Chapter 4 - The Bloodbath in the Boardroom
At 1:45 PM, despite having his security clearance revoked, Everett attempted to storm the Vanguard Tower headquarters. Wearing a wrinkled suit he had slept in, his eyes bloodshot and dark circles under his eyes, he shoved past the lobby turnstiles, screaming that he was the rightful CEO.
"Let me through! I am Everett Hale! I built this company!" he yelled at the lobby guards.
The elevators opened, and two federal marshals stepped out, accompanied by Nathan.
"Mr. Hale," Nathan said calmly. "You are trespassing on private corporate property. If you do not vacate the lobby immediately, you will be arrested on sight."
"I have a right to address the board!" Everett shrieked, his voice echoing through the glass lobby. "I still hold five percent of common stock!"
"Correction," Nathan replied, pulling out a legal document. "Your five percent stock option was tied to your executive contract. Since you were terminated for cause due to criminal embezzlement, those options were automatically clawed back by the parent company at midnight. You own zero shares, Mr. Hale."
Everett collapsed against a marble pillar, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "No... no, that’s impossible..."
Just then, the private executive elevator dinged. The doors opened, and I stepped out into the lobby. I wore a tailored crimson power suit, my hair styled impeccably, adorned with a multi-million-dollar diamond necklace. Behind me stood the top ten board members of Hale Enterprises—the very men Everett thought were his loyal lapdogs.
Everett looked up, his eyes filled with a desperate, wild light. He scrambled to his feet and threw himself onto the floor at my feet, crawling toward my heels.
"Claire! Look at them!" Everett cried, pointing a trembling finger at the board members. "They're turning on me! Board member Vance, Board member Miller—tell her! Tell her how hard I worked for this company!"
Board member Miller, a veteran billionaire who had worked with my late father, stepped forward and looked down at Everett with utter disgust. "Everett, we only tolerated your arrogance for ten years because Madame Claire requested that we let you play CEO. We all knew where the money came from. You were nothing more than a placeholder."
Everett’s jaw dropped. He looked between the board members and me, his reality completely shattering into dust. "A... a placeholder?"
"You thought you were a lion among sheep, Everett," I said, crouching down to look him dead in the eye. "But you were just a puppy playing in a den built by giants. My father founded Vanguard. I owned eighty percent of the equity before I ever met you. I let you hold the title so you could feel accomplished. But you let a tiny taste of power rot your soul."
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"Claire..." he wept, reaching out a hand to touch the hem of my pants. "Give me one more chance. I'll divorce Vanessa! I'll never see her again! We can start over!"
I stepped back, avoiding his touch as if he were filthy water. "The board meeting is concluded, gentlemen. Proceed with the criminal charges."
