Valerian watched as Zelda was about to storm out of the house, clearly heading to thepany. He grabbed her arm, trying to stop her.


    "Mom, Callie is your daughter, after all. If we think about it, we haven''t always been fair to her. Now that Lisette''s not around, maybe we should try being a bit nicer to her. Maybe we need to change a little."


    "Change?" Zelda cried, furrowing her brow. "What change? She''s been nothing but bad luck for us. Thepany''s in trouble, Lisette''s in jail, and Horatio''s legs... it''s all because of her!


    If she wasn''t around, things wouldn''t have gone downhill like this! She''s a jinx, bringing disaster to the entire family."


    Valerian sighed, realizing this was going to be an uphill battle.


    "Mom, please, let''s just talk about this," he pleaded.


    But Zelda was resolute. "I have to go to the office. If we hand thepany over to her, it''ll be a disaster. You think she''ll give back what she''s taken? She''s always been holding grudges against us all these years!"


    She pushed past Valerian, determined to leave. He wanted to run after her, but a servant stopped him.


    Caught between a rock and a hard ce, Valerian quickly dialed Monty, hoping he could intercept Zelda. But Monty''s phone went straight to voicemail, no matter how many times he tried. In the end, Valerian called Horatio.


    "Can you stop Mom from going to the office?" he asked desperately.


    "What happened?" Horatio''s voice crackled through the line,ced with surprise. "Why did you let her head to thepany? If she shes with Callie there, it''ll be a spectacle for everyone! Valerian, why didn''t you stop her? And Callie actually showed some management skills this morning. She analyzed a lot of things that could really benefit thepany. We need her!"


    "It''s not that I didn''t try," Valerian said with exasperation. "Mom just won''t listen to me. I got held up by a servant and couldn''t catch up to her in time."


    "We have a board meeting soon, and I can''t stop her now," Horatio said, a hint of urgency in his voice. "I''ll find some staff to help hold her off. You keep trying to reach her by phone!"


    With that, Horatio hung up, his face clouded with worry. He knew his mother well enough to realize she''d stir up trouble at thepany.


    And today of all days, the board members and top executives were scheduled to be there. If Zelda


    decided to create a scene, it


    wouldn''t look good at all.


    belongs to swnovel


    Horatio quickly instructed his staff to intercept Zelda while he made his way to the conference hall.


    By afternoon, the board members


    had all arrived, along with thepany''s top brass. The


    conference room was buzzing with people, all specting about the meeting''s purpose before Calliope and Monty showed up.  swnovel


    "Why did the president call us all here?"


    "I have a bad feeling about this."


    "Is he nning something drastic? Are we going bankrupt?"


    Worry was etched on their face. Under Monty''s leadership, thepany had been in decline.


    "He imed he''s got some big


    Councement. As I arrived, I heard


    e showed up at thepany


    today."


    swnovel


    "Yeah, and Franco from Pearl Tiger Club was seen here too. What''s he doing at


    ourpany?"


    "I came because of the rumors about Franco being here."


    As Horatio wheeled into the room, heads turned.


    "Hey, Mr. Horatio''s here."


    "Mr. Horatio, you should know why your father gathered us all here, right?"


    "Yeah, and what''s this about Franco from Pearl Tiger Club? Are we getting bought out by them?"