Chapter 6 - The Vote Against Ethan
The board's decision had been signed by a woman the company officially declared dead.
Ethan didn't know which part frightened him more.
"Read it again," he told Daniel.
Daniel glanced at the message on his phone.
"The filing was submitted electronically under Margaret Vance's authenticated identity. It invokes the emergency succession clause and requests that the board appoint an interim administrator."
"Who?"
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Ethan already knew.
"Chad."
Chad straightened his tie.
"It is temporary."
"You arranged a legal coup against me."
"I arranged continuity for a company in danger."
"While my mother is being held somewhere by people using her identity?"
Chad's face tightened.
"You have no proof she's being held against her will."
Brooke stepped forward.
"I saw the video."
"And you have no idea when it was recorded," Chad snapped. "For all you know, Margaret has been directing this operation from somewhere safe."
The possibility struck Ethan harder than he wanted to admit.
His mother had always been determined and secretive. After Richard's death, she'd withdrawn from public life, claiming grief and ill health. Then came the announcement of her death, the closed funeral, and a sealed estate.
If Margaret had orchestrated everything, was she a victim or the architect?
Ethan looked at Daniel.
"Freeze the succession filing."
"I can challenge its authenticity, but not before the board's emergency session."
"Then get me into that meeting."
"You aren't supposed to be on the premises until the suspension is reviewed."
Ethan gave a cold smile.
"I built half the company they want to take away. They can watch me enter my own headquarters."
***
The emergency meeting was scheduled for nine that morning.
By eight forty-five, Ethan was in the lobby of Vance Group's headquarters, accompanied by Daniel, Brooke, and two security officers.
Employees stopped what they were doing as he crossed the floor.
Some looked relieved to see him.
Others quickly lowered their eyes.
At the reception desk, a young administrator stood up.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Vance. I've been instructed not to let you upstairs."
"By whom?"
"Mr. Mercer."
Ethan nodded.
"Thank you for telling me."
He turned toward the elevators.
The security officers followed him.
At the boardroom, a guard blocked the entrance. Through the glass walls, Ethan could see Chad seated at the head of the table.
Beside him sat a woman wearing a cream-colored suit.
Her dark hair was streaked with gray, and her posture was unmistakable.
Ethan's mother.
He forgot how to breathe.
Margaret looked directly at him.
Then she rose and opened the door herself.
"You shouldn't have come," she said.
Her voice was real. Her face was real. The scar beneath her left eyebrow was exactly as he remembered.
Ethan stared at her.
"You're alive."
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
"Yes."
"Why did you let us bury an empty coffin?"
She flinched.
"Because your father left me no other choice."
"My father has been dead for six years."
"And yet his decisions are still destroying this family."
Ethan's anger surged.
"You let me believe you were dead while I spent eighteen months grieving you."
"I was protecting you."
"From what?"
Margaret glanced toward Chad.
"Not here."
"Then where?"
She took his hand.
"Come home with me."
He pulled away.
"You don't get to ask that after everything you've done."
The words struck her hard.
For a moment, she looked less like a powerful businesswoman than the exhausted mother Ethan remembered from childhood.
"I know," she whispered. "But you need to understand something before you destroy the wrong person."
Chad stood.
"This meeting is now in session."
Margaret turned toward him.
"No, Chad. It isn't."
She reached into her bag and placed a document on the table.
It bore Richard Vance's signature.
"Before anyone votes, the board needs to know who actually controls this company."
Chad's face changed.
Margaret continued.
"Richard created a private voting trust that would transfer control to Michael if Ethan became incapacitated. But Michael never accepted the transfer."
Ethan looked at the document.
"Why not?"
"Because he discovered that the trust had been altered."
Daniel leaned forward.
"Altered by whom?"
Margaret lifted her eyes toward the board.
"By the person who arranged Ethan's accident."
Every director turned toward Chad.
But Margaret did not look at him.
She looked at Daniel.
Ethan felt the room grow cold.
"You're accusing my lawyer?"
Margaret's voice shook.
"I'm telling you that the signature authorizing the original transfer belonged to Daniel Price."
Daniel stood abruptly.
"That's a lie."
Margaret slid a second document across the table.
"Then explain why your signature appears on a trust amendment dated two days before the accident."
Daniel stared at the page.
For the first time since Ethan had known him, he seemed unable to form a response.
Then he turned toward Ethan.
"I can explain."
Before he could continue, the boardroom doors locked automatically.
A voice came through the ceiling speakers.
"Emergency security protocol initiated."
The screen behind the chairman lit up.
A live financial ledger appeared, showing millions of dollars transferred from the Vance Foundation over the previous six years.
At the bottom of the ledger was a destination account.
MARGARET VANCE — BENEFICIAL OWNER.
The room erupted.
Margaret stared at the screen in horror.
"I never authorized those transfers."
Chad's face hardened.
"Security, detain her."
Two guards entered.
Ethan wheeled himself between his mother and the men.
"Nobody touches her."
The screen flashed again.
May you like
A new line appeared.
THE PERSON YOU ARE PROTECTING IS NOT YOUR MOTHER.
