The CEO and the Country Wildflower chapter 36

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The CEO and the Country Wildflower
Chapter 36: The Silent Coup


The boardroom was eerily silent after the message flashed across Lucas’s phone. His fingers tightened around the device, knuckles whitening, as he read the words again: Leo Brown now holds 51% of York Group. The victory they had just secured against Linda and Richard Brown felt hollow, the ground beneath them shifting treacherously. Emelly, standing beside him, felt the tension radiating off Lucas in waves. His migraine, which had vanished in the heat of their confrontation, now threatened to return with a vengeance. She reached for his hand instinctively, her fingers threading through his. The warmth of her touch grounded him, but the storm in his eyes didn’t dissipate. “What is it?” she whispered, though she already dreaded the answer. Lucas turned the screen toward her, and Emelly’s breath hitched. Fifty-one percent. That wasn’t just a majority—it was control. Absolute, unchallenged control. “How?” she breathed. “I don’t know,” Lucas admitted, his voice low and dangerous. “But we’re going to find out.”


Across the room, Richard Brown smirked, his earlier defeat forgotten. “Looks like the tides have turned, York.” Lucas didn’t dignify that with a response. Instead, he turned on his heel, pulling Emelly with him as he strode out of the boardroom. David, waiting outside, took one look at his boss’s expression and immediately fell into step beside them. “David,” Lucas bit out, “get me every transaction record, every shell company, every whisper of a deal involving York stock in the last 48 hours.


I want to know how Leo got his hands on my company.” David nodded sharply and pulled out his phone, already barking orders into it. Back in Lucas’s office, Emelly paced, her mind racing. “This doesn’t make sense. Even if Leo had the funds, acquiring that much stock without triggering alarms—it’s impossible unless…” She froze. “Unless someone inside York helped him,” Lucas finished grimly. Their eyes met, the same realization dawning. Linda wasn’t working alone. Emelly’s phone buzzed. A message from Tony: Meet me in the archives. Now. She showed Lucas the screen. “Tony might know something.” Lucas hesitated, then nodded. “Go. But take David with you.” Emelly rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a bodyguard.” “You do,” Lucas said, his tone brooking no argument. “If Leo’s making moves this bold, I’m not taking chances.” She huffed but didn’t protest further.


Down in the archives, Tony was waiting, his usual easygoing demeanor replaced by urgency. “Emelly, you need to see this.” He pulled up a file on his tablet—a series of encrypted emails between Linda and an unnamed recipient. “I dug deeper after the meeting,” Tony explained. “Linda wasn’t just leaking info to Richard.


She was funneling insider data to Leo Brown for months. Stock trades, merger plans, everything.” Emelly’s stomach twisted. “She sold out York completely.” Tony nodded grimly. “But here’s the kicker—Leo didn’t just buy the shares. He forced them. Look.” He swiped to another document—loan agreements, all under York Group’s name, signed by… “Lucas’s father?” Emelly’s blood ran cold. Tony exhaled sharply. “Old Mr. York took out massive loans years ago, using York stock as collateral. Leo’s been sitting on those debts, waiting for the right moment to call them in.” Emelly’s mind whirled. This wasn’t just a hostile takeover—it was revenge. Personal, calculated revenge. She relayed everything to Lucas the moment she returned to his office. His face darkened with each word, but when she mentioned his father’s involvement, something in him snapped. “That bastard,” Lucas snarled, slamming his fist onto the desk. “He’s been planning this for years.”


Emelly reached for him again, but this time, Lucas pulled away, pacing like a caged animal. “We need leverage,” he muttered. “Something to force Leo to the table.” “What if we expose him?” Emelly suggested. “If shareholders know he strong-armed his way in—” “They won’t care,” Lucas cut in. “Money talks. And right now, Leo holds all of it.” Silence fell, heavy and suffocating. Then, Emelly’s eyes lit up. “What if we make him lose money?” Lucas frowned. “How?” A slow, mischievous smile spread across her face. “We leak false data. Make him invest in a dead-end project. When it tanks, his investors will panic. He’ll have no choice but to negotiate.” Lucas studied her, a flicker of admiration cutting through his fury. “That’s… actually brilliant.” Emelly grinned. “I know.” He grabbed her hand, pulling her close. “You’re terrifying when you’re scheming.” She winked. “You love it.” Before Lucas could respond, his phone rang. An unknown number. He answered on speaker. “Hello, Lucas.” Leo Brown’s smooth, mocking voice filled the room. “Miss me?” Lucas’s grip on Emelly’s hand tightened. “What do you want, Leo?” “A friendly chat. I’m giving you one chance to walk away gracefully. Resign as CEO, and I’ll let you keep your shares. Fight me, and I’ll bury York Group so deep, even your precious Emelly won’t dig it out.” Emelly’s pulse spiked, but Lucas didn’t flinch. “You don’t have the guts to destroy York. You want it too badly.” Leo chuckled. “Try me.” The line went dead. Lucas exhaled sharply, then turned to Emelly. “We’re playing with fire.” She squeezed his hand. “Then let’s burn him first.”