Chrystabliss

Chapter 47 - FORTY SEVEN:This Entire Family Will Burn

Chapter 47: Chapter FORTY SEVEN:This Entire Family Will Burn


Kendrick’s POV


The morning came far too quickly.


I barely slept after last night as my grandfather’s words kept me awake, echoing like a curse carved into my skull.


Power.


Without it, you are nothing. With it, you can have everything.


That was the weight I carried when I opened my eyes at dawn. The old Kendrick, the one who bled for love, who allowed his emotions to drag him into a pit of weakness was gone Or at least, I prayed he was.


What was left was a man who had no choice but to rise.


I pushed myself out of bed, ignoring the ache in my chest that still whispered Christy’s name. That ache would always be there but now, I needed to bury it deep.


As I stood in front of the mirror, buttoning my black tailored suit, my reflection was different.


The hollow, broken boy from yesterday was replaced with something colder. My jaw was tight, my eyes sharper, and my aura... heavier. This was the man my grandfather wanted to see.


My phone buzzed and I saw Evans flashing on the screen.


I answered immediately. "What is it?"


"Sir, you need to get to the office. Curtis has gathered the executives for an emergency contract signing.


He’s pushing through a partnership deal with the Martinez family. A very risky project with high investments and unstable returns. If it goes through, it could drain Black Enterprises of billions." His voice carried a sense of urgency.


My grip tightened around the phone.


Curtis.


That snake.


He waited until I was at my weakest, then slithered his way into the boardroom like he belonged there.


"Where?" I demanded, already grabbing my keys.


"The executive boardroom, twelfth floor. They’re preparing to finalize the documents as we speak." he replied quickly.


I ended the call and strode out.


My heart wasn’t beating fast from panic, it was rage, which has been controlled for too long.


By the time I reached Black Enterprises, the building towered above me like the empire I was born to rule.


My empire and my grandfather’s empire, I would be damned if Curtis laid a hand on it.


The guards at the entrance stiffened as they saw me. Even the receptionist who had avoided my eyes in recent weeks scrambled to greet me. Wordless, I marched past, my shoes echoing against the marble floors like thunder.


The elevator ride to the twelfth floor felt endless, but the fire in my chest only grew.


When the doors slid open, I didn’t hesitate as I pushed them wide and strode straight into the boardroom.


Every head turned when I walked in.


Curtis sat at the head of the long mahogany table, smug and smiling, a pen poised in his hand as Mr. Martinez leaned forward, ready to slide the contract across.


Executives surrounded them, whispering like vultures, waiting for the scraps.


But when they saw me, silence enveloped through the room.


"Kendrick?" one of them muttered in shock.


Curtis’s smile faltered, then returned with forced calm.


"Well, look who finally decided to show up, we were just about to finalize a groundbreaking partnership." he said with a smug expression.


My eyes locked on the papers spread before him.


The contract.


The very rope he wanted to use to strangle Black Enterprises.


I walked straight to the table, each step heavy with authority and no one dared to speak.


When I reached the end, I didn’t ask for permission or request an explanation. I simply snatched the contract from under Curtis’s hand.


"Hey! What do you think you’re.... " he barked


I didn’t let him finish and my eyes never left him as I tore the contract in half.


The room was instantly filled with gasps.


Executives lurched forward, but I kept tearing. Shreds of paper fell to the polished floor like snow, scattering at Curtis’s feet.


When the last piece was ripped, I tossed the remnants across the table at him.


"Over my dead body," I said coldly.


Curtis’s jaw clenched, his face red with fury.


Before he could speak, Mr. Martinez slammed his fist against the table, rising to his feet. His tailored suit stretched with the force of his anger, and his voice boomed in the room.


"This is outrageous! Do you know what you’ve just cost us, Kendrick? This was a chance to expand, to dominate markets overseas! Instead, you humiliate me in front of your entire board?" he growled angrily.


I turned my head slowly toward him. My gaze was calm, but it carried fire.


"No, Mr. Martinez, What I stopped was a disaster. Black Enterprises do not gamble with desperation, we build empires and don’t sell them." I replied to him calmly.


His nostrils flared in anger.


"You think you’re untouchable because of your name? Let me remind you, Kendrick, you have responsibilities. Especially now that my daughter is carrying your child." he said while glaring angrily at me.


