Chapter 3 - The Boardroom Execution
The skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan towered into the gray clouds, a monument to corporate power and ruthlessness. Inside the executive boardroom on the 50th floor, the atmosphere was chaotic. Twelve board members, along with the CEO, Arthur Vance—David’s uncle—were shouting over one another, their faces red with fury and panic.
"The stock has dropped forty percent in pre-market trading!" one board member yelled, slamming his hand on the glass table. "The SEC is raiding our Chicago offices as we speak! David has dragged this entire firm into the mud!"
"Calm down!" Arthur Vance roared, his voice booming over the chaos, though sweat dripped down his neck. "David made a mistake, but we can contain this! We can frame him as a rogue actor! We issue a press release stating Vance Capital had no knowledge of his offshore accounts, we bail him out, and—"
"You won't be bailing anyone out, Arthur."
The heavy oak doors of the boardroom swung open.
The entire room fell dead silent. Maya Vance walked into the room, flanked by two top-tier corporate attorneys from Manhattan's premier law firm. She was dressed in a sharp, tailored navy suit, her posture immaculate, her presence commanding an authority that instantly silenced the room.
Arthur Vance blinked in disbelief. "Maya? What the hell are you doing here? This is a private board meeting!"
"I know," Maya said, walking calmly to the head of the long conference table. "And as the proxy holder for sixty-two percent of the voting shares of Vance Capital, I am taking control of this meeting."
"Sixty-two percent?" Arthur laughed nervously, though his eyes darted frantically toward the legal counsel sitting beside him. "You don't own any shares! David’s shares are held in his private trust!"
"A trust that was funded using marital assets, Arthur," Maya’s lead attorney, Eleanor Vance (no relation), stepped forward and laid a stack of legal documents on the center table. "Under Illinois law, in conjunction with the emergency asset forfeiture warrants issued by the Federal District Court yesterday, Mrs. Vance has been granted temporary receivership over all assets tied to David Vance. Furthermore, your late founder, Maya’s father-in-law, left twenty-five percent of non-voting stock to Lily Vance. Upon Lily's passing, those shares passed directly to her mother."
Arthur’s face turned the color of ash. "Maya... listen to me. We are family. David made a terrible mistake, yes, but—"
"Family?" Maya cut him off, her voice like a velvet blade. "When my daughter was dying in an ICU twelve days ago, I called you, Arthur. I called your office three times asking if you knew how to reach David’s 'detox retreat.' Do you remember what your secretary told me?"
Arthur swallowed hard, incapable of speech.
"She told me you were under strict instructions from David not to forward any family emergencies because he was 'focusing on his personal happiness,'" Maya said, stepping closer to Arthur. "You knew he was with his mistress. You funded that trip as a corporate 'consulting expense' to help him hide his embezzlement from the auditors."
"Maya, please—"
"Effective immediately," Maya declared, turning her cold gaze toward the rest of the board, "by power of majority share vote, Arthur Vance is removed as CEO of Vance Capital. All executive bonuses are suspended pending the completion of the federal audit. And Vance Capital will voluntarily surrender all internal documents related to David Vance’s fraudulent activities to the Department of Justice."
"You're destroying the company!" Arthur yelled, his hands shaking. "You'll ruin us all!"
"No, Arthur," Maya said, leaning down until her face was inches from his. "David destroyed you. I'm just clearing out the trash."
May you like
She turned on her heel and walked out of the boardroom, leaving behind a room full of powerful men sinking into total panic. As she stepped into the elevator, her phone chimed. It was an automated notice from the Cook County Department of Corrections.
David Vance had requested an emergency attorney-client visitation privilege, and he was begging for Maya to come see him in prison.
