From Ashes to Queen: Now I Call the Shots novel Chapter 204

Chapter 204 Power Moves

Blood trickled from the corner of Oliver’s mouth.

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Taylor looked down at him–exhausted, bruised, and slumped on the garage floor–and didn’t show an ounce of pity.

Just a smirk.

“You think if you fall apart, we’ll rush you to the hospital so you can skip out on the rest of your punishment?”

He stepped forward and clapped Oliver hard on the shoulder.

Oliver, already on the edge of collapse, couldn’t hold himself up anymore. He dropped like dead weight, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

Taylor looked down at him with disgust.

“As long as you’re breathing, you’re working.” At the edge of the garage, Taylor gave one last look over his shoulder. Then he dumped the rest of his chips and snacks on the ground with a smirk. “Enjoy your lovely evening,” he said with a cold grin.

Then he walked out, not bothering to look back.

Behind him, Oliver lay on the floor, red–eyed and shaking. Then slowly, painfully, he rolled himself toward the spilled food and started cleaning up–barely holding himself together.

The Next Morning

Scarlett was up early.

After all, Madam Susan had personally put her in charge of reviewing the garage incident. There was no way she was going to let her down.

First thing, she handed a printed list to Samson–neat, detailed, and ready to go.

Once everyone was assembled, she got right to it. No warm–up. No small talk,

She calmly began discussing termination.

The room went silent.

Then-

“Ms. Joyner, most of us have been with the Lane family for over twenty years,” one woman blurted out. “You can’t just let us go like that!“/

“Yeah, we were just following orders. We’re innocent!”

you really going to do this to us, Ms. Joyner? That’s cold.”

Scarlett gave them a helpless/look.

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“I get it. Honestly, I’m just trying to keep things stable. I’ve barely been back a week; I’m still figuring things out. But Grandma trusts me, and Aurora encouraged me to take initiative. This approach–this suggestion- actually came from Aurora herself.”

That changed everything.

People glanced at one another, faces darkening.

They’d all been helping Aurora behind the scenes.

They didn’t even get the rewards they were promised. Fine.

Now they were getting fired?

What–was she afraid they’d spill her secrets? That someone might expose what she’d done behind the scenes?

Unbelievable. Their anger boiled over.

They weren’t going to let this go.

Losing their jobs was one thing.

But getting blacklisted from the Lane family? That could ruin their entire careers.

Scarlett watched their panic rise–and quietly smiled.

Here we go. This is the moment I’d been waiting for.

She let the tension hang a bit longer, then spoke again–slow and measured.

“But I called my mom this morning. I tried to speak up for you. She agreed to hold off for one month. We’ll reevaluate based on performance.”

Right when they’d hit rock bottom–she gave them hope.

Suddenly, she wasn’t the enemy.

In that moment, she became the one who saved them.

At first, a few of them didn’t believe it.

But then Taylor arrived with a lawyer in tow, officially withdrawing the termination paperwork.

That was when it clicked.

Scarlett watched their expressions shift–shock, then disbelief, then pure rage. That’s it, she thought. Right

on cue.

She let the tension hang for just a moment longer, then glanced around the room and said, almost casually.

“One more thing–if anyone still wants to resign, we’re not stopping you. But please review your contracts and make sure you follow the right procedures. That includes where you need to file the paperwork.”

The room froze.

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Chapter 204 Power Moves

In an instant, the fear sank in hard.

Everyone knew Scarlett had just returned–and that she was clearly favored.

But truthfully, the rest of the house never really warmed up to her.

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Technically, they were contracted through Lane Group. But since their work was inside the Lane estate, over time they’d started treating Madam Susan as the one who really called the shots.

Madam Susan liked Aurora, so they sucked up to Aurora.

And on day one, Susan had made it clear she didn’t like Scarlett, so they looked down on her.

When Aurora had approached them with a plan, they went along without hesitation.

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