The Still CEO: Forged Succession

Chapter 12 - A Nightmarish Sight

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Donna

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Mali says he understands, and I place the phone down after ending the call, taking deep breaths as I plead with the universe for forgiveness once more. Just then, there’s a knock on the door, and I walk out to find Laurel on the other side, concern etched on her face.

She says she came to check if I’m okay, and I thank her and tell her I am. We head back to the front while I ask where Tyson is, and she says he went to have one drink with his father before they leave. I nod.

As we settle in the living area, I ask Clarissa to bring me my special tea, which I offer to Laurel, and she says she will try it. She says she just found out that Chase and Liv left, and I tell her they did, adding that they were upset, knowing she probably heard me arguing with Chase.

There’s silence for a moment before she reaches over and takes my hand in hers, making me look at her.

"She’s not a bad person, you know," she says, and I take a deep breath while a voice in my head says if only she knew. She goes on to say Liviana loves Chase, and Chase loves her. "They make each other happy, and that’s the important thing, right?" she adds, and I nod, whispering it is.

"Then give her a chance. Give her the same chance you gave me," she says, and I nod, saying I will, knowing I don’t have to dwell on a walking corpse. By this time tomorrow, it won’t matter if I like her or not. No promises I made in her regard will matter.

I change the subject to the band-aid on her head and ask her what happened. I asked her when she arrived, and she said she hit her head, and I want to know for sure if that is the case. She tells me she fell at Liviana's place, and I ask her what she was doing there, but I soon retract my question, seeing her taken aback by my alarmed tone.

They are cousins, and she doesn’t know what that manipulative trash is doing. I rephrase, saying I meant to ask how she fell. She says they had some wine, and she guesses she had a little more than her body could handle, and she slipped and fell.

"Oh, honey," I feel something twist in my chest, and I pull her into a hug, telling her I’m sorry. She says it’s nothing big; it’s just a scratch, and she promises me she’s okay, but that’s not what I’m sorry for. I’m sorry she went to confide in that evil woman and that it took me this long to come to the decision I have come to.

Who knows what that cow is capable of, and I just let her run into danger? The sound of Tyson’s footsteps causes us to break the hug, and soon he emerges. He tells Laurel that they have to go, and I ask if he’s okay, recalling that he looked off the whole night, but then again, I reply to my own question in my head. Of course, he looked off; his mistress was in distress.

He says he’s fine, and I get up and hug them goodbye, thanking them for coming. They leave, and I head to Tony’s room. He and I haven’t shared a bed these past few months because of his condition, but tonight I don’t want to sleep alone.

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Jess

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"She tried to kill me, Jess. That witch tried to poison me," Liv sobs in my arms, and I hold her tightly, telling her I’m sorry. We got here about an hour ago, and she hasn’t stopped crying. I have never seen her so shaken.

Landre brings her some calming tea, and I thank him. He is just as worried as I am to see her like this, but he has no idea what really happened. When we got here, he was waiting for us, and Liv was already crying, so I had to tell him something. I told him what happened at the diner with Donna, leaving out the poison bit, and as far as he knows that’s all there is to it.

"If Tyson hadn’t been there to see her, I would be dead, Jess," she says, and I tell her again that I’m sorry. I don’t blame her for being so shaken; I would be too if I learned someone had made an attempt on my life. That witch is pure evil. I mean, who kills someone for having an affair with their married son?

Liv finally calms down and has the tea. I ask her how she found out, and she says Tyson called her right after she arrived at Donna’s place. She says he told her not to drink any alcohol, adding that his mother was going to poison her.

I ask how Tyson knew, and she says she doesn’t know yet; she didn’t have time to speak to him for long. She says he just told her to do as he said, and she followed his instructions, but she says it was the scariest night of her life.

She explains that she could hardly keep it together at the table and not make it obvious that she knew as they watched Donna unravel. She says Donna finished a whole bottle of wine in minutes, stress reeking from her pores.

“What are you going to do?" I ask and she says she wants Donna exposed and arrested for what she tried to do, but is Tyson going to allow something like that? I know the old cow deserves to be thrown behind bars, but she’s still his mother. Liv says she doesn’t care what Tyson feels, but she’s not going to let Donna get away with what she tried to do. I nod, giving her hand a supportive squeeze, and just then, her phone rings. I pick it up to hand it to her, telling her it’s Chase, but she shakes her head, pushing the phone away.

"Tell him I’m sleeping or whatever you want to tell him. I don’t care. I’m not speaking to him."

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Laurel

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I’m woken by movement next to me, and I open my eyes to see Tyson getting off the bed. He disappears inside the bathroom, and I glance at the clock to see that it’s 3:45 a.m. Tyson was restless the whole night.

I couldn’t sleep as well, and every time I woke up, I could feel that he was awake. I also noticed how edgy he was throughout the dinner. A voice in my head said he was annoyed by his mother’s actions and hurt for his brother, but I recalled that he was like that when he arrived from wherever he was coming from.

He told me he was meeting with someone when he left the house, and when he called to ask me to go ahead without him, he didn’t say why his meeting was taking longer, and now, judging by his mood, whatever it was didn’t go well. I have never been one to interrogate him about his meetings because he’s never allowed that.

I love Tyson with all my heart, but he's never been one to open up to me, and that is something that I always hated about our marriage. But I didn't like fighting with him about it, so I let it be. However, when he started behaving strangely, it became worse. He shut off completely.

He returns from the bathroom, and I frown as I watch him walk to the closet instead of coming back to bed. I don't move and pretend as though I'm sleeping, hearing him quietly getting dressed. Where is he going? When he's done he quietly walks out of the room and closes the door softly.

