Forever After All: A Billionaire Marriage of Convenience Novel

I look into the mirror, admiring my outfit. I opted for a maroon-colored pantsuit, and even I have to admit that it makes me look… powerful.

“You look stunning,” Alec says, his eyes roaming over my body. I smile and walk up to him, fixing his matching maroon tie.

I place my palms against his chest, my heart filled with gratefulness. “None of this would be possible without you.”

He smiles and brushes my hair behind my ear. “Are you ready?” he asks.

I nod. Three months. It’s been three months since we took my mother home. It took me that long to get all legal aspects in place.

Alec holds my hand as we walk down the stairs. The entire ground floor is filled with men dressed in black suits, guns strapped to their waists. My mother stands in the middle, leaning on her cane, Sofia by her side. She still can’t walk well, and she can’t walk for long, but she’s getting there, slowly.

She looks beautiful today, and every time she smiles at me, I’m still struck with disbelief. I almost lost my mother, and what for?

Lucian nods at me from the sofa, Elliot by his side. I smile at him, and nod at Elliot in thanks. He’s gone above and beyond for me.

Alec places his hand on my lower back, and I take a deep breath to calm my nerves.

“Tonight, we’re taking the Rousseaus down,” I say, my heart at ease. It should sound strange to me to say that. Not too long ago, I was a Rousseau myself. Yet I feel nothing but excitement.

“Team Beta will be on standby at their estate, awaiting my orders. Team Alpha will be with Alec and me. We’ll be hitting the board room.”

I glance at my mother and smile. “I’ve called for an emergency shareholders’ meeting, so they’ll be on high alert. At this point, my father should be aware that someone has been buying up his shares, but he’s unable to find out who, thanks to Elliot,” I say, nodding at him.

Alec purchased all the shares under a privately held company that he gifted me, which would already make it hard to unveil who the buyer is, but Elliot has managed to hide all remaining traces of ownership. From what I understand, my father has already tried to follow the money, only to come up against a brick wall every single time.

“My father won’t be too worried yet, because he thinks he still owns a majority shareholding between Matthew and himself. The paperwork proving that we’ve undone that is right here,” I say, lifting a stack of papers for my mother to see. Alec’s lawyers have gone above and beyond to assist me with my plans, and it wasn’t easy, but they’ve made it happen.

“All other teams will be stationed at every other property owned by the Rousseau Corporation. We’ll be taking over all of them. I want every single lock changed.” I glance at Elliot and smile. “And every single access code, too.”

He nods at me, looking excited. Elliot is on standby to disable all security systems at every property today, and while it’s a momentous task, he’s assured me it’s a walk in the park for him. Lucian puts his hand on Elliot’s knee, betraying his nerves, but Elliot merely smiles at him reassuringly.

“Let’s go.”

Our teams get into their vehicles while Alec offers my mother his arm.

“Wait,” Elliot says, handing me an earpiece. “I’ll coordinate with you,” he adds, and I smile, squeezing his hand.

Alec, Sofia, my mother, and I head toward the limousine, and it isn’t until we’re on our way to Rousseau Corporation that the nerves set in.

“You’ll do amazing, honey,” my mother says, and I nod. Rage fills my every vein at the thought of what they did to my mother. They’re going down, if it’s the last thing I do.

I smile as I step out of the limousine, and I feel truly fearless as I walk into the building. For years, years, I’ve felt helpless. Not anymore.

I walk toward the board room with just two of our men by my side. Alec, Sofia, and my mother not too far behind me, their pace adjusted to Mom’s.

I smile as I push the door to the board room open with force, enjoying the way it loudly slams into the wall.

The members of the board sit up in surprise, and my father looks at me in shock. “Elena?” he says, his voice laced with dismay. “What are you doing here? This is no place for you.”

The contempt in his voice irritates me and I grit my teeth as I walk up to him. I stand beside him, my eyes roaming over the board members sitting here today.

Matthew looks at me, his jaws clenched. “You called the meeting?”

My father laughs and shakes his head. “That’s impossible,” he says. “I gave her shares to you.”

I grin at Matthew. “You’re not half as dumb as you look,” I tell him. “But then again, you’ve proven yourself to be quite the mastermind, huh? Looks are deceiving after all.”

