Twenty years had passed since the fateful day they had met at Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.
In some ways, the lives of Veruca Salt and Charlie Bucket had paralleled each other, but in others they had diverged markedly.
Veruca had inherited her father's nut factory, while, after Willy Wonka had danced his last pirouette, the chocolate factory had passed to Charlie.
By dint of a quick mind and a forceful personality, Veruca had made herself a billionaire by parlaying her father's comfortable concern into a thriving international conglomerate.
By contrast, true to Willy Wonka's expectations, as Willy Wonka had wanted, Charlie had continued to do things Willy Wonka's way. Incapable of innovation, Charlie had seen a precipitous decline in custom as tastes turned to flashier fare, and the chocolate factory itself had fallen into disrepair, becoming a mere shadow of its former glory.
Veruca seethed with anger every time she thought of Charlie Bucket. He had the one thing that still eluded her and, worse yet, was running it into the ground. She had obviously been the best choice to run the chocolate factory but Mr. Wonka had been too blind to see it. How could he give it to that week-willed, soft-centred macaroon?
Charlie's situation was now so dire that he had been forced to sell shares in the chocolate factory just to cover his overhead. Veruca herself had snapped up the small parcel she was offered - and that was when she saw her chance. She would launch a hostile takeover, merge the two businesses, and make nutty chocolate . . . or chocolatey nuts . . . Well, she could sort that part out later.
Veruca summoned her trembling lawyers before her and ordered them to track down Charlie's investors and buy them out, and to be quick about it because she wanted it NOW!
In scenes reminiscent of the original search for the Golden Tickets, the lawyers crisscrossed the world, visiting each one. Violet Beauregarde and Augustus Gloop were only too happy to sell their now-worthless stock for the fantastic sum that Veruca was offering, and most of the others did the same. Mike Teevee took a little longer because they had to wait for a commercial break to interrupt the programme he was watching, but eventually, he too signed over his shares.
Charlie had foolishly left himself in a minority position. Veruca's total shareholding was now enough to not only give her a controlling interest but the right to forcibly acquire the remaining stock as well, including Charlie's own, and she took great delight in personally confronting him with the news that his beloved chocolate factory was now hers.
Charlie was devastated; Veruca gloated. Charlie begged; Veruca laughed.
As tempting as it might have been to throw her now-vanquished rival into the street, Veruca realised that Charlie's confection connection could be of use to her, so she gave him a job with the Oompa Loompas instead.
The combined company went from strength to strength, producing tons of chocolates, nuts and assorted sweetmeats every year, raking in millions of pounds of profit in the process.
Surprisingly, Charlie found himself relieved to be free of the responsibilities for which he was clearly so ill-suited. In fact he so enjoyed working with the Oompa Loompas that he turned into one, spending his days testing chocolate and singing the Oompa Loompa song.
And Veruca?
Veruca sat back in Willy Wonka's chair in Willy Wonka's office, her feet on Willy Wonka's desk and her lips curling into a smile of contentment. Finally she owned everything: the nut factory, the chocolate factory - and even Charlie.