CHAPTER 3: The Boardroom Coup
By 9:30 AM the following morning, the executive boardroom on the 50th floor of the Vale Industries tower was filled with tension. The glass walls offered a panoramic view of the city, but inside, the atmosphere was suffocating.
Adrian Ashford sat at the head of the long mahogany table, wearing a bespoke charcoal suit. He looked every bit the grieving, anxious husband, though his eyes gleamed with a restless excitement. Veronica sat directly behind him in the gallery, her hands folded over her pearl necklace, a smug smile playing on her lips. Celine and Maribel stood by the doors, acting like members of a royal court awaiting a coronation.
The board members conversed in worried whispers. The corporate counsel, a sharp woman named Evelyn Vance, checked her watch before standing up.
"As everyone knows," Evelyn announced, "our CEO and founder, Maya Vale, has missed the final three preparatory briefings due to a sudden, severe medical emergency. According to the medical documentation provided by her husband, Mr. Ashford, Maya is currently incapacitated and unable to fulfill her executive duties."
A murmur of distress rippled through the room.
Adrian stood up, adjusting his tie, forcing a heavy sigh. "It breaks my heart to stand before you today under these circumstances. Maya is a fighter, but her health has collapsed. Under Section 4B of the marital and corporate bylaws we established, in the event of her permanent or prolonged incapacitation, her controlling voting shares—totaling 51%—automatically transfer to me as her designated proxy and successor."
He slid a leather-bound folder across the table toward Evelyn. "The legal affidavits are all signed and notarized. I am prepared to take the vote to assume the role of permanent Executive Chairman, effective immediately."
"Are you sure about the notary, Adrian?" a voice echoed through the room.
The voice didn't come from anyone at the table. It came from the main boardroom display screen, which suddenly flickered to life, overriding the presentation slides.
The entire room gasped.
On the screen was Maya Vale. Her waist-length hair was gone, cut unevenly around her shoulders, and her face was pale, but her eyes were like twin daggers. She was sitting in a clean, modern room—not a hospital, but her own private, high-security bunker beneath the city.
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Veronica slammed her hands on the table, standing up so fast her chair screeched. "This is a pre-recorded transmission! A deepfake! Maya is hospitalized and unconscious!"
"I am perfectly conscious, Veronica," Maya said on screen, her voice calm, cold, and entirely commanding. "And I am currently looking at the live feed of my security team arresting your crooked notary in the lobby downstairs."
