Chapter 5 - The BoardroomThe next morning, I was sitting at the head of a boardroom table worth more than every possession I'd ever owned.

Twelve executives stared at me.

Some looked skeptical.

Some amused.

One man didn't even bother hiding his contempt.

Victor Hale, the company's chief financial officer.

Richard introduced me.

“Nathan Brooks, majority beneficiary and acting controlling shareholder of Brooks Maritime Holdings.”

Victor leaned back.

“You're a child.”

“I'm eighteen.”

“Exactly.”

I looked around the room.

“My grandfather thought I was old enough.”

Victor smiled.

“Your grandfather wasn't exactly rational near the end.”

Richard placed a folder on the table.

“Mr. Hale, I'd advise you to reconsider your tone.”

Victor ignored him.

“The company requires experienced leadership.”

“I'll get it.”

“You don't know shipping.”

“No.”

“You don't know finance.”

“No.”

“You don't know how this company works.”

I leaned forward.

“But I know how to read.”

He frowned.

I slid the black ledger across the table.

“I know someone moved nearly eighteen million dollars out of company accounts.”

Nobody moved.

Victor's face changed.

Just slightly.

Enough.

“Where did you get that?”

“From my grandfather.”

“That document is meaningless.”

“Then you won't mind an audit.”

Silence.

One board member cleared his throat.

“I support the audit.”

Another nodded.

Then another.

Victor's jaw tightened.

The meeting ended two hours later.

Richard walked with me into the hallway.

“You handled yourself well.”

“I was terrified.”

“That was not visible.”

“Good.”

He smiled.

For the first time since my birthday, I felt like maybe I wasn't completely alone.

Then an attractive woman approached.

Late twenties.

Dark hair.

Black blazer.

She carried a folder tightly against her chest.

“Nathan?”

“Yes?”

“My name is Ava Mercer.”

She looked over her shoulder.

Then lowered her voice.

“I worked directly for your grandfather.”

“Doing what?”

“Accounting.”

Richard's expression sharpened.

“Why are you here?”

Ava handed me the folder.

“Because James asked me to disappear if anything happened to him.”

I opened it.

Inside were spreadsheets.

Transfers.

Account numbers.

Dates.

The same shell companies appeared again.

Then Ava pointed to one line.

“This account was opened two months before your mother died.”

I looked closer.

The beneficiary name was obscured.

“Who owns it?”

“I don't know.”

“You're an accountant.”

“I know who the company is registered to.”

She hesitated.

“It's registered under a trust.”

“What trust?”

Ava looked directly at me.

“Your father's.”

My stomach tightened.

Richard took the papers.

“This could be enough to freeze several accounts.”

Ava shook her head.

“Not yet.”

“Why?”

She pulled out one final page.

A transfer record.

One million dollars.

The recipient wasn't a company.

It was a person.

MELISSA BROOKS.

My stepmother.

I stared at the name.

“No.”

Ava nodded.

“The transfer was made forty-eight hours before your father ordered you out of the house.”

My chest tightened.

“Why would she take the money?”

Ava's eyes hardened.

“Maybe she knew the estate was coming.”

The boardroom door suddenly opened.

A security officer stood there.

“Nathan, you need to come with me.”

“What happened?”

He handed me a phone.

“There's been an incident at Blackwood House.”

My stomach dropped.

“What kind?”

He swallowed.

“Your father's wife was found inside the estate.”

I stared at him.

“She was arrested?”

“No.”

“She was injured?”

“No.”

He looked at me.

“She was found kneeling in your mother's old bedroom.”

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“And?”

“She was holding a gun.”