Chapter 16 - Forty-Nine Percent
The original agreement was valid.
Aiden’s attorneys attacked it immediately.
They claimed it was outdated.
They argued Alice had abandoned her ownership.
They insisted the later companies were separate entities.
But the ledger connected every transferred project to the original investment.
The recorded office conversation proved Aiden and Madeline treated the trust as a temporary shelter.
The coercion recording showed why Aiden needed Alice’s signature.
And the hidden clause was clear.
If Aiden concealed company assets during a marital dissolution, Alice’s forty-nine-percent interest became active immediately, along with temporary voting authority sufficient to block major transfers.
Daniel explained it to Alice in a private conference room.
“You don’t own everything.”
“I never wanted everything.”
“But Aiden cannot move the remaining assets without you. And because he failed to disclose your interest, his control is suspended pending review.”
Alice closed her eyes.
For years, Aiden had told her that she understood nothing about business.
Yet the company could not legally survive without the agreement bearing her name.
Outside the room, shouting erupted.
Madeline had discovered that several liabilities had also been placed inside her trust.
Aiden had hidden profitable assets under her name—but he had also assigned her personal responsibility for risky debts.
She was not his future queen.
She was his shield.
Madeline entered the conference area trembling.
“You used me.”
Aiden followed.
“You knew what we were doing.”
“I knew about the properties. Not the loans.”
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Alice watched their alliance collapse.
👉 Madeline reached into her clutch and produced the one phone Aiden had ordered her never to bring to court.
