BIG CHANGES

The ringing of the phone could be heard throughout the room. Rebecca hurried to answer it, unaware that the news she was about to receive would change her life forever. Her parents had died in a car accident that same morning.

"What happened?" she asked the police officer on the other end of the line.

"They went off the road on their way back from Glem City."

"The mine," she whispered.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Nevermind, thank you for letting me know."

In the following days, Rebecca focused on preparing for the funeral. She didn't have time to grieve, only allowing herself to do so in short moments when she was alone. She had to stay strong, there was so much to take care of. Not only did she have to prepare the farewell for her parents and console her devastated sister, Diffu, but she also had to take over the family business. As the older of the two, she would now be the head of the company.

The death of her parents had complicated things for the company. She knew that her father had been having problems with the shareholders for a couple of months, as despite being the founder of that vast jewelry empire, the men who formed part of the main leadership wanted to remove him from leadership and put Vetter, one of the main shareholders, in his place.

"I can't let them win," she said to herself.

She wiped the tears from her face and left the closet where she had been hiding to cry. She couldn't continue to behave like a child, she had to be at the forefront of the company and assume her responsibilities. Rebecca took a deep breath and headed to the boardroom where they were waiting for her.

She and her sister were the only heirs to the empire her parents had built with so much effort. Everyone knew it very well, but that didn't prevent the vultures at the investor table from wanting to take a larger portion of what they had. They wanted to leave her and her sister out of everything. She couldn't allow it.

"Alright gentlemen, it's time to resolve this," she exclaimed confidently as she entered the boardroom.

Those present observed her in silence. It had only been a couple of days since the tragic news when her father's lawyer arrived at the company to read the will. Rebecca was nervous, as that meeting would define the fate of the company. The tension grew as the lawyer began to read that last document that Robert Stellar had left in his hands.

"My two precious daughters, Rebecca and Diffu, are the universal heirs to my fortune," Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the lawyer read those lines.

Gradually, each of the properties and assets that the now-deceased Robert and Jane Stellar owned were listed. Similarly, the document explained the percentages that corresponded to each of the girls and what they should do with each of them, as in some cases, the assets had to be donated to charity or used to create certain links and alliances that his father had thought of beforehand.

Some of these assets were part of the conglomerate of companies that the Stellar family ran, so the present shareholders were not very happy with the decisions Robert had made. However, he managed those particular properties completely, so they could do nothing to change the situation. They could only listen attentively to the details about the direction of the main company, as everything would be decided based on that. From there, they could evaluate their chances of getting Vetter to take over the leadership and perhaps he could recover all the other assets that were now in the hands of the two girls.

"Stellar Gems Co. has been like a daughter to me..." read the lawyer. Everyone present tensed as they heard the man read those words, the moment that would decide everything had arrived. "...that's why I believe it's necessary for someone intelligent, bold, and capable of making the right decisions to take over as its leader in the future. For a long time, I thought about who could be the correct choice, and although it wasn't easy, I have decided without any doubt whatsoever that my daughter Rebecca should be in charge," the girl smiled upon hearing that. She felt incredibly relieved and happy, although the rest of the board was clearly upset, however, before she could sing victory, the lawyer continued, "however, I am aware that despite all the potential my daughter has to become a successful businesswoman, she still needs some help, so she will be given complete control only when she has fully complied with the conditions stipulated here."

"What? What is this?" exclaimed Rebecca, puzzled. She couldn't help but interrupt the lawyer, as she was taken by surprise and didn't understand what was happening. The rest of the board smiled at the last sentence, they still had a chance to take control as they wanted.

"Well, despite having worked alongside her father for several years," the lawyer began to explain, "she has never held a high position or managed any of the important businesses, so Mr. Stellar considered it necessary for you to complete your professional preparation before entrusting you with the full management of the company, since there may be many complications when running such a large corporation, especially given your lack of experience."

Rebecca gritted her teeth in annoyance. All of that was true. Her father was right, and she knew he was doing it for her and the company he had worked so hard to create, but the problem was the situation in which he was putting her with the shareholders. She knew she was going to have to live in a constant battle against them because they would use the conditions imposed on her to try to remove her and take over everything.