My father’s one that got away came back. For the sake of true love, my father was willing to leave my mother with nothing, to divorce her and marry the woman he’d idolized since he was a boy. My mother agreed. And I, for one, couldn’t wait to see if his precious first love would still want him when he had absolutely nothing. 1 The atmosphere in our house was thick enough to choke on. My workaholic father was home before me for the first time in memory. My mother, who was always smiling, sat on the sofa with a face like stone. “Kate,” my mother said, her voice flat. “Your father and I are getting a divorce.” The words hit me like a bomb. After she explained, I understood. My father had a first love, the one that got away. When she moved abroad years ago, he lost all hope. Then he met my mother, who fell for him hard and pursued him relentlessly. So, he married her. Now, his first love was back. They’d run into each other, and my father saw it as a sign from the heavens. He was ready to burn his life to the ground to be with her. “Let’s ignore the fact that you haven’t seen this woman in decades,” I said, trying to reason with him. “She didn’t want you when you were a broke kid, but now that you’re the chairman of a public company, she’s suddenly interested? What’s she after, Dad, you or your wallet?” “Don’t you dare speak about Vivian that way!” he roared, his face flushing a deep red, as if I had desecrated something holy. He’d never spoken to me like that. I had always been his pride and joy. My mother and I exchanged a look. The disappointment in her eyes mirrored my own. “Since you’ve both made your decision, I can’t interfere,” I said, changing my tone. “No matter what, you’ll always be my parents.” A look of relief washed over my father’s face. “Kate, I knew you were a good kid. I knew you’d understand.” “But I should remind you,” I added casually, “that when you divorce Mom, you leave with nothing. You’ve poured your heart and soul into the Su Corporation for years. Are you really sure you want to give that all up?” My dad had married into our family. He was a broke but talented nobody when my mother, hopelessly infatuated, insisted on marrying him against my grandfather’s wishes. My grandfather eventually relented, but only after my father signed an ironclad prenup: if they ever divorced, for any reason, he would leave with nothing. My mother was a socialite, better at spending money than making it. My father had always run the company. But even so, the shares, the real power, had always been in my name and my mother’s. He didn’t own a single one. A divorce meant he would get nothing. On the important things, my mother was sharp as a tack. “Vivian and I have true love,” he declared, his chest puffed out. “True love can’t be measured in money. I won’t take a penny from the Su family. I’ll build a new empire with my own two hands and make Vivian happy!” What an inspiring speech. Except he couldn’t manage to build an empire when he was young and hungry. What made him think he could do it now, in his middle age? Years at the helm of the Su Corporation had given him a platform and inflated his ego. Did he really think that without our company, he was still the respected Chairman Thorne? “I respect your choice, Dad. In that case, we should hold a board meeting in a few days. I’ll be taking over as the new Chairwoman.” He stared at me, stunned. “What do you mean? The board appointed me Chairman. Since when is that your decision to make?” I let out a small, humorless laugh. “Have you forgotten, Dad? The board chose you because Mom and I hold the majority of the shares. We voted for you. Now that you’re divorcing her, do you really think we’ll continue to support you? A chairman with no shares doesn’t even have the right to be on the board.” My words choked him. He couldn't argue, so he turned to my mother. “Eleanor, is this what you want, too?” My mother’s voice was even more venomous than mine. “Do you not understand what ‘leaving with nothing’ means? Once you divorce me, you’re no longer part of this family. Why should you run my family’s company and collect my family’s paycheck? The nerve.” His face was beet red. “I’m still Kate’s father!” “Yes, you are,” I agreed sweetly. “And when you reach retirement age, I’ll be sure to pay your alimony on time. Don’t you worry, Dad. I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of in your old age. You won’t be lonely.” My father’s pride was his greatest weakness. Hearing us talk like this, he dropped the argument. “I don’t need it! The Su family’s money has nothing to do with me. I’ll build my own success. You just wait and see!” He stormed out. The moment he was gone, my mother and I burst out laughing. Seeing she wasn’t heartbroken, I got curious. “Mom, you were so crazy about him back then. You went on a hunger strike and defied Grandpa just to marry him. Why is it so easy to let him go now?” “When I was young, I was blinded by his handsome face,” she said with a shrug. “Now, his beer belly is bigger than his head. The crush faded a long time ago. I was only staying married out of a sense of duty. Now that he’s the one asking for a divorce, why wouldn’t I be happy?” It was true. The best cure for a crush is seeing the guy when his prime has passed. 