Chapter 90

Johanna clung on with the audacity of a leech, saying, “Freya, I know you’re eyeing the family fortune, but let’s face it. You’re a girl. When have you seen a woman lead a business and command respect? Let’s wait for Leland to come of age, and we can discuss it then.”

Freya had long known Johanna was shameless, but it didn’t matter. She was there to crush Johanna’s delusional hopes of inheriting the Dawson Group.

“Even if we hadn’t signed a contract, Johanna, you still wouldn’t stand a chance of taking over the Dawson Group,” Freya said coldly.

At that, Johanna’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Freya! What are you implying?”

All eyes turned to Freya. Seeing the tension, Galen stepped forward to mediate. “Ms. Dawson, you’re young, and Mrs. Sutton is only trying to do what she thinks is best for the Dawson Group…”

Before Galen could finish, Freya cut him off sharply, “Galen, in this boardroom, the last person who should be defending Johanna is you?”

“Ms. Dawson, what… what do you mean by that?” Galen was confused.

Freya smiled and said, “Family matters should ideally stay within the family. I was trying to let Johanna save face, but you guys really crossed the line, coming at me and demanding the company like that.”

“Freya! Your words are too harsh!” Johanna wanted to say more, but Freya gave Alison a look.

With a few clicks on her computer, Alison brought up the office security footage on the screen. The video showed Galen and Johanna getting intimately close by the office desk.

The room’s atmosphere shifted as people watched, their expressions turning sour. Many in the room were loyal to Freya’s father and were visibly uncomfortable seeing his widow in such a compromising position with another man.

The affair between Johanna and Galen was an open secret among the staff, though the higher-ups had been kept in the dark. Seeing the surveillance footage, Johanna’s face went pale, and she pointed at Freya, stammering, “You… you…”

“Johanna, what’s done in darkness will come to light. My father never wronged you. A simple word would have sufficed if you wished to divorce and not be Mrs. Dawson. There was no need for such disgraceful actions,” Freya said in an icy tone.

Johanna’s face twisted in anger, and Galen, pale as a ghost, pleaded, “Ms. Dawson, it was a moment of folly! Just a moment of folly!”

“A moment of folly? Your scandals are hardly a secret here. I’ve turned a blind eye out of respect for the past, but now… Johanna, you’re unfit to run this company.”

Turning to the executives and shareholders around her, Freya asked, “What do you think?”

One of her father’s old business partners took a deep breath and said, “Mrs. Dawson, maybe it’s time for you to step away from the company.”

“If Mr. Gavin Dawson intended for his daughter to inherit the company, Mrs. Dawson, you have no business interfering!”

“Yes! And it’s not just Mrs. Dawson. Galen should be fired as well!”

The room filled with voices of agreement.

Freya had her answer. She said, while looking at Galen, nearly crumpled on the floor, “Galen, the consensus is clear, I expect your resignation on my desk by tomorrow morning. It would be better to resign than be fired, wouldn’t it? For the sake of finding future employment.”

Galen was ashen.

Just then, a woman burst into the room, making a beeline for Johanna and grabbing her hair, shouting, “You’re the one seducing my husband! You shameless hussy! I won’t let you get away with this!”

Galen hurried over, alarmed, and pleaded, “Honey! Please, just let her go!”

“Get away from me!”