The words hit the room like a bomb.


Gasps and murmurs.


The executives erupted in whispers as they were shocked.


I froze for only a heartbeat, my gaze locked on him.


So that was his game.


Not just business leverage, but humiliation. He wanted the world to know. He wanted to bind me to Celeste with the chains of a child.


I inhaled slowly, forcing myself not to let the revelation crack my composure.


Then I smirked. "Is that so?"


The room grew still, every ear straining to catch my next words.


"If your daughter is indeed pregnant, then I suggest you take her out of my family’s house and raise her properly, instead of using her womb as a business strategy."


Gasps turned to stunned silence. Some executives shifted uncomfortably, others couldn’t hide their grim satisfaction.


Mr. Martinez’s face darkened. "You dare insult my daughter..."


"I dare and I won’t repeat myself. Black Enterprises is not a charity for shameless opportunists. Take your daughter, and take your theatrics elsewhere." I cut him off sharply, my voice rising with authority.


For a moment, the only sound was the ragged breathing of Mr. Martinez, his fists trembling at his sides. But he didn’t speak again. He clearly knew better than to get on my bad side.


Slowly, with a sneer, he turned and stormed out.


But Curtis stood up angrily, his chair screeched as it was pushed back, and his eyes blazed as he jabbed a finger at me.


"You think this makes you a man? Ripping contracts and barking orders?" he spat.


"You’ve done nothing but destroy! You used Christy, broke her, and now you chase her like some desperate dog. And still you drag another woman into this mess, get her pregnant, and act like you’re above the rest of us? Shameless doesn’t even begin to describe you." His words sliced into me, but I didn’t let it show.


I straightened, my aura filling the room, and stepped closer until I was nose to nose with him. My voice dropped, deadly quiet.


"Listen carefully, Curtis. You will never speak Christy’s name again. You will not look at her and you will not breathe in her direction. If you even think of getting close to her, I will make sure you regret it for the rest of your miserable life." I warned him with a calm voice.


The room was suffocating with the tension between us.


"And what? You think she’ll forgive you? You think power will erase the fact that you’re a liar, a cheat, and a failure?" he said, his lips curled into a sneer


"Christy is mine. That is the only truth that matters." I said after leaning closer to him.


We stared at each other like two storms ready to collide, until Evans discreetly cleared his throat from the corner.


"Sir..." he said cautiously.


I pulled back, not because I was done, but because Curtis wasn’t worth breaking bones over.


Not yet.


I turned to Evans. "Get me every detail on Celeste’s movements before she claimed to be pregnant. I don’t care how small, I want to know where she was, who she met, and when." I ordered him with a serious expression.


"Yes, sir," Evans said immediately, already pulling out his tablet.


The meeting dissolved in uneasy murmurs, executives scattering, some siding with Curtis with their glances, others already shifting their loyalty back to me.


When the room was finally empty, I walked to the window. The city stretched before me, cold and vast. My chest burned with rage, but beneath it was clarity.


Curtis was a parasite.


The Martinez family were opportunists. And Celeste... Celeste was hiding something.


Hours later, Evans returned. His expression was grim, and that alone told me what I needed to know.


"What did you find?" I asked, my voice low.


He hesitated, then handed me a folder.


"Sir... Celeste has been making frequent visits to a low-key hotel on the east side. Almost every week for the past few months." he reported.


My jaw clenched.


"And?"


Evans swallowed. "She wasn’t alone. She was always with the same man."


I snatched the folder and opened it.


Photos slid into my hands. There were pictures of Celeste entering the hotel and leaving. Her arm linked with a tall, broad man. His face was clearly captured by the lens.


My breath stopped.


Raymond.


My father.


The room spun, but I gripped the edge of the desk until my knuckles whitened.


I never thought he could become more despicable.


Celeste’s child... it might not even be mine.


It could be his.


The fire in my chest turned into an inferno. My vision blurred with rage, my pulse hammering in my ears.


Evans spoke carefully. "Sir... what do you want me to do?"


I closed the folder slowly, my hands trembling with restrained violence.


"Keep digging," I said, my voice hoarse but steady. "And prepare yourself. Because when the truth comes out..."


I looked back out at the city, my reflection staring back with eyes darker than I’d ever seen.


"...this entire family will burn."