Chapter 8 - THE BOARDROOM WAR
Victor was waiting.
The Fairchild headquarters had become a battlefield.
By the time I arrived, lawyers were everywhere.
The board had called an emergency meeting.
Victor was attempting to remove Brendan.
Brendan stood alone at one end of the room.
Samantha was absent.
I walked in.
Every head turned.
Victor looked at me.
“You shouldn't be here.”
I smiled.
“That's what everyone keeps saying.”
The chairman cleared his throat.
“This meeting concerns corporate control.”
“Good.”
I took a seat.
Victor glared.
“You have no authority.”
I placed my shareholder certificate on the table.
“Eighteen-point-seven percent.”
The chairman examined it.
“It is valid.”
Victor's face tightened.
Then I placed another document down.
“Another four percent.”
The room went silent.
Brendan stared.
“What?”
“My father transferred another block yesterday.”
Victor stood.
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
I looked around the table.
“Combined, my holdings now exceed twenty-two percent.”
The chairman leaned forward.
“Mrs. Fairchild, that makes you the largest individual shareholder.”
Victor's face turned red.
“No.”
“Yes.”
He slammed his hand down.
“You don't understand this company.”
I answered,
“I understand numbers.”
Then the doors opened.
Federal investigators entered.
Everyone froze.
One investigator approached Victor.
“Mr. Fairchild?”
“Yes?”
“We need to speak with you.”
“On what basis?”
“Financial fraud.”
Victor looked at me.
“You did this.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
I pointed toward the evidence.
“You did.”
The investigator continued.
“We have records of unauthorized transfers, fraudulent disclosures, and obstruction.”
Victor laughed.
“You can't prove anything.”
I looked at Ximena.
She stepped into the room.
Victor's smile disappeared.
Then Samantha entered.
He went completely still.
She walked to the table.
“You were right, Victor.”
He stared.
“I should have stayed afraid.”
She placed the drive down.
“But I'm not anymore.”
Victor's face became terrifying.
“You stupid girl.”
I stood.
“Don't.”
He turned toward me.
“You have no idea what you're doing.”
“I know exactly what I'm doing.”
He pointed at Brendan.
“He destroyed your family.”
“No.”
I looked at Brendan.
“He helped.”
Brendan lowered his head.
“But you made the decisions.”
Victor smiled.
“You think you're innocent?”
“No.”
I surprised him.
“I don't.”
I looked around the room.
“I made the mistake of trusting my husband.”
Then I looked at Victor.
“You made the mistake of thinking grief made me weak.”
The investigators approached.
Victor suddenly pulled a document from his jacket.
“This company will collapse without me.”
The chairman shook his head.
“No.”
I placed another document on the table.
“Not anymore.”
The board members looked at me.
“What is that?”
“A financing commitment.”
Raymond stepped forward.
“My client's trust will provide emergency liquidity.”
Victor stared.
“How much?”
“Enough.”
The chairman read the document.
His expression changed.
“You've secured the company's debt?”
“Yes.”
Victor looked at me.
“You bought the debt.”
I nodded.
“And now?”
I leaned forward.
“You work for me.”
The room erupted.
Victor shouted.
“This is impossible!”
The chairman called for order.
I remained calm.
Then the investigator placed handcuffs on Victor.
As they led him away, he stopped beside me.
“You'll regret this.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
I glanced at Chloe's photograph in my hand.
“That's the difference between us.”
He was taken away.
Brendan remained.
He looked at me.
“Nora.”
I didn't answer.
“I loved you.”
I looked at him.
“Maybe.”
He swallowed.
“But you didn't love me enough.”
He looked down.
“I know.”
I walked away.
But before I reached the door, Raymond called.
“Nora.”
I turned.
He held another document.
“This came from your father's trust.”
“What is it?”
He handed it to me.
I read the title.
FINAL BENEFICIARY INSTRUCTION.
My father's signature was underneath.
The instruction was dated six months before Chloe died.
And the beneficiary wasn't me.
It was Chloe.
I stopped breathing.
My father had created a trust for my daughter.
And according to the document, it contained something worth far more than money.
A controlling interest in a company I had never heard of.
A company that controlled the Fairchild Group's largest international contracts.
The document ended with one sentence.
If Chloe Fairchild dies before reaching adulthood, ownership transfers to her mother.
I stared at the page.
My daughter was gone.
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But her grandfather had left her a weapon.
And now that weapon belonged to me.