He blinks, a calculative glint in his eyes. Out of everyone, I’m going to enjoy taking him down most.

“I have gathered you all here today to vote on the position of CEO,” I say.

My brother smiles in amusement and shakes his head, leaning back in his seat, unworried. “You’ve managed to buy what? Ten percent of our shares? I’ll entertain you today, but let this be a lesson. The next time you waste my time, I’ll make you pay.”

I merely nod at him. It’s not his turn just yet.

“I’m calling to a vote the matter of terminating Alaric Rousseau’s position as CEO,” I say.

Matthew sighs and shakes his head. “Those voting in favor of having him remain in his position, please raise your hand,” he says, slowly raising his own, his tone mocking. He turns to look around the table, his eyes flashing with satisfaction when he finds every single hand raised. He looks at me in amusement, and I smile.

My earpiece crackles, Elliot’s voice coming through. “Your mother should be walking in any second now,” he says. “You’re good to go.”

“All those voting in favor of removing him from his position, please raise your hand,” I say, raising my own.

Matthew laughs, his arms spread. “Can’t you count, Elena?” he asks. “The vote is done. You got your ten seconds of attention, now get out.”

“It’s not quite done yet,” a soft voice says behind me.

I turn to find my mother walking in on Alec’s arm. Her eyes find Matthew’s, and the pain I see in them kills me.

I grab a stack of papers from my bag and throw them onto the table, papers scattering everywhere. I glance at my mother, and she smiles at me as she raises her hand.

“Can’t you count?” I ask Matthew. “Between my mother and I, we own sixty percent of the shares.”

He blanches, his eyes on my mother. He looks like he’s seeing a ghost, and it angers me even further. I grit my teeth and turn to my father, who is looking at my mother the exact same way.

“You’re done,” I tell him. I nod at the security team we brought with us, and they help my father out of his seat. He barely even notices, his eyes on my mother.

“This is impossible,” Matthew says, looking panicked.

I smile at him. “Now the vote is done,” I tell him. I nod at my men, and they walk up to him. “Restrain him,” I tell them.

Matthew struggles. “You can’t remove me,” he yells. “I’m still a shareholder.”

I frown at him. “You mean the shares you inherited from a woman who isn’t dead? Yeah, it doesn’t work that way.”

He kicks at his chair as my men restrain him, and I shake my head. “Let this be a reminder. What goes around comes around, Matthew. Not just your words—your every action. I will make you pay. This company, your shares, they should be the least of your worries.”

I nod at Aiden, and he hands me a hard drive. I clench my jaw as I look at it, my eyes finding my mother’s. She smiles, her smile bittersweet. I walk up to her and wrap my arm around her just as the police walk in.

Matthew freezes when he sees them, his face draining of color. They stop in front of him.

“Matthew Rousseau,” they say. “You’re under arrest for the attempted murder of Sarah Rousseau. Anything you say can and will be used in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.”

I shake my head at him. “Attempted murder is but one of your crimes, Matthew. The doctors and nurses that were on the Rousseau payroll? The ones that knowingly kept my mother in an induced coma? The police have certified confessions from them. They’ll be testifying against you.”

A tear drops down my mother’s cheek as they slap the cuffs around his wrist, his head hanging low. I tighten my grip on my mother as they lead him past us, my heart heavy. I’ve gone through years of us growing apart, but to my mother, it must feel like she’s losing her son all of a sudden.

I inhale deeply before addressing the shocked board members. None of them have said a single word. They’re probably scandalized, and it won’t take long for rumors about today’s events to start spreading—exactly what I wanted. Even if somehow, Matthew gets away with what he did to my mother, his reputation will forever be tarnished.

“I think that’s quite enough theatrics for today. I apologize for involving you all. I hereby call this meeting closed. You’re dismissed.”

Most of them rise from their seats, and many of them head toward my mother. How could I have forgotten? Most of these people are old friends of hers, people that have been here from the very start. Many of them were here when she grew the company into what it is.

Our security team stops them from getting too close to her and she shakes her head, raising her palm. “Soon,” she says. “We’ll all be able to catch up soon. I’m not going anywhere, ever again. But today… today my daughter and I have some business to take care of.”

She turns and walks away, and I can’t help but smile. I was worried today would be incredibly hard on her, but she seems to be coping well.

I follow her, impatient for what’s about to come.