mr. Thompson listened calmly as they recounted the events of the past few days.

"Hmm, this is an interesting situation," he mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Legally, Bigtale can cancel the contract with or without reason, provided they pay a termination fee as stipulated in the agreement."

"But they haven't even mentioned termination fees!" Elena protested. "We need that contract, Mr. Thompson. We've already invested heavily based on this deal."

Mr. Thompson steepled his fingers. "There might be an option. We could attempt to negotiate a new contract, perhaps with revised terms. However, given that we haven't met this new CEO, maybe there's still hope, I wouldn't be too optimistic."

Elena gritted her teeth.

Davidson chimed in, "Like we should return back there and ask to meet with the CEO?"

"What other chances do we have?" Mr Thompson asked with smiles.

Elena picked her handbag, and said: "I will be going to the supermarket today with Charleston to buy my wedding gown."

"Oh," Davidson faced Mr Thompson. "We have to go now, we will see tomorrow."

They shooks hand before walking out of the penthouse.

Elena's mind returned to Ethan, could he be her ex-husband? No way that Ill luck will be the CEO of such great company.