The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1082

To ensure fairness, Skyler and the three Jonathan brothers abstained from the vote.

Yet, despite Stella’s proposal clearly being the stronger one, more people ended up voting for Aurora.

The only ones supporting Stella were the shareholders who had previously backed Nora, along with a handful of neutral parties hoping to snag a piece of the pie.

Most of the neutral faction, however, remained firmly on the fence.

No matter how impeccable Stella's plan was, or how capable she proved herself to be, they would never risk picking a side so carelessly.

They understood all too well that, in the Williams Group, talent alone could only take you so far.

Over the years, Skyler had openly suppressed Nora’s supporters, determined to reclaim the last of the original shares from their hands.

Backing Stella now was as good as defying Skyler.

Considering Skyler was still the Group’s largest shareholder, a misstep in these power games could easily land them in the same predicament as Nora’s backers—facing elimination.

Without the Williams family’s support, Stella never stood a real chance against Aurora.

The shareholders loyal to Nora looked on grimly as the votes were tallied.

Aurora’s advantage was overwhelming, crushing Stella’s numbers.

At last, Israel and Coleman allowed themselves a slight smile.

After the voting, Skyler turned to Stella.

“Star, you don’t have any objections to the result, do you?”

This company was never a place where Stella could do as she pleased.

And as a newcomer, she certainly wasn’t going to object in public and hand her enemies ammunition.

With a calm, polite smile, Stella replied, “Since everyone voted, it couldn’t have been more fair. I have no complaints.”

A ripple of expressions swept through the room.

Fair? There hadn’t been anything fair in the Williams Group for a long time.

Joshua had been right: in just one year, it was virtually impossible to change anything fundamental.

At times like this, it all came down to influence and connections.

For Stella, it hardly mattered which company she chose.

If Aurora won, the effect Stella wanted was achieved.

After Stella presented her backup candidate, the neutrals took notice—her composure and focus, undisturbed by the earlier setback, earned their respect.

When the meeting concluded, people filed out of the conference room one by one.

As this was a high-level meeting of the Williams Group, Joshua, as a bodyguard, hadn’t been allowed inside.

He waited patiently outside the doors.

When Stella emerged, she gave Joshua a subtle nod, letting him know everything had gone according to plan.