I get off the bed and rush towards the monitor. Leaving it in infrared mode, I watch as he walks down the corridor and takes the stairs. He heads towards the front, and I watch as he grabs his car keys and heads out.

I sprint towards my robe, and I put it on before slipping on my slippers and running out of the room. I can hear his car as I get downstairs, and I grab his Ferrari's keys so I can keep up. Is he going to see her? Did they fight? Is that why he couldn't sleep? Why he was edgy all evening?

I run to the garage, slide inside the car, and take off at high speed before bringing up his car on the screen, but my eyes widen at the speed it's going. I try to keep up, but I know I won't be able to, and even if I could, I don't want him to see me.

As I follow him, a storm of emotions rages within me—doubt and fear swirling in my mind like a relentless storm as voices in my head start to taunt me, whispering that I shouldn't have done this. But I know it's just the fear of a possible confrontation, so I push the thoughts aside. I need to know.

I glance at the screen again, seeing him slow down but frown as he takes the turn that leads to his mother's side of town. I keep looking at him, and every turn he takes starts to point to his parents' place. Is he going to see them? Why? Why would he just get up and go there so early?

He enters the estate, and I slow down and stop the car, watching him closely. After a moment, I exit the car and walk up to the gate, and I watch as he lets himself inside. I stand there for a moment, suddenly not knowing what to do with myself before realizing that I am running the risk of being caught since I don't know how long he's going to take inside.

At that thought, I head back inside the car to drive back home, a part of me feeling relieved that he was going to his parents.

My hands are still shaking as I grip the steering wheel, and I pause for a moment, taking a deep breath after turning on the engine, realizing just how wild I was for doing this and how much I can no longer go on like this.

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............

Donna

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"You couldn't sleep?" Tony finally asks, and I tell him no. I tried falling asleep, but I couldn't, and in the process, I also kept him up. He sits upright and puts on the lights before asking me to talk to him.

He asked if I wanted to talk when I got into bed, but I was still reeling from everything that happened, and I couldn't talk. "You are worried that she's going to cheat on him like she did with Tyson?" He asks, his question sounding more like a statement and I nod, unable to keep it from him even though it's almost over.

"She's still sleeping with him, Tony," I inform him, and he asks what I mean. I tell him everything that Laurel said and what Tyson said when I tried to speak to him about it. He asks me why I didn't tell him, and I explain to him that he was dealing with a lot and I didn't want to burden him with this abomination.

He takes my hand, saying these are our children and that I don't ever have to carry our family's burdens alone. I cry when he says that, and he holds me. I confess to him how scared I am that I'm going to lose my children. I know what I planned to do, but what if Chase never forgives me for how I was towards her?

I don't tell him what I have planned, though. He would try to stop me, and I'm not going to stop. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get her out of our lives. Tony is devastated for Chase and our family, and like me, he doesn't understand why Tyson would do such a thing to his wife and brother.

Tony and I spoke last month when she started getting better. He finally said what we've prayed for for a long time now: that he was going to take a permanent step back from the office. He said the virus has made him realize something that he hadn't been able to and that is the fact that he's done enough now, and needs to spend time with his family.

I was thrilled to hear that because he's worked hard over the years and deserves to rest and enjoy the fruits of his labor. We discussed the future of the company in his absence, and we both decided that Chase would be a better CEO than Tyson.

We know handing the reins to Chase might upset Tyson, as he is the older brother and might feel the title should go to him. But we have to look at the bigger picture, and Chase is the one who can take this company to new heights.

Tyson is a hard worker, no doubt about it. He's achieved so much and has played a big role that cannot be disputed in the company. We are proud of him, but we also worry about his well-being. He burns himself out after each accomplishment, and that's not sustainable in the long run. He is also incapable of making the sacrifices necessary for the role. I know he would argue with me on this, but he's my son. I know him.

Chase has a relentless drive and the patience needed for long-term success in this position. He can adapt to the ever-changing business landscape, something that's crucial in running a company, and he has proven himself in these past six months.

Before making the announcement, we are going to talk to them both. But before we do that, we have decided that it is time for Chase to finally learn the truth about himself.

Tony says we need to tell Chase the truth about Liv. He says he knows I'm scared, and he is too, but it is clear that keeping the truth from him hasn't done any good. He says he and Laurel deserve better, and I know that. I agree with him. Liv is as good as dead, so there's no point in fighting it. There will be no point in telling Chase and Laurel when she turns up dead.

It's almost 4 a.m., which means it's morning, but I suddenly feel tired now that I have offloaded. So we decide to close our eyes, even if it's just for a bit.

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I awaken to movement in the bed, my eyes fluttering open. "Tony!" I murmur groggily, thinking he's just having a bad dream, feeling him shaking. But as my senses sharpen, I realize he's not stopping. "Tony!" I call out to him again, my voice trembling, and I reach out to his face. But my heart races as I pull my hand back and see it smeared with blood.

That snaps me out of my sleepy daze, and my face pales before a scream escapes my lips as I see blood coming out of his mouth and nose. "Tony!" I call out desperately, cradling his head in my arms, and my voice shrill as I cry out for Clarissa, unable to comprehend the nightmarish sight before me. But just then, a voice, cold and accusatory, speaks behind me.

"You did this, mother. You killed him."

I whip my head around to see Tyson sitting on the sofa behind me, his eyes filled with accusation and anger, and I freeze as realization dawns on me. No, it can't be! "It’s impossible," I mutter, looking back at Tony while Tyson keeps saying this is my doing, his voice haunting.

"Help me! Please! Call 911! I cry out, ignoring what he said, but just then, my husband becomes unnaturally still in my arms. I look at him to find his eyes glazed over, and my world shatters as I let out an ear-piercing scream.

"No, please! No, please, Tony! Please don't leave me!"