Chapter 5 - THE BOARD COUP
The emergency board meeting started at 8:00 a.m.
At 8:06, Julian walked in.
He was not invited.
Behind him came Camilla.
Also not invited.
And three lawyers.
James Porter stood.
“This is a closed session.”
Julian smiled.
“Not anymore.”
He placed a document on the table.
Emergency injunction request.
Pending.
Not granted.
But enough to scare people.
Then Camilla opened a red folder.
I hated the color immediately.
“Before this board removes Julian,” she said, “you should see what Audrey did.”
Rebecca stood.
“You are under preservation notice.”
Camilla smiled.
“Then preserve this.”
She distributed bank statements.
One showed a payment from Northstar to a consulting firm connected to Malcolm Reed’s son.
Two million dollars.
Malcolm went white.
I stared at him.
“What is this?”
He shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
That was not a useful answer.
The room changed.
If Malcolm had received indirect money, the acquisition approval could be compromised.
Julian looked at me.
“You trust him?”
I did.
That did not mean I could ignore the document.
Rebecca asked for ten minutes.
We got seven before the press received the same file.
Someone was leaking in real time.
Then Aurelia’s audit committee chairman resigned.
Effective immediately.
Employees started messaging.
Stockholders demanded answers.
Julian stood at the window like he had already won.
I wanted to throw something.
Instead, I asked.
“Who prepared the vendor packet?”
Camilla looked at Julian.
Wrong move.
Rebecca noticed.
“So you know there was a packet.”
Camilla recovered.
“Everyone knows.”
“No.”
Rebecca’s voice sharpened.
“Only six people know that phrase.”
Camilla’s smile disappeared.
Then the forensic accountant, Leon Briggs, entered.
He carried a laptop.
“The Malcolm payment is fake.”
Julian laughed.
“Convenient.”
Leon turned the screen.
“The account number belongs to a real consulting firm.”
“The payment does not exist.”
“Someone inserted it into an exported statement.”
Julian’s face changed.
Leon continued.
“The PDF was created last night.”
“On a device registered to Camilla Price.”
The room erupted.
Camilla stood.
“That’s impossible.”
Leon looked almost bored.
“No.”
“It’s sloppy.”
Julian turned on her.
“Did you do this?”
Camilla’s mouth trembled.
Then she looked at him like he had betrayed her.
“You told me to make them doubt the deal.”
The entire board went silent.
Julian whispered.
“Shut up.”
Camilla laughed.
It came out broken.
“Oh, now I shut up?”
She pulled out her phone.
Rebecca’s eyes narrowed.
“Put that down.”
Camilla held it up.
“I have every message.”
Julian moved toward her.
Security stepped between them.
Camilla smiled at me.
“You want your husband?”
“No.”
“I’m done with him.”
Her face flickered.
Then she said.
“Good.”
May you like
“Because he was planning to leave both of us.”
