Healing hearts

Chapter forty

Xander's pov

Heather continued to annoy me at the office. She completely changed all my policies and stopped all my projects, even insulting them. My hands were tied because it seemed like she had everyone on her side. I couldn't take it anymore. She was wasting the company's budget, and if we weren't careful, we would be running on a deficit soon. This was something I always wanted to avoid for the company.

"Heather, this is a risky investment!" I said. "You can't do this."

"Who made you the investment god, to decide the fate of this project?" she asked, with an arrogant tone.

I sighed. "For God's sake, if this blows over, we'll lose millions!" I said.

"You worry too much," she said. "The company won't fail because of this investment. Don't worry." But I was worried. She didn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation.

"Damn it, Heather," I said. "This is a mistake. And I'm still the chairman. You can't make any company decisions without me."

"You're becoming too confident for an illegitimate child," she said. "You should know better than to get in my way." She walked out of the room, leaving me feeling defeated.

When I got home, I grumbled to my wife about my infuriating stepmother. "She's impossible," I said. "I need to find a way to deal with her."

She told me I had to be smart in dealing with heather and then Cassie and I thought of a plan to get rid of Heather for good. Despite my warnings, Heather made the investment without my consent, and it flopped in a few weeks. She was in debt.

The board was furious with Heather. They threatened to pull their shares. I told her that I would help her if she signed over all her shares to me. She was hesitant, but she didn't have a choice. She didn't want to be involved in the company's debt. I reinvested the money, and soon enough, Heather realized I had tricked her. She was angry with me.

"You son of a bitch!" she exclaimed. "You tricked me!"

"Why?" I asked. "Did you honestly think I would let you ruin my father's hard work?"

"It was your plan all along!" she said, angrily. "You knew I would make a mistake."

She tried to hit me, but my mom came in and  stopped her. "Enough, Heather," she said. "Don't you dare lay a hand on my son."

"The mistress and her illegitimate bastard," Heather sneered. "It's nice to see that you still look like a whore, Stella."

"You better watch it," I warned her.

"You're going to pay for this, Xander," she said.

"Enough!" I said. "You had a peaceful life and money. Now you've come back with so much bitterness, and now you've lost everything. Was it worth it?"

"You and your mother stole everything from me," Heather said. "My husband never loved me. He always wanted Stella. How do you think that made me feel?"

"That's not my fault, Heather," my mom said. "I swear, I didn't know Richard was married. And when I found out he was, I left him. I promise."

"Liar!" Heather snapped.

"I'm not lying," my mom insisted.

"Enough!" I said. "Heather, I will keep giving you your dividend if you promise never to come back again."

She was hesitant for a while, but then she agreed. Everything was fine again. I hugged my mom, and she hugged me back. I took my mom out to celebrate and cheer her up. I knew that the confrontation with Heather had opened up old wounds, and I wanted her to forget it.

A few weeks later, I was invited to the trial of Caesar, Shawn, and the other guy whose name was  Migo. After it all, they were sentenced to years imprisonment for kidnapping and torture. Me and my family were finally free.