Chapter 10 - The Boardroom ExecutionThe emergency board meeting began at 8:00 a.m.
Cassidy arrived at 7:42.
Every board member was already seated.
Brendan stood at the head of the table.
Diane sat beside him.
Jessica was absent.
Adrian Vale sat in the corner.
Alive.
Older.
Calm.
Cassidy looked at him.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
Adrian smiled.
“Convenient story, wasn't it?”
Arthur entered behind her.
Lily stayed outside with Daniel.
Brendan looked at Cassidy.
“You should have stayed home.”
Cassidy took her seat.
“You should have stopped talking.”
The board members looked uncomfortable.
Brendan held up a document.
“Cassidy has abused her temporary authority.”
Arthur laughed.
“Temporary?”
Brendan slammed his hand down.
“She has frozen legitimate corporate accounts.”
“Because they belong to people involved in a conspiracy.”
Brendan looked at the board.
“See? She's unstable.”
Cassidy's eyes sharpened.
“Careful.”
He leaned back.
“You're pregnant, exhausted, emotional.”
Cassidy stood.
“Say it again.”
Brendan smiled.
“I said you are not fit to control a company.”
Cassidy looked at the board.
“Then let's review the financial records.”
Arthur activated the screen.
Thousands of transactions appeared.
Private aircraft.
Luxury apartments.
Consulting companies.
Personal expenses.
Funds routed through offshore entities.
The board stared.
Diane stood.
“These are fabricated.”
Arthur displayed the signatures.
Diane's.
Brendan's.
Adrian's.
Silence.
Cassidy turned to the board.
“Over three years, $486 million was diverted from Morrison Global through shell entities.”
Brendan shouted:
“Lies.”
Arthur displayed another file.
“Bank confirmations.”
Then another.
“Encrypted emails.”
Then another.
“Video evidence.”
Brendan's face collapsed.
Adrian remained calm.
Cassidy noticed.
“Why aren't you worried?”
Adrian smiled.
“Because you haven't shown the important document.”
Cassidy paused.
“What document?”
“The ownership seal.”
Every eye turned toward her.
There it was.
The trap.
Adrian continued.
“You can freeze accounts. You can expose transactions. You can embarrass the Morrison family.”
He stood.
“But without the bloodline seal, your authority is legally contestable.”
Arthur stepped forward.
“That clause was superseded.”
“By whom?”
“Nathaniel Ellison.”
Adrian smiled.
“Dead men cannot testify.”
Cassidy looked at him.
“You should've stayed dead.”
Adrian's smile vanished.
The board doors suddenly opened.
Daniel entered.
“Ma'am.”
“What?”
“We found Jessica.”
Cassidy's blood ran cold.
“Where?”
“Parking garage.”
“Alive?”
Daniel nodded.
“Barely conscious.”
Cassidy turned toward Brendan.
His face was white.
Diane was trembling.
Adrian's expression changed.
For the first time, fear appeared.
Cassidy noticed.
“Daniel.”
“Yes?”
“Take Jessica to the secure medical floor.”
Daniel nodded.
As he left, Cassidy looked back at Adrian.
“You know what happened to her.”
He said nothing.
Cassidy walked around the table.
“You used Jessica.”
“She chose her position.”
“You threatened her.”
“She knew the risks.”
Cassidy leaned closer.
“She knows where the seal is.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
Cassidy smiled.
A lie.
A deliberate one.
She turned to Arthur.
“Activate Phase Two.”
Arthur immediately understood.
The board members did not.
“What is Phase Two?” Brendan asked.
Cassidy looked at him.
“You'll find out.”
She walked toward the door.
Brendan followed.
“You can't leave.”
Cassidy stopped.
“No.”
She turned.
“I'm not leaving.”
The doors behind him locked.
Brendan spun around.
“What did you do?”
Cassidy looked at Arthur.
He held up his phone.
“The board has officially transferred emergency authority to Cassidy Ellison.”
Brendan stared.
“You can't.”
Arthur smiled.
“They already did.”
Then every monitor in the room changed.
A live camera feed appeared.
Jessica sat in a hospital bed.
Her face bruised.
She looked directly into the camera.
Then she spoke.
“Brendan didn't tell you the truth.”
Cassidy leaned forward.
Jessica swallowed.
“He's not trying to take the company.”
May you like
She stared at Cassidy.
“He's trying to kill the inheritance.”
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