2 My parents quickly signed the divorce papers and filed them at the courthouse. They just had to wait out the thirty-day cooling-off period, and it would be final. My father began moving his things out to live with his precious Vivian. Although he was leaving with “nothing,” he had earned a lot for the company over the years and had built up a personal slush fund. My mother, in a gesture of generosity, turned a blind eye to it, not wanting to send him out completely penniless. But all their shared properties, stocks, and investments went to her. After buying a new villa, my father’s slush fund was nearly depleted. With the assets divided, it was time to deal with the company. The board meeting was scheduled for the following week. Before then, we needed a PR strategy to manage the fallout from changing the chairman of a publicly traded company. This wasn't something that could be handled overnight. I thought everything would go according to plan, but I ran into trouble the moment I stepped into the office. “Ms. Su,” my assistant, Alex, said, looking grim. “The deal with Sterling Industries fell through.” “Sterling is one of our oldest clients. The renewal should have been a formality. Why did it fall through?” Alex looked uncomfortable, stammering. My face hardened. “Tell me. What happened?” “It was Ms. Bianca, the manager Mr. Thorne appointed. She handled the negotiations. She felt we were giving Sterling too favorable a discount. She said we’re the only supplier who can produce their parts, so she raised the price on the renewal contract. Sterling refused to sign.” “Why wasn’t I informed about something this important? And who is this Ms. Bianca? How did HR hire such an idiot?” “Mr. Thorne said she had full authority and didn’t need to report up. And HR didn’t hire her. Mr. Thorne brought her in directly.” My father was usually a shrewd businessman, never careless with major company decisions. For him to hire this manager behind my back meant she was more than just an employee. “Schedule a meeting with Mr. Sterling. I’ll talk to him myself. Also, send Ms. Bianca to my office.” While Alex went to get her, I pulled up her file. Bianca White. A degree from an overseas university—one of those diploma mills you can buy your way into. No prior work experience. Parachuted directly into a manager position in the business department. When had the standards at the Su Corporation gotten so low? Then, on her resume, I found the reason. Bianca White’s mother was named Vivian. My father’s one that got away. Of course. 3 When Alex ushered Bianca in, she wore a look of utter disdain. She sat down without even greeting me. “You wanted to see me, Ms. Su?” “You’re fired.” I had planned to ask for her side of the story, but seeing her attitude, I knew I didn’t need to. “On what grounds?” Bianca shot back, defiant. “Robert Thorne hired me personally!” “On the grounds that you sabotaged the Sterling deal. Sterling has been a client for decades. In one move, you lost us their business. For a mistake of that magnitude, who else would I fire?” I said, not even bothering to look up from my files. “The Su Corporation is a huge company. We have other clients besides Sterling. Besides, that discount was costing the company money. I was saving us money!” She sounded so convinced of her own logic that I almost laughed. I had no time to argue with a moron whose head was filled with water. “Alex, take her to HR to process her termination.” But Bianca refused to move. “You have no right to fire me! Do you think Robert knows about this? This is all because your parents are divorcing, isn’t it? You blame my mother! Well, I’ll have you know, my mother and Robert are getting married! Soon I’ll be his daughter, and this company will be his, which means half of it will be mine!” I rubbed my temples. If the daughter was this stupid, the mother couldn’t be much brighter. What on earth did my father see in her? “What are you standing there for? Call security!” I snapped at Alex, who was standing frozen, gawking at the family drama. For the salary he earned, you’d think he’d have more sense. At my words, Alex finally