CHAPTER 7: THE FATHER WHO CHOSE POWER OVER HIS SON
CHAPTER 7: THE FATHER WHO CHOSE POWER OVER HIS SON
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
"They found your father's signature..."
Vanessa's hands trembled as she picked up the phone from the floor.
"...on every forged document."
Dominic stared at her.
"No."
"It's true."
"The legal department just finished reviewing the files seized from Grandmother's private office."
She swallowed hard.
"There are contracts... bank transfers... emails."
Dr. Kim quietly left the room, sensing this was no longer simply a medical emergency.
It was a family collapsing.
An hour later...
Dominic's father, Victor Castellano, arrived at St. Catherine's surrounded by attorneys.
He still wore his custom-tailored navy suit.
Still looked every inch the billionaire patriarch.
But for the first time, there was fear behind his confidence.
"Dominic."
His son looked at him without emotion.
"Did you know?"
Victor sighed.
"It wasn't that simple."
"Answer me."
"I knew Mother was investigating Isabelle."
"Did you know the evidence was fake?"
Victor remained silent.
That silence answered everything.
Dominic laughed bitterly.
"So you knew."
"I was trying to protect the company."
"The company?"
Dominic's voice rose.
"You destroyed my marriage for stock prices?"
"The scandal would've cost billions."
"There was no scandal!"
"There could have been."
Dominic slammed his hand against the hospital rail despite the pain.
"You let me divorce the woman I loved."
"You let me abandon my own daughter."
"You watched me suffer for six years."
Victor's expression cracked.
"I thought it was the right decision."
"No."
Dominic pointed toward Sophie, sleeping peacefully in the pediatric recovery room after the donation.
"You thought money mattered more than family."
Victor couldn't answer.
Because it was true.
Every decision.
Every lie.
Every forged document.
Every ruined life.
All of it had been done to protect the Castellano fortune.
And now...
The fortune itself was collapsing.
By evening, the board of Castellano Holdings had assembled in an emergency video conference.
Directors from New York...
London...
Singapore...
Dubai...
All waiting.
Dominic insisted on joining despite his condition.
The chairman spoke first.
"Dominic..."
"We've reviewed the evidence."
Dominic nodded.
"I've seen it."
"The board has reached a unanimous decision."
Everyone waited.
"We are not removing you as CEO."
Vanessa looked stunned.
Instead, the chairman continued,
"We're removing Victor Castellano as Executive Chairman effective immediately."
Victor closed his eyes.
"The board believes you were manipulated by your family."
Another director spoke.
"But there's one condition."
Dominic listened carefully.
"You must fully cooperate with the criminal investigation."
"No exceptions."
"No protection."
"No settlements."
Dominic answered immediately.
"I will."
"And one more thing."
The chairman smiled softly.
"Go be a father."
The video call ended.
Victor stood motionless.
He had spent forty years building an empire.
In ten minutes...
He had lost it.
As security officers escorted him from the hospital, he looked once at Sophie sleeping peacefully.
A granddaughter he had never met.
A granddaughter he had unknowingly stolen from his own son.
He whispered,
May you like
"I'm sorry."
But apologies spoken six years too late sounded painfully empty.
