Chapter 8 - THE FALL OF JULIANWhile the sun shone brightly over the Magnificent Mile, a very different kind of morning was unfolding fifty miles north in Lake Forest.
Julian Hawthorne paced frantically across the marble-tiled foyer of his sprawling suburban estate, barking orders into his smartphone speaker.
"What do you mean the emergency board meeting was canceled?!" Julian shouted into the phone, his face red with fury. "I am calling for an immediate vote of no confidence against Grant! He compromised corporate security! He brought an unauthorized outsider into financial vaults!"
"Mr. Hawthorne," a cold, robotic voice from the corporate legal department replied over the speaker. "Your voting shares and executive privileges have been temporarily suspended pending an internal ethics investigation regarding corporate espionage and blackmail threats."
"Suspended?! You can't suspend me! I am a Hawthorne!"
"Furthermore," the voice continued unblinkingly, "the board has unanimously ratified a new executive partnership agreement with Clara Bennett, recognizing her as co-owner of Hawthorne Industries. Effective immediately, your office in the downtown tower has been cleared out. Good day, Mr. Hawthorne."
Click.
The line went dead.
Julian stared at his phone in absolute disbelief. The screen flickered dark. He lowered his hand slowly, his chest heaving as the terrifying realization washed over him.
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He had tried to destroy Grant with a weapon he thought was foolproof—the corporate negligence scandal. Instead, he had handed Grant and Clara the exact key they needed to unlock the family's darkest secret, legally uniting the two warring bloodlines and locking Julian out of the empire forever.
"No," Julian whispered, his hands trembling as he dropped his phone onto the marble floor, where it shattered into a dozen pieces. "No... this isn't over."
