Chapter 3 Three

Chapter 3 Author POV.

Louis stepped deeper into the meeting room. Today, he was supposed to meet with the CEO of Dimitri Group, Bennedict Drew Foster. But the person sitting inside wasn’t Bennedict. It was Peter Moon, the CEO’s personal secretary.

“Aren’t I supposed to meet Mr. Foster today?”

Peter stood up, bowed his head politely, and continued, “Mr. Foster went back to New York today, but he had to see his family in Moonlight Village. It was urgent, and he asked me to let you know.”

Louis furrowed his brows. “Moonlight Village?”

It sounded familiar, but no matter how hard he tried to recall, he couldn’t find a single clue. “Mr. Foster wants to postpone the meeting until next week. And he asked you to finalize the concept you proposed earlier,” Peter continued, his voice firm and authoritative. Holding an iPad in his left hand, he nodded. “That’s all I have for you. See you next week, Mr. Armstrong.”

Like a robot, Peter turned and walked out, leaving Louis no chance to interrupt. He didn’t even give Louis a moment to respond.

At that moment, Louis realized he needed Dimitri Group’s approval, and he wasn’t in ‘making a deal’ mode—he was still under the Group’s authority. So, whatever they asked, he had to comply.

While Louis was still processing what just happened, Peter walked towards his car in the parking lot. He pressed something on his iPad and dialled his boss, Bennedict. It only took a few seconds before Bennedict picked up.

“Yeah?”

“I’ve done what you asked, sir. I’m on my way to the village.”

There was a small grunt on the other end of the line, which made Peter a bit nervous. But as Bennedict continued, Peter could finally breathe a sigh of relief. “Good job. Now, pick me and my sister up. Dimitri Group will soon be led by a new queen.”

“Understood, sir.” ****

Beatrice POV

“Queen? Are you kidding, um?”

I stared at Bennedict, but he just looked the same—stoic and expressionless. “You’re the next CEO. You’re obviously the queen of Dad and Mom’s company. Isn’t that right, Grandma?”

Sophia, busy trimming bamboo plants in a pot, mumbled and nodded. “You need to be careful, Dear. It’s sharp,” Jhon said, helping Sophia take care of the plants, looking uncomfortable with Bennedict’s gesture. I could tell Bennedict wanted to say something more private.

And then, he made his decision. “I’ll talk to Beatrice inside,” Ben said, standing up from the garden chair and glancing at me, giving me a signal to understand and follow him. I walked behind him, and we headed to a different place. “Should I teach Louis a lesson? I can beat him to death if you want.”

I raised both eyebrows and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’ve signed the divorce papers. We’re already divorced. Beating him to death won’t make me feel any better.”

“You can’t be like this, Beatrice. You have to get back at what Louis did to you.”

Even though he said it in a flat tone, I could feel my brother’s anger. I muttered and walked over to the sofa, sitting down. “Do you think I could be a good CEO for Dimitri Group?”

“Be a good CEO, and show Louis that he’ll regret all of this.”

I agreed with that, nodding. At least I had to stay positive when Bennedict gave me good advice. He was a good brother, even though we rarely spoke or met over the years.

“I’ll pull all the investments I made for Louis. I didn’t give them to him; I gave them to you.”

“All of it? Aren’t you being too harsh on him, Ben?”

Bennedict snorted. “He cheated, ignored you, let you go back to Grandpa and Grandma. Does he even know you’re from Dimitri Group?” I shook my head. “He met Grandpa and Grandma as my parents on the first day I introduced them. And that’s still how it is to this day.”

“Tch, he doesn’t even know that his in-laws aren’t his real in-laws. That guy is such a jerk. You should’ve thrown him in the trash.”

“Don’t be so harsh on him, Ben. He was with me for ten years.”

When the conversation paused, the sound of a car horn caught everyone’s attention. Especially mine. Whose car was that?

“That’s Peter. My personal secretary. He’ll be taking care of you starting today. He’s loyal and trustworthy; you can rely on him,” Bennedict said, filling me in. “He’ll help with your work or personal matters. Don’t worry.”

“Thanks, Ben.”

Suddenly, I felt thankful for my brother’s presence, and I hugged Bennedict. I could feel Ben’s stiffness slowly melt. He hugged me back, though his gesture was a bit awkward. Ten years ago, when I started dating Louis, my relationship with Bennedict became a bit tense. It seemed like he realized his little sister was growing up, and I knew Bennedict hated that. But today, I wanted to show Bennedict that his little sister was back, and I could see a smile on his face at the end of our conversation.

Bennedict then took me to see Peter, and we said our goodbyes to John and Sophia, who chose to stay in the village to enjoy their old age. Bennedict took me back to the city, to our old house. It took two hours until we finally arrived at the Foster family mansion. Michael Foster and Anna Drew Hathaway, my parents, had died in a single-car accident, instantly, making Bennedict the CEO to continue their business. Dimitri Group was founded by John and Sophia, then passed down to my parents, Michael and Anna. Now, Bennedict and I would be the ones responsible for this company.

“This house reminds me of Mom,” I murmured as my fingers brushed against a painting on the wall. It was a painting Mom made when I was ten. I couldn’t hold back the rush of emotions—sadness, nostalgia, and joy—that flooded my body. I knew I was smiling when I saw that painting, but my eyes wouldn’t cooperate. Tears fell slowly. “It feels like I haven’t been home in so long, Ben.”

Bennedict sighed and turned his face. Conversations about our parents were always a sensitive topic.

“I have to go back to London today. There’s work I can’t leave. You’ll be fine here alone, right?” I turned around, trying to look strong, and finally said, “Of course. I can handle this, Ben. Don’t worry.”

Bennedict hugged me once more before leaving with another driver from our mansion. He left Peter to wait for me outside the house, asking him to wait until I came to find him. As I took over as CEO, Bennedict trusted Peter to handle it.

After leaving the painting full of memories with Mom, I decided to enter my old room. It had been so long since I lived with Louis. I hadn’t visited this house in years. The scent of the room was still the same, but this time, it was filled with emptiness and longing. I took a deep breath, then stepped deeper inside. I walked toward the large wardrobe in the corner, hoping to find some childhood clothes for a bit of nostalgia.

But when I opened the wardrobe doors, I was completely shocked and fell to the floor. My eyes widened in disbelief when I saw someone inside. “Ah! W-who… are you?!”