Page 73 of Once Upon a Prince

“Oh, I thought you knew. I was sure Ella would have talked about me; we are so close. I’m Cheryl, her stepmother. I heard all about you two dating and wanted to come and meet you personally. Though, I must say, I would have thought a man of your stature and money would have better taste. Why would you want to have Ella in your life when you could have my daughter, Chantel?”

“I don’t know who your daughter is.”

“Yes, you do. You had a lovely conversation with her a few days ago. She’s a beautiful woman and hard to forget. It would be smart of you to think about being with her over Ella. For everyone’s good,” Cheryl smiled sweetly as she spoke but her eyes told a different story.

“That’s sweet to offer your daughter, but I’m happy with Ella.”

“You really should reconsider. You need someone who’s more suited to your station and status in life. As my daughter and I will soon have all the shares in Taylor Medical, Chantel is a much better choice.”

I laughed and smiled at the woman. Everything had worked just the way we had wanted it to. I only wished that Ella could be there to witness her stepmother’s downfall.

“You’re wrong. Ella is still a very wealthy woman, and while you and your daughter think you are, you’re not.”

“What are you talking about?” Cheryl blanched and put her hand to her chest.

I ignored her gesture. “For some reason, Ella didn’t trust you to not try and, I don’t know, blackmail her into doing something. I can’t imagine why.”

“I didn’t blackmail her.”

“Really? You didn’t?” Ella asked as she walked into the room.

I turned and smiled at her, she looked incredible as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders and she had defeated Goliath. In some ways, she had. I had thought it was crazy when she had hatched this scheme to take down her stepmother and get her out of her life once and for all, but it had worked. I had wanted to find a way to just buy out Cheryl’s shares and get her out of life that way. Seeing the satisfied look on Ella’s face, I knew she had made the right decision. And so had I.

Watching Ella walk toward me, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I wanted her to be my partner in everything and it gave me an idea of what she could do now that she was officially free of her family.

“That wasn’t what you told me earlier. You told me that if I didn’t leave with you and go back to Nebraska you were going to expose Dax for being a philanderer to the board and cause him to lose his position as CEO.”

“I never said that,” Cheryl stammered.

“That’s fascinating because I just happened to have a video with sound of our conversation this morning.” Ella reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. “Did you want to see it?”

“That’s ridiculous. I did no such thing. She’s lying to you. She isn’t well. I tried my best with her, but there’s only so much a mother can do,” Cheryl said.

“You were never a mother to me; you were a conniving manipulative bitch. You only care about yourself and your daughters. You never cared about me, or the company. You thought you could have a hold over me and you don’t. You might have in the past but you don’t now. I don’t need you; the company certainly doesn’t need you, and by the end of the day you will be giving your resignation and signing your shares over to me.”

“I will do no such thing,” Cheryl spat at Ella.

“Okay, it’s your choice. If you don’t. I’ll go to the police and let them know how you tried to blackmail me with this false information,” Ella said.

“You wouldn’t do that,” Cheryl stammered.

“She most certainly would. There’s a morality clause that all shareholders must abide by. Really, Cheryl you need to read the fine print,” Ella said with a sigh and then a smile. “If you go to jail you automatically forfeit your shares.”

“You can either forfeit your shares now and walk out of here a free woman and know the same will be true for your daughter, or you can try and hold on to them and she will file charges. I’ve already spoken to my company lawyer and the DA for Manhattan. He thinks we have a very strong case,” I said.

“What you are doing is blackmail. How is this any different than what I did to you?” Cheryl asked.

“See, admitting it is the first step,” Ella said softly.

“Shut up. You aren’t going to get away with this,” Cheryl said.

“There’s nothing to get away with. We’re giving you options that will still allow you to have a life. Maybe not the life you wanted or thought you could have but still a life,” I said.

“What do you want? A lengthy trial and loss of your shares, or just the loss of your shares? The choice is yours, dear stepmother,” Ella said and handed her a piece of paper.

“What is this?” Cheryl asked as she snatched the paper out of Ella’s hand.

“You know what it is. Paperwork having you sign yours and your daughter shares over to me. Well, Chantel and Chloe never had any shares, you just made me think that they did. And you never had control over my shares, again another lie.”