Chapter 13 - The Emergency Board Meeting.
Thomas Vale denied being in Mercer Tower.
He denied it through an attorney before Claire even had a chance to ask him.
That told Rachel everything she needed to know.
"People don't usually deny questions nobody asked unless someone warned them the question was coming," she said.
Claire sat at the hotel desk while Rachel prepared documents for the emergency board meeting scheduled for six that evening.
Martin had moved it forward from Monday.
The stated reason was market uncertainty.
The real reason was Claire.
If he could remove her voting authority before the recovered files became public, he might still force the Harcourt sale through.
Rachel had already sent the board a preservation notice, the police incident number, and a warning that Claire disputed any proxy bearing her signature.
Claire also contacted Janet Romero, one of the company's three independent directors.
Janet answered with no greeting.
"Tell me the article is wrong."
Claire looked out the hotel window.
"Which part?"
"The part saying you had some kind of episode and Martin was injured trying to calm you down."
Claire felt anger rise in her throat.
"Martin was injured?"
"That's what I'm hearing."
"Martin walked toward me with a lit cigarette while Daniel held my arms."
Silence.
"Claire."
"There is video."
Janet exhaled slowly.
"Send it to me."
Claire did.
Two minutes later, Janet called back.
Her voice had changed.
"I will not vote on anything until this is investigated."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me."
Janet sounded furious.
"I should have questioned the leave request when Martin sent it this morning."
Claire looked at the email removing her from active management.
"Who voted for it?"
"Martin, Daniel, and Vale recommended it."
"And the independent directors?"
"We were told it was temporary and requested by your family because of medical advice."
Claire felt another wave of disbelief.
"No doctor requested that."
"I believe you now."
At 5:58 p.m., Claire joined the board meeting by video with Rachel sitting beside her.
Martin appeared from an unfamiliar office.
Daniel joined from his car.
Thomas Vale appeared from a conference room and wore no scarf.
Claire noticed anyway.
Elaine was not a board member and did not attend.
The corporate secretary began reading the agenda.
Martin interrupted.
"Before we begin, I want to address the unfortunate personal situation involving Claire."
Claire muted herself and looked at Rachel.
"Unfortunate personal situation."
Rachel whispered, "Let him talk."
Martin continued.
He expressed concern for Claire's health.
He said the family loved her.
He said pregnancy and professional stress had combined into an emotionally difficult period.
He said he hoped the board would respect her privacy.
Claire unmuted herself.
"Are you finished?"
Martin smiled sadly for the camera.
"Claire, this isn't the right time."
"It became the right time when you sent the board a false medical story about me."
The corporate secretary tried to intervene.
Janet stopped him.
"Let her speak."
Claire held up the proxy document Sophie had photographed.
"I did not sign this."
Martin leaned back.
"No one said you did."
Rachel slid a printed email toward Claire.
Claire read from it.
"At 9:13 this morning, your attorney circulated a draft board consent stating that Daniel Mercer had temporary authority to vote my shares."
Martin's expression barely moved.
"A contingency document."
"With my signature attached."
That got the board's attention.
Daniel looked sharply at Martin.
"What?"
Claire watched him carefully.
His surprise appeared real.
That did not absolve him.
It only opened another question.
Martin said, "We received an executed copy."
"From whom?"
"Daniel."
Daniel's face changed.
"No, you didn't."
Thomas Vale spoke for the first time.
"This is exactly why we should postpone these personal accusations."
Claire looked directly into the camera.
"Were you at my apartment last night, Tom?"
Vale froze for half a second.
"No."
Claire saw Janet's eyes narrow.
"Interesting," Claire said.
"Because a security-camera frame appears to show you outside the dining room before Martin confronted me."
Vale looked offscreen.
Likely at an attorney.
"I won't respond to distorted images."
"You just responded."
Rachel touched Claire's arm, reminding her to stay focused.
Janet took control of the meeting.
She moved to suspend consideration of the Harcourt transaction and restore Claire's management access pending independent review.
Another independent director seconded the motion.
Martin objected.
"You are allowing a family dispute to paralyze a major transaction."
Janet looked directly at him.
"No."
"I'm allowing evidence of potential fraud to stop us from approving a transaction."
The motion passed four to three.
Martin voted no.
Vale voted no.
Daniel hesitated for almost ten seconds.
Then he voted yes.
Claire felt nothing.
He looked at her camera window as though he expected gratitude.
She gave him none.
After the meeting, Claire's company email access was restored.
Within minutes, hundreds of messages synchronized.
Rachel searched for Northline.
Most references had been deleted from the company server.
But one email remained because Claire had been copied indirectly through a project distribution list.
It was from Thomas Vale to Martin.
The message contained only two sentences.
Once C signs, the Bell block is ours.
D knows his number.
Claire looked at Daniel's video window, still open in the meeting software even though he appeared to have stepped away from his car.
D knows his number.
Three million dollars.
Then Daniel returned to the camera.
He looked frightened.
"Claire, I need to tell you something before Dad does."
She did not answer.
May you like
Daniel looked over his shoulder.
"The signature on the proxy isn't the only one they copied."
