Chapter 6: The Truth Behind Q Holdings

The woman in the white suit stepped forward, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor.

Dad's expression changed the moment he saw her.

Simon, however, seemed completely oblivious to the danger standing right in front of him.

He pointed at me and sneered, "This is a Fullerton family matter. Who do you think you are to interfere?"

The woman stopped a few feet away and calmly looked at him.

"The person who has the authority to decide whether you still have a 300-million-dollar project."

The room instantly fell silent.

Simon's arrogant expression froze.

Dad narrowed his eyes. "And you are?"

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a black business card.

"I'm Elena Quinn, vice president of Q Holdings."

The color drained from Simon's face.

Stella's lips parted in shock.

Even Dad's expression turned serious.

I remained silent, watching everything unfold.

Elena glanced at the documents lying on the desk before looking at me.

"Daniel, are you injured?"

"Nothing serious," I replied.

Her eyes immediately hardened as she looked toward Dad.

"Then perhaps you can explain why the person responsible for our project is being restrained and beaten instead of being allowed to speak to us."

Dad's face darkened. "This is a misunderstanding."

"Is that so?"

Elena's voice remained calm, but the pressure in it was unmistakable.

"Because our internal investigation reached a very different conclusion."

Simon stepped forward. "What investigation? The project was canceled because Daniel submitted a defective proposal!"

Elena turned toward him.

"No. The project was canceled because someone deliberately replaced several pages of the proposal after Daniel submitted the original version."

Everyone went completely still.

I lowered my eyes and smiled faintly.

Just as I expected.

Simon immediately pointed at me. "You can't prove that!"

"We don't need to prove it to you," Elena replied.

She motioned toward one of her bodyguards.

He placed a laptop on the desk and opened a security recording.

The footage showed Simon entering my office late at night.

He looked around before taking several documents from my desk.

Another recording showed one of his assistants entering afterward and replacing the pages.

Stella's face went pale.

Dad stared at the screen without saying a word.

Simon clenched his fists. "This footage could have been fabricated!"

"It was retrieved directly from your company's security server," Elena said coldly.

She closed the laptop.

"And the original documents were already delivered to our headquarters before your replacement pages reached our review team."

Simon looked at me in disbelief.

"You knew?"

I finally raised my head.

"I knew the moment you signed those documents."

Simon stared at me.

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

I smiled.

"Because I wanted to see how far you'd go."

His expression twisted with anger.

Dad stepped forward. "Daniel, this has gone far enough. Whatever happened, you're still a member of this family."

I looked at him and let out a quiet laugh.

"A member of the family?"

I glanced down at the ropes around my wrists.

"Is that why you were about to whip me for something I didn't do?"

Dad's expression stiffened.

I continued, "For 26 years, I worked for this family without asking for anything in return."

"I built companies, secured partnerships, and protected Fullerton Group whenever it was in trouble."

"Yet the moment Simon became the heir, all of that became worthless."

Simon snapped, "You were adopted! Everything you did belonged to the Fullerton family!"

I looked directly into his eyes.

"That's where you're wrong."

Elena's lips curved into a faint smile.

She stepped beside me and handed me a document.

"Daniel, the board has approved the transfer."

Simon stared at the paper.

"What transfer?"

I opened the document and placed it on the desk.

"The ownership transfer of the company I built."

Dad's eyes widened.

Stella leaned closer, reading the first page.

Her face became increasingly pale.

The company Simon had mocked as worthless was no longer under Fullerton Group's control.

I had transferred every major asset, patent, contract, and account to an independent holding company weeks ago.

The company was now legally mine alone.

And Q Holdings had never been negotiating with Simon.

They had been waiting for me.

Simon stared at me as if he were seeing a stranger.

"You planned all of this?"

"Not all of it," I replied calmly.

"You simply made my decision easier."

Elena turned toward Dad.

"There is one more matter."

Dad looked at her cautiously.

"Q Holdings will no longer consider Simon Fullerton our business representative."

Simon immediately shouted, "What?"

"From this moment onward, all negotiations will be conducted directly with Daniel."

The room erupted into silence again.

Simon took a step backward.

"That's impossible. I'm the heir of Fullerton Group!"

Elena smiled faintly.

"That may matter to your family."

"It doesn't matter to us."

I looked at Simon, whose face had turned completely white.

For the first time since Dad had named him heir, he looked genuinely afraid.

I turned toward the guards holding me.

"Untie me."

They immediately released my wrists.

I rubbed them lightly and straightened my sleeves.

Then I looked at Dad.

"You wanted to eliminate me according to the Fullerton family rules."

Dad remained silent.

I walked past him and stopped beside Simon.

"You should be careful what you wish for, Simon."

"Because from now on, I won't be playing the role of your lackey."

I leaned closer and whispered, "I'll be the person standing across the table from you."

Simon's eyes trembled.

I walked toward the door without looking back.

Behind me, Elena followed.

Before leaving, she stopped and said, "Daniel, the Q Holdings board is waiting for your answer."

I paused.

"Tell them I'll accept the partnership."

A faint smile appeared on my face.

"But this time, the contract will be signed under my own name."