Chapter 1: Prologue
The bartender dropped another glass, filled with intoxicating liquid, in front of his regular patron.
"Just keep them coming."
"What happened this time?" He asked the young woman.
He couldn't help but be curious as to why she was purposely drinking herself to stupor.
"I got fired."
"Oh, sorry."
"It's alright, it's no big deal. It was only one of the biggest companies in the country." She replied with much sarcasm, before chugging the contents of the glass in a second.
Already feeling the effects of the strong drink, she aimlessly looked around till she saw the TV, which made her eyes widen. It was the headline of the breaking news that caught her attention.
Empire's Owner and CEO, William Great, is dead.
"Can you turn that up?"
In response to her wish, the bartender picked up the TV remote. With his finger hovering over the volume button, he looked back at her. He couldn't help but wonder why she was interested in such a news even though she had long passed the realm of sobriety.
"Don't tell me The Emperor was your boss?"
"Not directly, he was my boss's boss's boss. My Great Grandboss." She replied.
The TV volume increased, and the news anchor's words could now be heard.
"...earlier this morning. The cause of death isn't confirmed as both his family and company are yet to speak to the media about it, but it is believed to be from natural causes. It is rumored that—"
The TV station changed.
"Wait go back!" The young man behind bars told the policewoman, and she changed it back to the news station.
"Oh, bless his soul." Was all the policewoman could say after reading the headline.
She turned to the young man in the cold cell. "Do you want anything else?"
"I'm okay. Thank you for everything, Trish."
"You're welcome, Henry." She replied, before returning to her station.
The young man relaxed as his listened to the news, though he couldn't help but feel weird. This was because he shared the same family name with the deceased billionaire.
"...nothing has also been said about his successor but we are most certain it would be his Secretary, whom he raised as his own daughter—"
The large 80-inch TV went off and a young woman let out a sigh, which made everyone in the large conference room uneasy. Nothing good ever happens after Anne sighs.
She turned to the man beside her, and streams of sweat rolled down his face as he shivered.
"You had a simple task. Keep the press in the dark until I'm ready to talk to them."
"I-I tried my best but—"
"Thank you for your service, Mr. Matthews, but I'm afraid we have to part ways here."
"You're firing me?! For this tiny slip-up?"
"How quick are you to forget your own mistakes? If I recall correctly, you've made at least five errors in the last two weeks, causing the Empire to lose tens of millions of dollars. Now that our CEO is dead, we can't afford to have any slip-ups — both tiny or otherwise."
The man stood up abruptly, making his chair tip over.
"I swear you will regret this!" He promised, before storming out of the room.
Completely ignoring Matthews' threat, the young woman turned to the remaining members of the meeting.
"I guess that's everything on our agenda. This concludes our meeting." She said as she picked up her tablet, walked out of the conference room and towards her office.
Upon arrival, she saw a man waiting in front of her office. She hadn't seen him before neither did he look like he worked in her father's company.
"Who are you?"
"I'm the executor of your father's will."
She invited him into her office and when they were seated, she analyzed the man for a moment.
"Aren't you a bit early?" She finally asked.
"Time moves differently for the rich. The board of directors wanted to know the new owners of The Empire Group." The man replied and she tilted her head.
"Owners?"
"You didn't know William has a grandson?"
Anne's breath became haggard. She tried to regain her composure, after what she heard. Never in her wildest dreams did she think her father would give Henry a stake in his Empire.
"How is it shared?"
"I'm not really meant to say until I get the grant of probate—"
"How is it shared?" She repeated, her tone different.
"You both get half of everything. The company, his estate, his wealth. Everything."
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