The board thought he'd fold.
They thought they could bully Alexander Knight — the man who built Knight International from the ground up — into submission with a scandal and a few shaken investors.
They forgot who they were dealing with.
By dawn, Alexander was in his war room — the second office inside the penthouse, lined with secure servers, private monitors, and a safe that held more leverage than any PR firm could dream of.
Emily stood by the door, arms crossed.
"You didn't sleep," she said.
He didn't look up. "Couldn't afford to."
She stepped inside. "What's your plan?"
He turned, eyes sharp but calm. "I'm taking back my company."
For years, Alexander had allowed the board to retain symbolic voting power in exchange for capital trust.
Now, with the scandal breathing down their necks, they wanted to sacrifice his wife to appease the wolves.
That made them the enemy.
He picked up a folder and handed it to Emily.
"50% of board equity is held through shell corps, blind trusts, and institutional bundles. I'm buying them all back — silently."
She opened the file. "With whose money?"
He gave a ghost of a smile. "With theirs. I liquidated underperforming assets last night and ran a shadow bid through a Cayman proxy."
She blinked. "You're buying your own company back… with its own profits?"
"Efficiency," he said.
She shook her head in awe. "And if it doesn't work?"
His voice was steel. "It will."
Three days later, the emergency board meeting was called.
Alexander entered the marble boardroom in a black suit and navy tie, Emily beside him in a sleek cream dress.
Half the room looked uncomfortable.The other half? Quietly afraid.
The Chairman stood. "Mr. Knight, we expected you to attend alone."
Alexander smiled coldly. "My wife is not the subject of this meeting. But I'm happy to change the agenda."
The CFO cleared his throat. "Given the renewed scrutiny on the Ross scandal—"
"Which she has been cleared of, repeatedly," Alexander cut in.
"…we believe a temporary distancing of your relationship would calm investors."
Alexander leaned forward, resting both palms on the table.
"I agree."
Murmurs rippled.
"Which is why," he continued, "I've decided to help you distance yourselves. Permanently."
He pulled a thick stack of documents from his briefcase and slid them forward.
"Effective immediately, I am exercising majority control over the voting shares."
Silence.
The Chairman's voice trembled. "What are you talking about?"
Alexander's smile didn't reach his eyes.
"You sold me your loyalty when you made my wife a target. I just paid the invoice."
Twenty minutes later, half the board had resigned.
Alexander Knight walked out not just as CEO, but as sole controller of Knight International.
Emily followed in silence.
Inside the elevator, she turned to him.
"That was insane."
He adjusted his cufflinks. "That was necessary."
Then he looked at her, softer. "You're not just my wife, Emily. You're my line in the sand."
She exhaled. "You just risked your empire for me."
"No," he said. "I took it back for you."
That night, Alexander stood on a private rooftop, glass of whiskey in hand, wind whipping against his shirt.
Emily came up behind him, arms slipping around his waist.
"You didn't have to prove anything," she whispered.
"I didn't do it to prove something."
"Then why?"
He turned, stared at her under the stars.
"Because I finally have something worth protecting."
She leaned up and kissed him — slow, reverent, grateful.
Not out of victory.Not out of relief.
But out of love.
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