“What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded, looking between Dad and me with growing panic.
Megan, incredibly, was still livestreaming, her hands shaking as she captured what was quickly becoming the most dramatic content her followers had ever seen.
“Oh my God,” she whispered to her phone. “Did my sister just say she owns Everest Holdings, the company buying our family business?”
Mom reached for her wine glass, found it empty, and promptly grabbed the bottle instead.
I stood slowly, feeling a strange sense of calm after carrying this secret for so long.
“Emmy Stone,” I said. “Morgan Elizabeth Stone. That is the name I have been using professionally for the past decade while building Everest Holdings into a $200 million company.”
Dad found his voice at last. “This is preposterous,” he sputtered. “Everest Holdings is run by Emmy Stone, a respected technology investor, not by my daughter, who has been playing at startups in California.”
I reached into my purse and removed my business card case, made of sleek brushed platinum with the Everest Holdings logo engraved on its surface. I slid a card across the table toward him.
“Actually, Dad, I am Emmy Stone. I founded Everest Holdings ten years ago after you dismissed my business proposal and humiliated me in front of your board.”
Dad snatched up the card, staring at it as if it might transform in his hands.
“This is some kind of joke,” he said, but his voice had lost its certainty.
“Everest Holdings now owns controlling interests in Nexus Technologies, DataStream Solutions, and TechCore Industries,” I continued, naming Adams Software’s three largest suppliers. “We also recently acquired majority stakes in your two biggest clients, McKenzie Manufacturing and Westfield Distribution. The Adams Software acquisition is the final piece in a strategic plan I have been implementing for the past eighteen months.”
“You have been spying on our business,” Garrett accused, his face mottled with rage. “That is corporate espionage.”
“No, Garrett. It is called market research. Everything I learned about Adams Software came from publicly available financial reports, industry analysis, and completely legal channels.”
I turned back to Dad.
“The truth is Adams Software has been failing for years. Your technology is outdated. Your management practices are from the last century, and you have lost twenty-two percent market share in the past three years.”
“How dare you—” Dad began, but I cut him off.
“I tried to help you first, you know. Six months ago, Everest Holdings sent an anonymous partnership proposal that would have allowed the Adams name to remain on the company while providing the capital and technology upgrades you desperately needed. You rejected it without even reading past the first page.”
Dad’s eyes widened in recognition. “The Phoenix proposal. That was you.”
I nodded. “I wanted to give you a chance to accept help without knowing it came from me. Your pride would not allow it.”
“So this whole time you have been plotting against your own family,” Garrett shouted, “planning to steal our company.”
“Not steal, Garrett. Purchase. Legally. For $50 million, which is honestly more than its current market value.”
I kept my voice level despite the emotional storm brewing inside me.
“And let’s be clear: this company stopped being our family business the day Dad made it evident that only one child would ever have a meaningful role in it, despite that child’s complete lack of qualifications or interest in technology.”
Megan finally lowered her phone, the reality of the situation apparently sinking in.
“So, you’re going to be our boss now?” she asked in a small voice.
“Technically, yes,” I confirmed. “Though the current management structure will be completely reorganized.”
Dad stood abruptly, his chair scraping loudly against the hardwood floor.
“This deal is off,” he declared. “I will not sell my company to my own daughter as some kind of revenge plot.”
I shook my head slowly. “The contracts are signed, Dad. The board has approved the sale. The press release goes out tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time. Legally, Everest Holdings already owns Adams Software.”
“I will fight this,” he threatened, though the uncertainty in his eyes told me he already knew I had outmaneuvered him. “My lawyers will—”
“Your lawyers have already vetted the deal extensively,” I interrupted gently. “They advised you it was the best offer you would get in the current market. What exactly will you tell them now? That you are upset because the brilliant CEO you have been negotiating with turns out to be your daughter?”
Mom spoke for the first time since my revelation. Her words were slightly slurred, but her gaze surprisingly clear.
“All these years, Morgan. All these years you were building this while we thought—”