Page 44 of The Alpha's Crimson Vow

The emphasis on those last words is like a dagger. My throat tightens as I swallow hard, forcing myself not to flinch under his pointed stare.

“And desperate times,” he says, drawing the phrase out like he’s savoring it, “call for desperate measures.”

Before I can say anything, he pulls out his phone. My brows furrow in confusion, but before I can ask what he’s doing, he presses a button and speaks into the receiver, his voice calm and decisive. “You can come in now.”

My brows furrow even more as I glance around the table. No one else seems surprised. They all sit there, calm and collected, like they knew this was coming.

The large double doors at the end of the boardroom glide open, and my breath catches in my throat.

Frank.

He strides into the room like he owns the place, his head held high, his expression calm and composed. It’s the first time I’ve seen him since I suspended him, the first time since the car crash. My stomach churns as James’s words echo in my head—Frank and Lawrence are prime suspects. And now it feels like I’m surrounded by every snake that wants to pump venom into my veins.

But I keep my composure. Barely.

“Your suspension hasn’t been lifted, Frank,” I say, my tone sharp, curt. My eyes lock on his.

He stops, his gaze steady as he looks at me. Then, without a word, he turns to Lawrence.

“In these desperate times, we need everyone on hand,” Lawrence says smoothly, his voice dripping with authority. “We cannot afford to have someone with Frank’s expertise and capabilities sitting on the sidelines when the very existence of the company is at stake.”

My jaw tightens. “Frank is the reason we have this problem to begin with,” I snap.

Lawrence inhales deeply, as though he’s summoning every ounce of patience he has. “Be that as it may,” he says slowly, “we need him.” He glances around the table, his gaze lingering on each of the other board members. “And the board agrees.”

I look around, my eyes scanning the faces of each of them. And I see it in their eyes—every single one of them is on his side. They’ve all decided this is the way forward, and I know that if I push back, I’ll be risking a mutiny.

Add to that the fact that someone in this room might be actively trying to get me killed, and my fear creeps higher.

So I say nothing.

Frank seizes the moment. “Now that that’s cleared up,” he says, his voice smooth and confident, “we need a solution to this mess of a situation caused by an expansion we never needed in the first place.” He turns to me as he says it, his gaze sharp, and I feel my anger bubbling just beneath the surface.

But I hold my nerve. Barely.

“In light of this,” he continues, “I propose we hold an event this weekend. A gala. We invite every person of importance we know—every politician, every businessman, every partner, every friend of Pinnacle Group. And we ask them to invest. To buy in. It’s the last chance we’ve got, and we just might save this company.”

The other board members nod along. It’s like they’ve collectively decided to forget that Frank is the reason we’re in this mess in the first place.

“Fine,” I say finally, rising from my seat. My voice is calm, but inside, I feel like a stranger in my own company. “That’s what we’ll do.”

I don’t wait for a response. I walk out of the boardroom and head straight to my office.

The wheels in my head turn as I go. For all of Frank’s faults, his suggestion might actually be the only shot we’ve got. Slim as it is, it’s something. A sliver of hope in the chaos.

I sink into my office chair, letting the familiar creak of the leather cushion swallow me. My desk is a mess—a clutter of reports, emails, contracts, and a to-do list that stretches far beyond what feels humanly possible. I try to lose myself in the work, but the reality looms over me.

No matter what I focus on, every number, every report, every email points to the same bleak outcome—bankruptcy.

Even the notifications I get on my phone from all the business news blogs are talking about it.

And then it gets worse, my mind betrays me, wandering where it always does these days—back to a time when everything felt simpler. It wasn’t even that long ago, but it might as well havebeen a lifetime. Back then, the expansion plan was my golden ticket, my vision for the future of Pinnacle Group.

I had the board somewhat in check, the family elders weren’t breathing down my neck as much, and I wasn’t checking over my shoulder every five seconds, wondering if someone was plotting to end my life.

And then there was Alex. I think of the dinners we used to share in this very office, the easy conversation. It was the kind of relationship that made you believe everything would be okay, that you weren’t just running this race alone. And then, in one gut-wrenching instant, I found out he was using me all along, manipulating me like a pawn in some twisted game.

Now, the survival of my company feels like it’s teetering on the brink, my life is in danger, and my world is unraveling faster than I can catch it.

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