Chapter 6 - The Insider
Julian Croft’s face turned the color of ash.
"Eleanor... that's... that's a misunderstanding," Julian stammered, his hand shaking so violently that water spilled over the rim of his glass onto the mahogany table. "That wire was for a legitimate real estate consultation!"
"Consultation?" Robin challenged, stepping toward his uncle. "You traded my father’s private ledgers and my personal life to a professional con artist for fifty thousand dollars?"
"She promised me a cut!" Julian blurted out, breaking under the sudden, immense pressure of twelve pairs of hostile eyes staring at him. "Arthur left everything to you and Eleanor! I served this company for thirty years! I built the investment arm! And what did I get? A fixed salary and a gold watch!"
The board members gasped in collective shock.
"Julian," I said, my voice dropping into a register of profound disappointment. "Arthur gave you fifteen percent of the non-voting shares. He paid off your gambling debts in Macao twice. He saved your family from bankruptcy after your divorce."
"It wasn't enough!" Julian shouted, standing up so fast his chair rolled back into the wall. "Tabitha came to me six months ago! She had the plan! She said if she married Robin, she could push you out of the foundation management within a year! We were going to liquidate the real estate holdings in Chicago!"
Robin looked at his uncle not with anger, but with deep, pitying disgust.
"Security," I called out calmly.
The double doors of the boardroom opened, and two security officers stepped inside.
"Julian Croft," Marcus Vance announced, stepping forward with a sheaf of legal documents. "You are hereby relieved of your duties as Chief Investment Officer. Your shares are frozen pending an emergency fraud investigation, and a formal complaint has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission."
Julian stared at me, his eyes wild. "Eleanor! Please! We're family! Arthur wouldn't have done this to me!"
"Arthur loved this family, Julian," I said, standing up and looking down at him. "And he taught me that a rot inside the house must be cut out completely before the structure collapses."
As security escorted Julian out of the building, the remaining board members sat in stunned silence.
May you like
Lord Sterling cleared his throat, looking at me with renewed respect. "What are your orders, Eleanor?"
"We hold the charity gala as scheduled," I declared, smoothing my dress. "And we make sure the entire city sees exactly what happens when someone attempts to break the Harrington family."
