Emily Maddox’s POV (Formerly Nora)

I didn’t need to look up. I already knew that voice.

The voice I once begged for mercy.

The voice that said, “Go to hell.”

The voice of the man who buried me alive.

Carson.

He stood in my office bold as ever in a tailored charcoal suit, shoulders stiff with pride… or maybe fear. Not even the finest fabric could disguise the desperation in his eyes. The years hadn’t been kind to him. The weight of failure clung to him like a second skin.

I leaned back in my leather chair, cool and composed, my expression unreadable. He didn’t recognize me.

Of course he didn’t.

To him, I had died.

But I wasn’t a ghost I was his reckoning.

He stepped forward, clearing his throat like a man still clinging to power.

“I’m Carson Williams, CEO of Williams Global,” he began. “I believe my assistant reached out with a proposal?”

I folded my hands on the desk. “She did.”

His gaze flicked briefly around the office high ceilings, custom wood finishes, the skyline beyond the glass windows. My world was bigger than anything he ever imagined.

“My company is in a transitional phase,” he said. “We’re seeking strategic investors. You’ve built quite a reputation, Miss Maddox. Impressive, really. I believe a partnership with NES Global could be mutually beneficial.”

I tilted my head slightly, amused. “Is that so?”

He nodded. “We’re open to full transparency. Any documentation you require financials, projections, assets we’ll provide them. I’m confident you’ll find us more than worthy.”

I let silence stretch, watching him sweat beneath his expensive cologne. Then I finally spoke cool and poised.

“I don’t make decisions off charm, Mr. Williams. Or desperation.”

He flinched just slightly.

He looked around the room then, trying to regain balance, but everything in my space radiated control. My success. My empire. I could almost see it hitting him the unspoken realization that he was standing in a world he didn’t own anymore.

“I understand,” he said tightly. “All I’m asking is that you consider the proposal. We can offer a significant return on your investment.”

I rose from my seat slowly, walking around the desk with the grace of a woman he once left for dead.

Then I stopped just a breath away. Close enough for him to feel the power shift.

“I’m sorry,” I said, my voice steady. “But I don’t invest in failure.”

I watched his mouth twitch, like he wanted to argue but I didn’t let him.

“From my research, your company didn’t collapse once. It collapsed twice. And not because it lacks potential, but because of one simple thing mismanagement.”

He stuttered, taken aback. His eyes widened. “Ma’am, that’s true… but it wasn’t entirely my fault. Some of my senior staff were sabotaging the operations. I’ve already taken action I fired them. I’m rebuilding.”

Still blaming others.

Just like before.

I gave a tight smile, remembering how he once blamed me for his own shortcomings how he turned my loyalty into weakness, my love into shame.

“So you think it was your staff’s fault?” I asked, voice low, steady.

Silence.

Exactly.

I folded my arms. “I can’t attach my name my company’s name to something that drags us backward. NES Global only invests in valuable, future-forward ventures. Partnering with you would be lowering our standards… and that is not in our business model.”

He looked like a man unraveling.

And then he dropped to his knees.

“Please, ma’am,” he said, voice cracking. “I need this investment. If you don’t help me… everything I’ve worked for..everything I’ve built will vanish. My name, my reputation… my legacy.”

I stood motionless, watching him kneel the way I once did.

I remembered the dirt in my mouth. The darkness.

The way I screamed for help… and he told me to go to hell.

For six years, I lived in that silence.

Six years of nightmares.

And now here he was, begging.

I took a breath, then leaned slightly toward him.

“I’ll consider your proposal,” I said, smooth as silk. “But only under my terms.”

He looked up, his eyes searching mine desperate now, stripped of all pretense. “And those are…?”

I gave him a slow, calculated smile.

“I’ll assign my personal assistant to work inside your company. She’ll oversee operations, ensure transparency, and protect my investment. I don’t throw capital into a sinking ship without an anchor.”

He flinched, then shook his head quickly. “It won’t sink. We don’t need your assistant to run the company we just need the funds. Please.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So you don’t need my terms… or my investment?”

He paused.

I leaned in slightly, voice sharp. “Your company has already failed twice. I’ve reviewed your numbers, your public image, your losses. Partnering with you without oversight would mean dragging my name into the mud.”

A beat of silence.

Then he exhaled, forced a smile. “Of course. I agree to your terms. I don’t mind. Just… please help me save what’s left.”

