Chapter 3 - The Boardroom War
By Monday morning, the lobby of Pierce Investments was a circus of flashing cameras and shouting journalists.
Nathan walked through the side entrance, flanked by four security guards, his face an unreadable mask of stone. Behind him, dressed in a sharp navy suit he had rushed-ordered to her apartment, was Rebecca.
They had made a deal the night before. To save the merger—and to find out who was trying to ruin them—they had to present a united front.
"Just keep your head down and don't look at the cameras," Nathan murmured to her as they stepped into the private elevator.
"I shouldn't be here," Rebecca whispered, her hands clutching her purse. "Lily is with your nanny. She’s safe, but this... this is too much, Nathan. We should have just taken a settlement and vanished."
"No," Nathan said, his voice hardening as the elevator climbed. "If we run, they win. And I don't lose. Not my company, and not my family."
The word family hung in the air, surprising both of them.
The elevator doors opened to the 30th-floor boardroom. The long mahogany table was crowded with board members, legal advisors, and representatives from the Westlake Group. At the head of the table sat Arthur Pendelton, the primary investor of Westlake—a traditionalist billionaire who detested even a whisper of scandal.
"Ah, the man of the hour," Arthur said, his voice dry as dust. "And... the distraction."
Nathan didn't take his seat. He stood at the head of the table, leaning his hands on the polished wood. "This isn't a distraction, Arthur. This is a setup. Rebecca Mitchell is my partner. And the child you saw in the press is my daughter, Lily Pierce."
A murmur rippled through the room.
Marcus Vance, sitting to Nathan's right, looked pale. "Nathan, we agreed to handle this through a PR statement first—"
"The PR statement is simple," Nathan interrupted, his eyes scanning the room, watching every face for a tell. "Rebecca and I have been privately raising our daughter. Her employment at Vanguard was a temporary measure while we finalized our personal affairs. The 'leak' you received was a malicious attempt to sabotage the Westlake merger."
Arthur Pendelton leaned back, crossing his arms. "That’s a very touching fairy tale, Nathan. But the New York Post has a copy of a termination letter. A letter signed by you, denying this woman her severance and threatening her with legal action. It doesn't look like a happy family. It looks like a powerful man trying to crush a mother to keep his secrets."
"Because I didn't sign that letter," Nathan barked. "Marcus, did you run the forensic audit on the digital signature of that termination letter?"
Marcus hesitated for a fraction of a second. "Yes, Nathan. I did. The signature matches your encrypted digital key. The one only you, myself, and your personal assistant have access to."
Nathan’s eyes narrowed. "And who authorized the termination list for Vanguard?"
"It came from the automated system, Nathan. Under your profile," Marcus said, looking down at his tablet. "I'm sorry, but the digital paper trail points directly to your device."
Rebecca let out a sharp, trembling breath beside him. "Nathan... you told me—"
"I didn't do it, Rebecca!" Nathan said, his voice echoing in the boardroom. He turned his gaze back to Marcus. "Who had access to my digital key last Thursday night? I was in Tokyo. My phone was locked in the hotel safe."
"The system logs show a remote access login from our main server room," Marcus said. "But the security footage from that night was wiped due to a 'routine maintenance cycle.'"
"How convenient," Nathan sneered.
Arthur Pendelton stood up, adjusting his suit jacket. "Enough of this corporate soap opera. Nathan, we like you. We like your vision. But Westlake cannot be associated with a brand tarnished by domestic litigation. You have forty-eight hours to resolve this. Either you prove this letter is a forgery and stabilize your company’s stock, or we pull out of the merger. And if we pull out, your board will have no choice but to vote for your removal as CEO."
The board members nodded in silent agreement.
"Meeting adjourned," Arthur said.
As the room cleared, only Nathan, Rebecca, and Marcus remained.
"We need to find who accessed that server room, Marcus," Nathan said, his jaw clenched. "Now."
"I'll do my best, Nathan," Marcus said, gathering his papers. "But the stock is down 8% since the opening bell. You need to prepare for the worst."
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Once Marcus left, Rebecca grabbed Nathan’s arm, her eyes wide with fear. "Nathan, whoever did this... they didn't just want to fire me. They wanted to destroy you. They used my daughter as a weapon."
"I know," Nathan said, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows. For the first time in his life, the city below didn't look like proof of his success. It looked like an arena where he was being hunted. "And I think I know who's pulling the strings."
