Chapter 3 - The Frozen EmpireChaos erupted in the boardroom instantly. Julian lunged forward, grabbing the papers with shaking hands, his eyes scanning the legal seals and signatures. His face drained of all color, shifting from pale white to a terrifying, mottled purple.
"This... this is forgery!" Julian roared, slamming his fist onto the table so hard the water glasses rattled. "You tricked me! You coerced me!"
"Coerced?" I raised an eyebrow, stepping back as Arthur Pendelton peered over his glasses at the documents. "Every single document was signed by you voluntarily, Julian, during your routine 'late-night board reviews' where you handed me stacks of papers to sign on your behalf while you were busy texting Chloe. You were too arrogant to check which signature line designated the grantor versus the proxy."
Arthur adjusted his glasses, a slow, appreciative grin spreading across his wrinkled face. "The signatures are authentic, Julian. I know your notary stamp anywhere. Furthermore, Clause 14-B of the original pre-nuptial and family trust—which you clearly never read—explicitly grants the secondary holder full operational takeover if gross fiduciary negligence or corporate asset diversion is detected." He looked up at me with sudden respect. "Brilliant legal maneuver, Mrs. Vance."
Julian spun around, pointing a trembling finger at me, his voice cracking with panic and unadulterated rage. "Security! Get her out of here! She’s trespassing! She has no right—"
"Mr. Vance," the head of internal security interjected, stepping gingerly into the room with his phone in hand. He looked deeply uncomfortable. "I’m sorry, sir. We just received an automated corporate directive from the primary majority shareholder's office..." He swallowed hard, looking directly at me. "Your corporate access badge has been deactivated. So has your executive parking pass."
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Julian froze. The silence in the room was absolute.
"Pack your things, Julian," I said, stepping past him and taking the primary CEO leather chair at the head of the table. I sat down, smoothing my skirt with absolute poise. "You have twenty minutes before the building security escorts you out. And don't bother calling corporate legal—they report to me now."
