When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 178

Nelly rushed into the office and straight to the conference room.

Jonah and Nancy were already there, both looking tense. Everyone had just gotten the news. Something had gone terribly wrong with the new product launch.

Her company’s brand was called “never.” With Watson Corporation backing her, they used the logo “Wc-n.” But that morning, their biggest partners had all threatened to pull out and were now demanding compensation. They claimed Nelly had misled them, using the Watson Corporation name to make her business seem more official than it was.

On her way over, Nelly had already pieced together what had happened. Watson Corporation was a huge conglomerate with resources pooled from every sector. Felix had managed to get a few valuable industry channels for his companies, mostly thanks to his connection to Christopher. But after Christopher died, half the control over the Watson family empire went to Nicholas.

Recently, Nicholas had merged all the old fashion companies under his control and launched a women’s luxury brand under the Watson Corporation umbrella. He even called it “n.” The meaning might have been different, but the name was the same. Suddenly, Nelly’s company looked like some knockoff trying to cash in on the Watson name.

And honestly, that wasn’t far from the truth.

Felix didn’t have as much power in Watson Corporation as Nicholas did. Even if he gave Nelly everything, she still couldn’t compete. Plus, Christopher’s will made things even harder. Nelly had to build something on her own—Felix could only give her a quiet push by giving up his own channels and vouching for her. Now that Nicholas had made his move, Nelly’s business was barely hanging on under the Watson name. At this point, it was more like her personal project than a real company.

No wonder the partners felt cheated.

The public still didn’t know about her inheritance or her stake in the Watson family. Compared to the luxury brand launched by the Watson shareholders, Nelly’s tiny company was nothing. What used to be her greatest advantage—being backed by the Watsons—was now the reason everyone’s trust in her had collapsed.

Felix had heard the news too. Nicholas had picked the worst possible time to act, right before Nelly’s product launch. If every investor and partner backed out, the launch would be canceled and Nelly’s company would be finished.

Nelly tried to organize her thoughts, but her mind felt empty. She’d handled plenty of broken contracts back at Garland Inc., but nothing like this. There was nothing in her experience that could help.

Jonah immediately tried to reassure her. “Don’t worry. We still have time.”

He wasn’t surprised things had blown up. Felix seemed calm too. Even if Nelly lost everything, she could always start over. Still, this mess was partly her own doing. She’d crossed Nicholas the moment she arrived. He’d always been stable and neutral in the Watson family, never at odds with Christopher. This kind of move was totally out of character for him, and it all came down to Britney.

“Easy for you to say, Jonah. If the launch gets canceled, the company’s finished,” Nancy said with a bitter laugh. She was clearly frustrated. She’d believed in Nelly’s big dreams, thought Felix’s support would let her rewrite the Watson family story. Looking back, she blamed herself for being too gullible and impatient.

Nancy glanced at Nelly. Nelly looked calm, but she hadn’t said a word since she walked in. She looked like she was thinking, but there was something defeated in her eyes.

After a while, Nelly finally spoke up, her voice quiet but steady. “The launch will go on as planned. If we lose our partners, we’ll find new ones. We still have time.”

“Nelly, why don’t you try apologizing to Nicholas? I know it’s a long shot, but it’s better than nothing.”

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