Chapter 2 - The Executive Boardroom and the Audit
“In my office. Now,” Richard said, his tone absolute.
He didn't look at Victoria again. He looked at me, his expression softening into something respectful, almost protective. “Emily, please join us. And let’s bring Mr. Vance as well.”
As we walked toward the private executive elevators, Victoria tried to follow, her heels clicking frantically against the stone.
“Mr. Hawthorne, you can’t lock me out of my own executive reviews—I have stakeholder meetings at ten—!”
David Vance stepped directly into her path, blocking the elevator doors. “I’m sorry, Ms. Grant. Your badge has just been deactivated. Please surrender your security pass and company phone immediately.”
Gasps rippled through the remaining staff near reception. Victoria stared at David as if he had spoken in a foreign language. Her badge—the little piece of plastic that had granted her absolute immunity across three floors of glass and steel—was now worthless.
Inside the thirty-fifth-floor boardroom, the panoramic view of the Chicago skyline looked sharp and unforgiving under the gray morning clouds. Richard gestured for me to sit at the head of the mahogany table, while he took a seat beside me.
Marcus Vance, the chief legal officer, opened a heavy leather folio and slid a stack of documents across the table.
“Let’s talk about asset allocation, Ms. Grant,” Marcus said as Victoria, escorted by two security guards, was finally allowed into the room to stand before the board.
Victoria crossed her arms defensively, trying to claw back a shred of dignity. “I demand to know what this is about! You can't fire me without a formal board vote—my family holds twenty percent of the voting shares!”
Richard Hawthorne leaned back, steepling his fingers. “Your family’s voting shares, Victoria, were granted under a legacy trust established by your grandfather. A trust that stipulates absolute adherence to corporate compliance, ethics, and fiduciary conduct. Do you know what happens when an executive commits physical assault on company property against a majority stakeholder?”
Victoria blinked. She paused. Her eyes darted from Richard to Marcus, and then finally, slowly, they landed on me.
May you like
For the first time since I had married into the Grant family, a terrifying realization dawned in her eyes.
“You...” Victoria whispered, her voice trembling. “You aren't just Caleb’s wife.”
