Chapter 845

Harrison knew exactly how far to push when he spoke. The words carried an edge, but it was infinitely better than groveling.

Reginald Blackwood fell silent for several heartbeats, his piercing gaze locked onto Harrison. "And if I refuse to sign?"

A cold smile curved Harrison's lips. "Then that evidence goes straight to the courts. The entire Blackwood legacy crumbles by your own hand."

This wasn't cruelty from Nathan. Their bribery schemes had been brazen, leaving no room for mercy.

The old patriarch's expression darkened, his eyes becoming fathomless pools as he weighed his options.

After an eternity, Reginald's gnarled fingers finally closed around the pen.

Refusal meant facing the wrath of those very shareholders who'd stood by him moments ago. They'd tear him apart for dragging them down.

Nathan's trap had sprung perfectly.

In his office, Nathan stood like a storm cloud, staring through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The sunlight breaking through the dispersing clouds painted his pale skin in harsh contrasts.

Harrison knocked and placed the signed documents on the obsidian desk. "It's done, sir. Though he demanded the shareholders' evidence in return."

Nathan's already frigid expression turned glacial. "Fine. Are the other arrangements in place?"

He couldn't care less about the evidence. Reginald would burn it immediately—but that wasn't the real objective anyway. Harrison nodded. "Foreign investors have already made contact—"

"Move carefully." Nathan cut him off without turning. "No slip-ups."

Harrison hesitated. "Mrs. Blackwood and Miss Blackwood are still waiting. They insist on seeing you—"

"Denied." The words cracked like ice.

The boardroom betrayal had extinguished the last embers of familial affection. His own mother publicly branding him a criminal? What use was such poisonous kinship?

Even his subordinates showed more loyalty.

Harrison couldn't suppress a pang of sympathy.

The office hummed with tense silence.

Nathan finally sat, long fingers flipping through the documents with surgical precision before shoving them back. "Have HR issue the announcement immediately. Post it across all platforms. The Blackwood era ends today."

"Yes, sir."

This ruthlessness wasn't personal. But after Reginald's schemes against Sterling Enterprises—against Evelyn—Nathan would raze empires to keep her safe. The memory of those early plots still made his blood run cold.

The announcement detonated like a financial bomb.

Everyone knew Reginald Blackwood clung to power like a drowning man to driftwood. For him to surrender the chairmanship voluntarily? Unthinkable.

Overnight, the corporate landscape shifted seismically.

Those who'd backed Nathan stood firm. The rest? Scrambling like rats from a sinking ship.

After the disastrous meeting, they came crawling—only to find every door locked. Nathan offered no quarter, no negotiation. Their panic became palpable.

To the outside world, the message was clear: Nathan Blackwood wasn't just Ferguson Corporation's leader—he was its undisputed sovereign.

The balance of power had crystallized in a single night.

By dawn, the battle lines were drawn.

And Nathan stood victorious.