Chapter 4: The Chair Taken From Him
Christian arrived at Hale Holdings before ten, with Marnie, Mr.
Bell, and a copy of the restaurant recording.
Adelaide had been taken away for questioning, but Victor was waiting in the boardroom.
“You brought the waitress?” Victor asked.
“She has a name,” Christian said.
“And she saved me from your plan.”
Victor adjusted his cuff.
“Marnie accepted my money.
That makes her your worst possible witness.”
“It makes her someone you tried to use.”
“I paid her to keep you at dinner.
Adelaide wanted a private celebration after the sale.”
Christian placed the shaded note on the table.
“Then explain page nine.”
Victor did not touch it.
“A few pencil marks prove nothing.”
The company lawyer, Elaine Mercer, sat at the far end of the table.
She pushed a folder toward Christian.
“These were filed twenty minutes ago.
Victor has invoked the emergency incapacity clause.”
“On whose medical opinion?”
“Dr.
Sebastian Rowe signed the statement.”
Christian stared at the signature.
“Rowe hasn’t examined me in two years.”
Victor folded his hands.
“He reviewed reports of your erratic conduct.”
“Reports written by Adelaide?”
“And by three senior employees.”
The boardroom door opened.
Two directors entered but avoided Christian’s eyes.
“Christian,” one said, “until this is settled, Victor will serve as acting chairman.”
“You’re giving him my chair because I refused a sale?”
“We’re protecting the company.”
Marnie stepped forward.
“He arranged for Christian to be sedated.”
Victor turned to her.
“And you accepted cash to help me.
Shall we tell the board that part?”
“I already told them.”
“But did you tell Christian why I chose you?”
Marnie’s chin trembled.
“Don’t.”
Christian looked between them.
“What is he talking about?”
Victor took a photograph from the folder.
It showed a younger Marnie beside a gray-haired man wearing a Hale Holdings security badge.
“Her father was Owen Price.”
Christian remembered the name.
Owen had been dismissed after company funds vanished from a hotel renovation account.
“He st0le from us,” Christian said.
“No,” Marnie replied.
“He tried to prove someone else did.”
Victor’s smile barely moved.
“Her father lost his job after your signature appeared on the dismissal order.”
Christian picked up the photograph.
“I never saw this order.”
“Your name is on it,” Victor said.
“Perhaps your memory really is failing.”
Elaine opened another folder.
“There’s more.
The sale agreement was approved electronically from your account at seven forty-two.”
“I was at dinner.”
“Your password and security code were used.”
Marnie covered her mouth.
Christian turned to her.
“What did you take from my coat in the recording?”
“My phone,” she whispered.
The room went still.
“Victor told me to bring it to the service hall for sixty seconds.
He said he needed to copy a contact number.”
“You gave him my phone?”
“I didn’t know he had your passcode.”
Victor leaned back.
“She admits everything.
The compromised witness and the unstable chairman have made my argument for me.”
Christian crossed the table and stopped inches from his brother.
“You used a frightened young woman, forged my approval, and sent Adelaide to make me helpless.”
“Careful,” Victor said.
“Accusations without proof have consequences.”
Mr.
Bell raised one of the secure drives.
“We have proof from the restaurant.”
“You have Adelaide with a vial,” Victor replied.
“You do not have me touching it.”
Elaine looked at Christian.
“Until investigators authenticate the recording and documents, the board’s vote stands.
You are suspended.”
Victor stood and moved to the chairman’s seat.
He rested one hand on its back but did not sit.
“Security will escort you out.”
Christian removed his access card and laid it on the table.
“This company belonged to our father.”
Victor finally sat in the chair.
“No, Chris.
As of tonight, it belongs to whoever was smart enough to keep it.”
Marnie’s phone vibrated.
She read the message and lost what little color remained in her face.
“What is it?” Christian asked.
She held up the screen.
It was a photograph of her mother asleep in a care-home bed.
May you like
Beneath it were seven words:
KEEP QUIET, OR SHE LOSES HER ROOM TOMORROW.