I nodded slowly, unimpressed. Still the same Carson doing anything to hold onto status.

He extended his hand for a deal.

I looked at it for a moment before reaching out and shaking it once, firmly. Then I took the pen from Kiara and signed the document.

“Congratulations, Mr. Carson Williams,” I said, voice cool and poised. “On your new deal.”

He looked stunned. Bowed. Then hurried out of my office like a man clinging to his last breath.

I smirked.

What a shame.

Turning to Kiara, I handed her the signed file. “You’ll begin working at Williams Global tomorrow. You’ll report everything. Every meeting. Every new contact. I want every detail about his operations and everyone connected to him.”

She nodded crisply. “Yes, ma’am.”

As the door closed behind her, I sat back in my chair.

Carson never understood that the backbone of his success was never his brilliance.

It was me.

The woman he buried.

The woman he underestimated.

The woman who now held his future in the palm of her hand.

I scoffed. Then smiled.

Carson’s POV

I staggered out of her office, the contract clutched to my chest like a lifeline. My palms were sweating. My pride what was left of it still lay shattered on that marble floor.

How did it come to this?

One moment I was on top of the world. Untouchable. And now… I had just knelt in front of a woman I barely knew, begging for a second chance.

Emily Maddox.

She was sharp, composed, stunning and something about her unsettled me. It wasn’t just her authority… it was the way she looked at me. Like she’d peeled back my layers. Like she’d seen my worst self.

Like she knew me.

I shook the thought off as the elevator doors slid open. But when I caught my reflection in the polished steel, I almost didn’t recognize myself. I looked older like I had aged ten years in ten minutes.

Williams Global was sinking.

And she was my last chance to keep it afloat.

The elevator chimed at the ground floor. I straightened my jacket and stepped out. As usual, staff bowed slightly as I passed. Respect perhaps fear still lingered around my name. I kept my head high, though my insides twisted.

Outside, my G-Wagon waited. One of my bodyguards opened the door, and I slid in. The driver didn’t speak. My convoy followed quietly behind as we made our way back to headquarters.

Once inside my office, I collapsed into my chair. The door clicked shut behind me, and I finally let out the breath I’d been holding.

I knelt.

I actually knelt. For a deal. For an investment.

For survival.

Just then, the door swung open.

“Babe!” Tina’s voice rang out, bright and oblivious as ever.

I sat up quickly, smoothing my expression. “Tina.”

She beamed and walked over in her stilettos, her perfume filling the room. “So? How did it go?”

I hesitated, then forced a smile. “She signed.”

Tina screamed and jumped into my arms, hugging me tightly.

“My love! I knew you’d get the investment,” she gushed. “You always have your way, and I’m so proud of you!”

I sighed, my mind still on that encounter. “I didn’t think she would be this tough.”

“Really?” Tina raised a brow, amused.

“Yes,” I replied. “Her aura is… cold. Powerful. Like she’s untouchable. No wonder people call her the Silent Queen of Corporate Resurrection.”

“Really?” she repeated, a spark of excitement lighting up her eyes. “Don’t you think that’s a good opportunity?”

I looked at her, confused. “What opportunity?”

“Our wedding,” she said with a smirk. “It’s in two days, right? Why don’t you invite her?”

I let out a dry laugh. “Invite her? With that kind of presence? She won’t come.”

“But if she does,” Tina leaned in, lowering her voice like she was sharing a secret, “it’ll make our wedding a high-profile event. Think about it. Emily Maddox doesn’t attend just any event. If she shows up, it’ll say a lot about us. People will want to partner with you. Investors will chase you, Carson. You already have her investmentnleverage it.”

I stared at her, stunned. She’d thought it all through.

“Wow… you really planned this out.”

She smiled, brushing her hand down my chest. “That’s why you love me.”

I chuckled. “Just imagine if it were Nora. She’d never have this kind of vision.”

Tina flipped her hair, lips curled in smug confidence. “I’m more presentable than she ever was. And trust me, forming a partnership with Emily Maddox? That’s already in motion.”

I looked at her, uncertain. “You really think she’ll even give you the time of day?”

“Why wouldn’t she?” she shrugged. “Power respects power. And charm… always wins.”

I studied her carefully so sure, so unaware.

Then, with a slow nod, I reached for my phone.

“Alright,” I said. “I’ll make sure she gets the wedding invitation.”