Chapter 2 - THE DEVIL IN THE BOARDROOM
Facebook Hook Title: 😱 AN AMBUSH IN THE GRAVEYARD! THE BILLIONAIRE DISCOVERS HIS WIFE’S ACCIDENT WAS ACTUALLY... MURDER! 😱The bullet tore through the ancient oak tree just inches above where Clara’s umbrella had been.
Elliot didn't hesitate. Years of high-stakes security drills kicked in. He grabbed Noah by the collar of his yellow raincoat, scooped him up under one arm, and grabbed Clara’s hand with the other. They scrambled behind a massive, granite mausoleum as a second shot chipped the marble corner of a nearby tombstone.
"Noah, stay down! Don't make a sound!" Clara gasped, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She held her son tight against her chest, her body shaking.
Elliot peeked around the edge of the mausoleum. The black SUV roared its engine, tires spinning in the mud, before speeding away into the rain-slicked afternoon. They were gone. For now.
"Who was that?" Clara choked out, her eyes wide with terror. "Was that... was that because of me? Or you?"
"Both," Elliot muttered, his jaw clenched so hard his teeth clicked. He pulled out his encrypted satellite phone and dialed a single number. "Victor. Bring the armored transport to the north gate of Greenwood. Now. And call the private security detail. We have a breach."
Within five minutes, a heavily armored Mercedes van slid to a halt at the edge of the cemetery path. Two men in tactical gear stepped out, shielding Elliot, Clara, and Noah as they were ushered into the secure, leather-bound cabin of the vehicle.
Once inside, the warmth of the heater hit them, but Clara couldn't stop shivering. Noah was quiet, clutching his mossy rock like a lifeline.
"Explain what you meant about Aaron," Elliot demanded, his voice devoid of warmth, returning to the ruthless commander of Grayson Harbor Group. "The official board report—the one presented by my chief operating officer, Richard Vance—stated Aaron Bennett took a bribe to overlook the faulty bilge pumps."
Clara let out a bitter, breathless laugh. "A bribe? We were evicted from our apartment three weeks after Aaron died because I couldn't pay the utility bills, Mr. Grayson. If there was a bribe, I’d love to know which offshore account your board members hid it in. Aaron was a man of integrity. He found micro-fractures in the aluminum hull. He wrote a 40-page report warning that a heavy swell would split the ship in half."
She reached into her oversized canvas tote bag, rummaging through old bills and drawing pads, before pulling out a worn, blue USB drive.
"I kept his backup files," she said, her voice trembling but resolute. "I was too afraid to go to the police. The last time I tried, our apartment was broken into, and the police told me it was a random burglary. I knew then... the reach of whoever killed my husband went all the way to the top of the city's precinct."
Elliot took the USB drive. His hand, usually so steady, shook slightly. If Clara was telling the truth, then the tragedy that had defined his grief for three years was not an act of God. It was a corporate execution.
And his own board of directors had held the gun.
"Victor," Elliot spoke to his driver through the privacy partition. "Take us to my penthouse. Not the estate. And tell my mother... tell her I won't be coming to dinner tonight."
"Sir," Victor hesitated. "Your mother, Victoria, has already called twice. She says Richard Vance is waiting at the estate with the final merger papers for the Charleston deal. They need your signature."
May you like
Elliot looked down at the blue USB drive in his hand, then at Clara, whose eyes were filled with a mixture of terror and hope.
"Tell Richard," Elliot whispered, a cold, lethal anger settling deep into his bones, "that I am delayed. I have a new investment to audit."
