Ethan Graves woke to the sound of his phone vibrating violently against his nightstand. The room was still dark, the city skyline barely visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows of his Manhattan penthouse. He blinked, groggy, before reaching for the device. It was 4:37 AM. An unusual time for calls, unless something had gone very, very wrong.
The moment he saw the screen, a chill crawled up his spine. Thirty-seven missed calls. His inbox was flooded with messages from board members, senior executives, and even his personal attorney, Olivia Harper. One subject line stood out:
URGENT: IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED—HOSTILE TAKEOVER
His breath hitched. Heart pounding, he swiped the message open.
Ethan, you need to call me the second you see this. We have a crisis. You've been locked out of Graves Industries. There's a hostile takeover underway. We need to move. Now.
— Olivia
For a split second, he thought it was some kind of mistake. A glitch. A prank. But the unease in his gut told him otherwise.
He threw off the covers, swung his legs over the bed, and called Olivia.
She picked up on the first ring. "Ethan, where the hell have you been? We're in trouble."
"I just woke up. Tell me what's happening."
"You're out," she said, her voice razor-sharp. "You no longer control Graves Industries."
His mind refused to process the words. "That's impossible. I am the company."
"Not anymore," Olivia said. "Daniel Cole orchestrated a hostile takeover. Effective midnight, the board voted you out as CEO. He's taken full control."
Ethan felt as though the ground had split beneath him. He gripped the phone tighter, pacing the room in disbelief. "Daniel? My best friend? The man I built this company with?"
"Yes. And he's been planning this for a long time."
Ethan ran a hand through his hair, trying to think. Trying to breathe. "How? My shares—my controlling stake? There's no way he had enough leverage to pull this off."
There was silence on the line. Then Olivia said, "He did. Because of a clause buried in your father's old contracts. A clause you didn't know existed."
A cold weight settled in Ethan's stomach.
"What clause?"
"One that gave Daniel the legal right to oust you. And Ethan—your father signed it."
The words hit like a sledgehammer. His father? The man who built Graves Industries from the ground up? The man who had drilled into Ethan the importance of power, control, and never showing weakness? He had signed away the very company Ethan had dedicated his life to?
It didn't make sense. None of it did.
Ethan turned toward his bedroom window, staring out at the city that had once been his playground. His empire. Now, it had been taken from him overnight, and the man responsible was someone he trusted more than anyone.
His phone buzzed again. A new message popped up.
From: Daniel Cole
Ethan, I did what had to be done. You'll understand soon.
Rage surged through him. His fingers clenched around the phone as he read the message again. What had to be done? What the hell did that mean?
A sharp knock at the door yanked him from his thoughts.
He turned, pulse racing. Was it Daniel? A legal team? The police?
Ethan inhaled sharply and moved toward the door, bracing himself.
Whatever was on the other side would change everything.
And he wasn't ready for it.