Chapter 2 - The Fall of Crestmont
The emergency board meeting of Crestmont Holdings was a bloodbath.
By 2:00 AM, the glass-walled conference room on the 45th floor of the Crestmont Tower was filled with panicked board members, legal advisors, and major shareholders. Julian sat at the head of the table, but he looked like a prisoner awaiting sentencing rather than a powerful executive. His tie was loosened, his hair disheveled, and his eyes bloodshot. Beside him stood Victoria, her usual elegance replaced by frantic whispering as she shuffled through legal documents.
"This is illegal!" Victoria hissed to the lead corporate counsel. "Mr. Vance cannot simply call in loans that were structured as equity investments five years ago!"
The lead counsel, an older man named Mr. Abernathy, sighed heavily and closed his folder. "Miss Victoria, I suggest you shut your mouth. Five years ago, when Julian signed the initial funding agreement with the Vance family, he signed a boilerplate contract with a hidden clause. It’s called a 'Character and Morality Recouper.' If the CEO engages in actions that severely damage the reputation of the founding family—such as public infidelity or corporate espionage against the Vance estate—the initial funding converts into a high-interest debt, callable upon demand."
Julian slammed his fist onto the glass table. "Evelyn knew! She knew about it the entire time!"
"Of course she knew," a smooth, authoritative voice echoed from the doorway.
The double doors opened, and Evelyn walked in. She was no longer wearing her silk pajamas. She wore a tailored midnight-blue power suit, her hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail, and her expression entirely void of the vulnerability she had shown hours earlier. Behind her walked Arthur Vance, leaning on his cane, surrounded by a team of ten high-profile lawyers from the city's most ruthless firm.
The board members immediately stood up, bowing their heads in respect to Arthur. Even in his absence, Arthur Vance was a legend.
"Evelyn," Julian pleaded, standing up. "Please. We can fix this. Think about Lily. If Crestmont goes under, Lily’s legacy goes with it!"
"Lily’s legacy is safe with the Vance family, Julian," Evelyn said coldly, taking a seat at the opposite end of the table. Arthur sat right beside her, placing his hands on top of his silver cane, watching Julian like a cat watching a trapped mouse. "You thought I was a decorative housewife. You thought because I stayed home to raise our daughter, my brain had stopped working. You forgot that I graduated top of my class at Wharton. I wrote the very bylaws of this company."
Victoria stepped forward, her eyes flashing with jealousy and rage. "You’re nothing but a trust-fund baby, Evelyn! Julian built the tech infrastructure. He secured the international distribution pipelines!"
"Secured them with whose connections, Victoria?" Evelyn countered, her voice sharp as a razor. She threw a thick dossier onto the center of the table. "While you were busy occupying my husband's bed, you also managed to siphon twelve million dollars from Crestmont’s research and development fund into a shell company in the Cayman Islands. Did you really think our internal auditors wouldn't notice? Or did you think Julian’s love would shield you from federal prison?"
Victoria’s face drained of color. She looked at Julian, but Julian was staring at the dossier.
"Julian...?" Victoria whispered.
Julian looked at the documents, his breath catching. "Victoria... what is this? You told me that money was spent on acquiring the European patents!"
"She lied to you, Julian," Evelyn said with a mocking smile. "Just like she lied about her background, her credentials, and her devotion to you. She was working for your biggest competitor, Apex Global, from the very beginning. She used you to destroy Crestmont from the inside."
The board members broke out into angry shouting.
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"Order!" Arthur Vance’s voice cut through the chaos like a thunderclap. The room immediately fell silent. Arthur looked at Julian, his eyes cold. "Julian Vance-Crestmont. By unanimous decision of the voting shares—which my daughter now controls completely—you are hereby stripped of your position as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. You will vacate these premises tonight. You are banned from entering any Crestmont property. And your personal assets have been frozen pending a full forensic audit."
Julian sank back into his chair, his world completely shattering around him. He looked at Evelyn, the woman he had humiliated and scorned just hours ago. She looked back at him, not with anger, but with absolute indifference. And that, he realized, was the cruelest punishment of all.
