Chapter 13 - THE BOARDAt 9:00 a.m., every major financial network was reporting on Prescott Group.
The story had changed overnight.
No longer:
Socialite Wife Attacks Billionaire Husband.
Now it was:
Prescott Group Faces Ownership Scandal.
The boardroom was packed.
Investors.
Lawyers.
Journalists outside.
Shareholders on video conference.
Eleanor was already there.
She stood beside the chairman.
When I entered, she smiled.
“You came.”
“I always do.”
She leaned closer.
“You have no idea how many people will lose everything today.”
“Maybe.”
She smiled.
“Yourself included.”
I walked to my seat.
It was the chairman's seat.
The one Aaron had once told me I wasn't important enough to occupy.
He looked at me.
Then moved aside.
I sat down.
The meeting began.
Eleanor presented documents claiming I had manipulated the company.
She accused me of blackmail.
Fraud.
Coercion.
Emotional instability.
She even produced two doctors.
The room watched.
One director asked:
“Mrs. Prescott, how do you respond?”
I smiled.
“I brought evidence.”
I turned to Rebecca.
She connected the first file.
The screen showed Project Bride.
The document listing my surveillance.
My schedule.
My friendships.
My marriage.
My own husband had been tracked before we were engaged.
Gasps filled the room.
Then came the financial transfers.
Eleanor's companies.
Asteris.
Meridian.
Bank accounts.
Hidden payments.
We showed everything.
Then I played the recordings.
Eleanor's voice.
Her instructions.
Her meetings.
Her orders.
The board went silent.
She tried to interrupt.
“These are fabricated.”
Victor stood.
“No.”
Everyone looked at him.
He placed a stack of originals on the table.
“I authenticated them.”
Eleanor stared.
“You.”
Victor looked at her.
“I should have testified years ago.”
Her expression changed.
Then Aaron stood.
He placed his resignation on the table.
“I confirm all of it.”
Eleanor's eyes widened.
“You ungrateful little fool.”
Aaron looked at her.
“You made me a puppet.”
“No.”
“You made me think I was a king.”
I looked at him.
His voice trembled.
“And I became the worst version of myself.”
The chairman called for a recess.
Eleanor stood.
“This is a family conspiracy.”
“No,” I said.
“This is an ownership matter.”
She turned.
“I still control the burner.”
I froze.
“What?”
She smiled.
“You don't.”
She pulled out her phone.
A transfer screen appeared.
“If the board votes against me, I trigger the final contingency.”
Aaron went pale.
“What did you do?”
She looked at him.
“I moved Noah's guardian rights.”
My blood froze.
“To whom?”
She smiled.
“Me.”
The room erupted.
I stood.
“You forged that.”
“Perhaps.”
She turned toward the door.
“But proving it takes time.”
She walked away.
I followed.
“Aunt Eleanor.”
She stopped.
I had never called her that.
She looked back.
“You should know something.”
“What?”
I held up a small silver key.
“The final beneficiary clause wasn't stored in the house.”
Her face changed.
“Then where?”
I smiled.
“With me.”
I opened my handbag.
Inside was a document.
Signed.
Sealed.
Certified.
Eleanor stared.
“That can't be.”
“It is.”
“What is it?”
“The guardian appointment.”
Her lips parted.
My father's final decision named me as sole guardian of Noah and sole voting trustee until his eighteenth birthday.
Not Eleanor.
Not Aaron.
Me.
She shook her head.
“You're lying.”
Rebecca handed it to the chairman.
He read it.
Then looked at Eleanor.
“Mrs. Prescott.”
She stepped backward.
“This is forged.”
Victor shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed to the signature.
“That's your father's original certification.”
Eleanor's face collapsed.
I stepped closer.
“You lost.”
She looked at me.
“No.”
She whispered.
“I still have one card.”
“What?”
She smiled.
“Aaron.”
I turned.
Aaron was gone.
His chair was empty.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message.
Unknown number.
Your husband has Noah.
A second message followed.
He says he chose the boy over you.
My blood ran cold.
I called Aaron.
No answer.
Then a photo arrived.
Noah.
Tied to a chair.
A warehouse behind him.
And Aaron standing beside him.
My hands shook.
Eleanor smiled.
“You see?”
She leaned close.
“Men like Aaron always return to power.”
I stared at the photograph.
Then noticed something.
A tiny reflection in the warehouse window.
A clock.
3:17.
I looked at Rebecca.
“Find that building.”
“How?”
“Three minutes.”
She pulled out her laptop.
I looked at Eleanor.
“You shouldn't have shown me the photograph.”
She frowned.
“Why?”
May you like
I smiled.
“Because now I know where he is.”