fumbled for his phone. Seeing this, Bianca escalated. She actually called my father. “Robert, you have to come quick! They’re trying to throw me out!” My father arrived in a flash, faster than the security guards. So protective. The moment he appeared, Bianca’s face transformed. She looked at him with wide, innocent eyes, her voice trembling. “Robert, I don’t know what I did to make my sister so upset. She just came in and said she was firing me.” “Don’t worry, I’ll handle this,” my father soothed, then turned to me, his eyes blazing. “Kate, this is between the adults. Don’t you dare drag Bianca into this. She’s innocent.” I laughed coldly. “Innocent? She used her connections to get a job she’s not qualified for and then blew our biggest contract, and you’re telling me she’s innocent?” My father clearly hadn’t heard about the Sterling deal. He looked at Bianca, confused. She immediately started playing the victim. “Robert, I didn’t mean to,” she whimpered, tears welling in her eyes. “That discount was costing you so much money. I was just trying to save your money.” I snorted. She thought the Su Corporation would one day be hers, and she was trying to save her own money. My father, of course, bought her act completely. His tone softened. “Kate, Bianca meant well. She’s young and doesn’t know any better. Forgive her this once. You can train her, and I’m sure she’ll do a great job.” He wanted me to train her? I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Excuse me, do I need to remind you both? This company is the Su Corporation. As in my name, Kate Su. Not Thorne. And certainly not White.” 4 My father’s face darkened. Bianca fanned the flames. “Robert, see? Your own daughter has no respect for you! You worked so hard to build this company, and this is how she treats you!” “What do I mean? I mean exactly what I said!” My voice turned to ice. “Dad, I don’t care what your relationship is with this woman, and I don’t care about your sordid affairs. You and Mom are getting a divorce. But this company was left to me by my grandfather, and I will not allow anyone to jeopardize its future.” My father’s temper flared. “I’ve poured twenty years of my life into this company! I care about it more than you do—” “Do I need to remind you?” I cut him off. “You’re divorcing my mother. You’re leaving with nothing. The Su Corporation has nothing to do with you, and it certainly has nothing to do with this girl who is suddenly your daughter. I have every right to fire her, because very soon, you, the Chairman, will be leaving too.” His face went gray. “Kate, must you be so cruel to your own father?” I scoffed. “You left my mother for your first love. To put it nicely, you’re rekindling an old flame. To put it bluntly, you’re having an affair. You didn’t think you were being cruel to my mother when you betrayed her, so how is me stating the facts cruel?” Hearing this, Bianca panicked, clutching my father’s sleeve. “Robert, what does she mean? What do you mean the company has nothing to do with you?” My father sighed. “I’ll explain later when we get home.” He turned back to me. “Kate, Bianca is a good kid. My leaving the company has nothing to do with her. I hope you two can get along as sisters. She could be a great help to you one day.” “I don’t need her help. My mother only had one child. I don’t have any sisters. And,” I looked him straight in the eye, “an idiot like her would only be a liability. She is leaving this company, today.” My father knew my temperament. Realizing he couldn’t win, he turned to Bianca. “Go ahead and process your termination, Bianca. I’ll help you find another job later.” Bianca left with my father, but not before shooting me a look brimming with resentment and jealousy. With her gone, I convened the board, officially removed my father from his position as Chairman, and took his place. All that was left was for my parents to finalize the divorce after the cooling-off period. But things are never that simple. My father had barely left the building when I got a frantic call from my mother. “Kate, you have to get home, now! That woman is here, making a scene!” “I’m on my way!” My mind went blank. I was terrified of what that woman might do to my mother. My mom is a lovely, pampered woman—a hothouse flower, really. My grandfather spoiled her rotten, and she knows nothing of the real world. Even with a butler and staff, I could just picture her letting some lunatic into the house. If that woman tried to bully her, she wouldn’t be able to fight back. My grandfather raised me, and before he passed, he made me promise to take care of her. I couldn’t let anything happen to her.
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