Chapter 6 - The Emergency Boardroom
At 2:15 PM, the executive boardroom on the fortieth floor of Hawthorne Logistics was filled with twelve members of the board of directors.
Daniel arrived forty-five minutes late, rushing through the glass doors wearing a wrinkled suit, his eyes bloodshot, his phone glued to his ear as he tried frantically to reach his lawyer.
When he stepped into the boardroom, he froze.
Sitting at the head of the long mahogany conference table was not Arthur Pendelton, but me. Sitting to my right was the company’s legal counsel, and sitting to my left were two officers from the Boston Police Department Financial Crimes Division.
“Claire?” Daniel stammered, looking around at the solemn faces of the board members. “What is going on here? Why wasn't I informed about a board meeting?”
“Because you are no longer a consultant for this company, Daniel,” Arthur Pendelton announced, standing up from his seat. “As of 1:00 PM today, by unanimous vote of the controlling shareholders, your position has been terminated.”
Daniel’s face flushed red with humiliation and panic. “You can't do that! I am a senior advisor! I represent the Carter family interest in this company!”
“You don't own a single share in this company, Daniel,” I spoke up, my voice calm, precise, and ringing through the room. “You never did. Everything you had in this building was granted by my grace, and today, that grace has run out.”
I gestured toward the two police officers sitting beside legal counsel.
“Furthermore,” I continued, sliding a thick blue folder across the table toward the lead detective, “we have submitted full financial records documenting your embezzlement of three million dollars through Vanguard Maritime Services, an offshore entity registered under your brother’s name.”
Daniel took a step back, his eyes darting toward the exit doors. “This is a lie! She’s framing me! She’s mentally unstable—ask her family! She’s having a psychotic episode!”
“Mr. Carter,” the lead detective said, standing up and pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt. “We have banking records with your digital signature authorizing wire transfers from Hawthorne Logistics directly into shell accounts in Grand Cayman. You need to come with us.”
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“No! Get your hands off me!” Daniel screamed as the detective grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back and snapping the cuff onto his wrist.
The board members watched in complete, stony silence as the man who had strutted through their halls for six years like a king was dragged out of the executive suite in handcuffs, shouting threats and curses that echoed down the carpeted hallway.
