Chapter 6 - The Secret Revealed
The executive elevator of Apex Global moved with silent, frictionless speed, carrying Brendan and Diane up to the eighty-sixth floor. They hadn't been allowed in through the main lobby; instead, a security escort had brought them up through the private subterranean freight elevator, stripping them of their phones, watches, and any remaining shreds of dignity.
The doors slid open with a soft chime.
The boardroom was unlike anything Brendan had ever seen. While he had attended plenty of high-level meetings in this room before, today it felt entirely transformed. The massive, circular conference table—made of rare African teak—was surrounded not by regional managers, but by the highest-ranking executives in the country: the heads of global logistics, chief financial strategists, senior partners from international legal firms, and Arthur Vance himself standing at attention by the head of the table.
At the far end of the room, sitting in a high-backed leather executive chair, was Cassidy.
She had changed out of her wet, cheap maternity dress. She now wore a tailored, midnight-blue cashmere blazer over a silk blouse, her hair swept up in a polished, sophisticated twist. There was no trace of the trembling, shivering woman who had sat on the metal folding chair the night before. Instead, she radiated an aura of absolute authority—cool, poised, and utterly untouchable.
Beside her stood a pristine white bassinet, from which soft, healthy gurgling sounds could occasionally be heard.
Brendan and Diane stood frozen near the doorway, flanked by two security guards whose expressions were carved from stone.
"Close the doors," Cassidy said. Her voice was low, but it echoed clearly in the vast, silent room.
The heavy oak doors clicked shut.
Diane swallowed hard, her usual arrogance crumbling into pathetic desperation. She took a tentative step forward, her hands trembling. "Cassidy... my dear... let’s not be hasty. Family is family, after all. Surely this... this little misunderstanding can be resolved over dinner—"
"Family?" Cassidy interrupted, her gaze lifting to meet Diane’s. The intensity in her eyes made Diane flinch. "Is that what you call pouring freezing water over a pregnant woman in your home? Is that what you call treating another human being like garbage because you assumed their worth was measured by the brand of their clothes?"
"Cassidy, I was... we were just teasing!" Diane stammered, her voice cracking as she grasped at straws. "It was a joke! A family prank gone slightly wrong!"
"A prank," Cassidy repeated softly. She turned her gaze from Diane to Brendan, who stood beside his mother looking like a ghost. "And you, Brendan? Did you enjoy the joke? Did laughing at the mother of your unborn child make you feel like a big man?"
Brendan’s lips moved silently for a moment before he managed to choke out the words: "Cassidy... I didn't know. If I had known you owned Apex—"
"If you had known I was wealthy, you would have treated me with respect?" Cassidy cut him off sharply. "That is precisely why you are standing here in a stripped-down suit with zero assets to your name. You don't respect people, Brendan. You respect price tags. You worship bank accounts. And now, you have neither."
"Cassidy, please!" Brendan dropped to his knees on the polished marble floor, abandoning all remaining pride. "We have a history! We were married! Think of the baby—don't you want our child to have a father?"
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Cassidy looked down at the bassinet, where her baby stirred peacefully, completely shielded from the chaos outside. She reached out and gently stroked the infant's blanket before looking back at Brendan with absolute coldness.
"My child will never need a coward, a parasite, or a bully," Cassidy said evenly. "And as for our history? You made sure that history ended last night when you watched your mother pour ice water over my head."
