Chapter 2 — Reclaim My Company

The medical bandage was rubbed off by his fingertip, and a drop of blood oozed out from the needle mark. I bowed my head and took a look. The drop of blood was very small, so red it was blinding.

"Luc Hanh Chu, what do you get to compensate me?"

He frowned. I raised my head.

"Take the core algorithm I wrote, take the orders I signed, take the first startup capital I mortgaged my house to exchange, or take the round B capital raising agreement that I signed on your behalf the day you went to bed with her?"

Hua Man's face changed.

"Please speak more cleanly."

I looked at her.

"You're pregnant with his child, living in a house in my name, holding a bonus that I approved, wearing a ring that he swiped my supplementary card to buy, and yet you still tell me to speak cleanly?"

Hua Man instinctively hid her hand behind her back. Luc Hanh Chu's face darkened.

"That's enough. Everyone is here today, do you really have to do something so unsightly?"

I nodded. I turned around and walked down the stage. Behind me, someone hurriedly called out to me:

"General Manager Tham!"

I don't turn around. The light in the bathroom was blindingly white, and the sound of water from the faucet was rushing. The person in the mirror has a pale face, the lipstick on his lips is still intact. I turned on the faucet and washed away the blood on my wrist. Cold water poured through the needle wound, making the skin numb. The phone screen lit up, more than ten messages appeared consecutively. Luc Hanh Chu: Calm down first. Chu Thua: Ah Hanh, don't get excited, the company is not a joke. Ly Minh from the legal department: General Director Tham, let's talk slowly about anything. I scrolled down to the bottom of my contacts list and called a phone number that I had saved for three years but had never proactively called. The bell had just rang two times, and the other end of the line picked up. The man's voice was low, carrying a bit of the hoarseness of the night.

"Tham A Hanh?"

"Trinh Nghien, the purchasing plan you gave me half a year ago, is it still valid now?"

The other end of the line was silent for a second. I stared at the person in the mirror, slowly drying my hands. Trinh Nghien asked:

"Conditions?"

"Tomorrow morning, activate voting authorization, activate founder protection clause, revoke all control rights of Luc Hanh Chu and Chu Thua."

He laughed softly.

"You finally had the heart to overturn the table?"

I threw the tissue in the trash.

"Not overturning the table."

Outside the door, Luc Hanh Chu's footsteps were heard, he was calling my name. I looked into my own eyes in the mirror.

"I want to clear the table so they can kneel on the bare ground and eat dust."

On Trinh Nghien's end of the line, the sound of a lighter "clicking" was heard.

"Tomorrow morning, I want this company to change all owners."

I pushed open the bathroom door and walked out, but Luc Hanh Chu was waiting outside, his face extremely unsightly. The wall light at the end of the hallway pulled his shadow long, like a dirty stain stuck to the ground. He raised his hand to stop me.

"Who did you call just now?"

I put my phone in my bag.

"What does it have to do with you?"

He lowered his voice.

"Tham A Hanh, don't use the company to get angry."

I looked at him.

"So when you bet my six years on your and Hua Man's child, did you ask me?"

Luc Hanh Chu's eyebrow twitched slightly.

"I admit I did wrong, but the company's listing is everyone's passion. I can't ruin it because of personal feelings."

I laughed out loud. It turns out that betrayal is called personal feelings. The company I built with my own hands became his property so he could use it to educate me. I stepped forward and he grabbed my wrist. The sting of the needle caused a sharp pain. I turned around and slapped him hard. The crisp echo made all the service staff in the hallway stop. Luc Hanh Chu tilted his head to the side, half of his face quickly appeared red. He looked at me in disbelief.

"You dare hit me?"

I shook my numb hand.

"Do you still want a second slap?"

In front of the banquet hall door, there were several people standing. Chu Thua, Ly Minh and financial director Trieu Tinh were all present. Apparently they came to stop me. Chu Thua walked quickly.

"A Hanh, you go back to your room with us first, everyone sit down and talk."

"What are you talking about?"

Ly Minh pushed up his glasses.

"From a legal perspective, General Director Luc's marriage issue is a personal matter and does not affect company management. Currently, her mood is unstable, and if she says inappropriate things to the outside, it will harm the image of the listed company."

I looked at him.

"Are you warning me?"

Ly Minh avoided my eyes.

"I am the person in charge of legal affairs, and am responsible for reminding about the risks."

I nodded.

"Okay, then I'll also remind you of a risk."

I opened my phone, opened a file and brought it in front of him.

"Three years ago, before the Series C capital call, Luc Hanh Chu used the excuse of expanding the research and development center and asked me to sign an additional agreement on having someone hold the shares in my name. You are the one who composed it."

Ly Minh's face immediately turned pale.

"In that agreement there is a clause: if the actual controller shows serious violations of reputation and at the same time conceals a marital relationship that affects the board of directors' decisions, the founder has the right to unilaterally terminate the voting authorization."

His throat moved slightly. I continue:

"At that time, to help him cheat me of my voting rights, you wrote this clause very broadly. Now you can use it."

Chu Thua's face also changed.

"A Hanh, such terms must be approved by the board of directors. It's not like you can cancel them if you want."

I looked at him.

"That's why I informed the board secretary."

Trieu Tinh finally spoke up.

"General Manager Tham, please calm down a bit. There is still the media outside. If the stock price fluctuates tomorrow, the stock options of all employees will be affected."

I stared at her.

"Do you know that Hua Man is pregnant?"

Trieu Tinh pursed his lips tightly.

"Since when?"

She didn't answer. I answered for her.

"Four months."

Her eyes immediately turned red.

"I... I'm at my wit's end. General Director Luc said he couldn't affect the listing, I'm just a financial person, what else can I do?"

I looked at her. I have heard this saying too many times. What else can I do? Therefore, they chose to put the knife into Luc Hanh Chu's hands, then advised me not to bleed.

"You can't help him pay for Hua Man's pregnancy checkup."

Trieu Tinh's face immediately turned pale. Chu Thua immediately turned to look at her.

"What is the cost of prenatal check-ups?"

Trieu Tinh's lips trembled. I didn't look at her any more. The door to the private room opened. Hua Man supported her stomach and walked out, surrounded by two female colleagues.