Chapter 8 - The Fall of the ConspiratorsThe federal marshals moved swiftly.
Before Richard could formulate another desperate lie, cold steel handcuffs snapped around his wrists with a sharp, echoing metallic click.
“You can’t do this to me! I’m your husband!” Richard yelled, thrashing wildly as the marshals hauled him toward the exit doors. “Evelyn! You’ll regret this! You’ll ruin our family!”
“Our family was ruined the moment you decided my life was disposable enough to trade for a slush fund,” I replied without blinking.
Dana Mercer was next. As the second set of cuffs went around her wrists, she glared at Richard with venomous rage. “You told me she was weak! You said she wouldn't even notice the forensic trail!”
“Shut up, you idiot!” Richard snarled back as they were both dragged out of the executive suite, the heavy oak doors closing shut behind them, sealing their fate.
Vanessa, who had been waiting in the executive lobby expecting to celebrate her brother’s corporate victory, was intercepted by campus security two floors down and detained for questioning regarding the planted prescription drugs and corporate forgery.
Inside the boardroom, the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife.
Thomas Sterling, the senior director, slowly cleared his throat. He looked at me with a mixture of awe and deep contrition.
“Evelyn... Mrs. Carter—or, well, Madam Chairwoman,” Thomas corrected himself quickly, offering a respectful nod. “What are your immediate instructions for the board?”
I stood up, buttoning my jacket, and looked around the table at the men and women who had blindly trusted Richard for over two decades.
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“Effective immediately, all executive salaries are frozen pending a full forensic audit of every department,” I stated clearly. “Ms. Shaw will assume temporary interim oversight of corporate compliance. And as for today’s agenda, we are going to restructure our shipping routes to focus on sustainable domestic expansion—without a single offshore shell company in sight.”
The entire board nodded in immediate, unanimous agreement.
