Crown of the Empire

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

I woke up to the sound of curtains being drawn, soft light spilling into the room like it owned the place.

Correction: our room.

That still felt strange to say. The word our. Like I hadn't just spent twenty-four years of my life in an ice palace masquerading as a family estate, only to move into the lair of Asia's most annoyingly stoic billionaire-doctor.

"Good morning, Madame-to-be," one of the staff said, bowing slightly before setting down a breakfast tray at the foot of the bed. Silver dome covers, linen napkins, even a tiny vase with orchids. "Coffee, eggs benedict, and fresh fruit. Mr. Takedo left instructions."

My eyebrow twitched. "Instructions?"

"Yes. That you should not be bothered by business until you've eaten."

I snorted. Of course. Nikolai Takedo, the man who ran a pharmaceutical empire spanning three continents, thought he could run me like one of his labs.

"Tell your 'Mr. Takedo' I'll bother myself if I want to," I muttered, though the smell of coffee already softened my rebellion.

When they left, I padded over to the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, pulling my robe tighter around me. The estate spread out beneath me like a private kingdom—manicured lawns, minimalist architecture, fountains that probably cost more than half of Manila's traffic lights.

It was nothing like the Vergara estate. That place had been built to intimidate. To remind you that you belonged to a legacy older than yourself. This? This was designed to breathe. To move forward.

And maybe... so was I.

My phone buzzed. An email. From my lawyers.

Subject: Initial Steps – Withdrawal of Shares (Vergara Banking)

My pulse kicked up. This was it. The move no Vergara had ever dared. The dagger to my father's empire.

I dialed quickly, my coffee untouched. "Proceed," I said the moment my lawyer picked up.

"Madame, if you pull your thirty-five percent all at once, the shock to the bank's liquidity could—"

"That's the point." My voice sliced clean through his hesitation. "If my father wants to play succession games, let him watch the stock bleed. We'll stagger the sell-off to avoid legal intervention, but every single peso of my stake will leave his hands. I want him scrambling."

A pause. Then, carefully: "And you'll reinvest?"

"With Nikolai," I said, surprising myself with how steady it sounded. "We'll launch something new. Something he can't touch."

When I hung up, I finally let out a shaky laugh. God, I was really doing this. Burning my inheritance to salt the earth so something better could grow.

The door clicked open behind me.

"You're working already." Nikolai's voice was low, unimpressed.

I turned, smirking. "And you're spying already."

He stepped in, as crisp as ever in his tailored shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows like he'd just come from running a boardroom. "I told them to let you eat first."

"And I told myself I'll eat after I set fire to an empire." I tilted my head. "Looks like I won."

His gaze sharpened, assessing. "You really intend to pull everything."

"Was that doubt I heard, Doctor Takedo?"

"No," he said simply. "Just calculation. With your thirty-five percent pulled, Vergara Banking will hemorrhage billions. Stocks will crash. Investors will flee."