Chapter 249

Melanie looked up from her phone to Adam and then back down at her phone. Having her suspicion proven correct was… shocking actually.
Once again, she looked down at her phone… and yes. The words from Max were still there- The name of the Chairman and Founder of StormEdge is Adam Collins.
She looked up at Adam again, this time with something closer to astonishment.
Of course. That’s why he was so calm. That’s why he had all the information. That’s why he kept pressing them instead of offering solutions. He wasn’t trying to stop the takeover.
He was the takeover.
Just as Spencer had been secretly orchestrating ABC’s downfall—so that Adam would never inherit it-Adam had been crafting his own strategy. A cleaner, sharper, more devastating one. On paper, it had always looked like Adam married her for the inheritance. But now she could see the larger play-he had started working towards acquiring ABC long before the idea of marriage to her had even entered the picture.
Melanie straightened slowly. The realization was dizzying. Adam Collins was not the idle guy he always pretended to be. She’d often wondered why someone as smart as him chose to live outside the house so wastefully, pretending to be partying only. She’d thought he’d chosen that life to live under the radar and let Sir Collins not attack him continuously. Who could have imagined that he would be building an empire right under his nose.
And so when she looked at him again, she saw a strategist who had hidden himself in plain sight.
Then, as the man across the room continued ranting, still oblivious, Melanie stood abruptly and cut in.
“Sit down,” she said slowly.
The man blinked, startled. “What?”
“I said,” her voice sharper now, “Sit. Down.”
There was something final in her tone, something that made him obey without protest. But that did not stop him from muttering, ” We all know that he is your husband but can you really defend him here? He is here to disrupt only!”
Melanie stared at the man until he quietened and then turned her eyes on Adam, “I assume you’re done playing?”
Adam’s lips curved faintly. He could already see that she knew everything. Finally. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders, “I was never playing. But I did wonder how long it would take you to figure it out.”
She didn’t smile. “And now that I have?”
His gaze was steady, almost amused. “Now you can either work with me—or watch from the sidelines while I decide what stays and what gets sold off.”
Around them, the boardroom began to buzz in chaos gasps, exclamations, a flurry of half-formed arguments.
But Melanie didn’t flinch. She held his gaze like it was a duel. “You could have told me,” she said, quietly.
He tilted his head. “And spoil the fun?”
But even though his face retained the smile, inside Adam was feeling worried. Because Melanie did not look pleased or relieved that he was the chairman of StormEdge. He frowned. Did she really think he would break ABC up? He was going to simply throw out the rotten parts of the company and clean it up.
His musing was broken when another director spoke up,” What are you both talking about?”
He watched Melanie take in a deep breath and say,” I think we need to formally make an introduction-Everyone, this is Adam Collins- Chairman of StormEdge.”
Silence gripped the room after Melanie’s words. A few heads turned sharply toward Adam, as if seeing him for the first time. Someone dropped a pen. The air grew thick as understanding seemed to finally settle in.
Adam Collins. The man they had mocked, dismissed, insulted-was the one they should have feared all along. The director who had been arguing and questioning Adam just now was the one who now turned pale.
“I… I didn’t know,” he stammered. “Adam, I—Mr. Collins, I had no idea. I spoke out of turn. Please… if I had known…”
Adam didn’t move. His expression remained unreadable, leaning back slightly, arms crossed as he watched the older man fumble with his words.
“I would never have…” the man tried again.
“And yet you did,” Adam said quietly.
“I’m sorry.”
Adam’s gaze didn’t soften. “What would you like me to do with your apology?”
The question hung in the air even as the man tried to explain,” Look, I didn’t know you were…”
“You want forgiveness because I turned out to be someone you didn’t expect,” Adam continued. “But when I was just the Collins heir with no ’real power,’ you had no issue belittling me, excluding me, and treating me like a child. And now that you know the title, you want to start again? But under all this, the basic truth remains the same- that you leaked internal secrets to an outside hostile company for your own gains.
The man said nothing.
Adam’s tone was still quiet, but it had also hardened. “You won’t be on the board next quarter. Consider this your notice. I don’t care how long you’ve served or who you’ve kept happy. You’re out.”
He then took a deep breath and he continued, “We will now begin cleaning up of ABC Industries. As for the question on the forefront on most of your minds, “Yes, StormEdge is known for dismantling failing companies. We break them up, sell the profitable parts, and move on. That’s how we’ve always operated. But ABC Industries won’t be broken up.”
This company will not be sold in pieces. It will be overhauled. It will be cut clean, rebuilt from the ground up, and run by people who deserve to be here. People who work. Who think. Who don’t just fill chairs and sign off on corruption because it’s easier. This is your warning. This level of negligence, cowardice, and backdoor politics—it ends now. What happened here will not happen again. For now, this meeting ends here. I’ll let you know how things will move forward. Some of you will be part of it. Some of you won’t. And for now, the meeting is adjourned.”
With that Adam stood up and walked out of the board room, leaving behind stunned silence.
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