Chapter 13 - The Last Vote
I declined the statement through Nora.
No speech.
No threat.
Just no.
The Blackwood board met on a rainy Thursday, six weeks after the basement.
The permanent removal vote had been properly noticed.
Lawyers reviewed the process until every sentence felt worn smooth.
I wanted it done correctly more than I wanted it done fast.
Julian attended with counsel.
We sat at opposite ends of the table, with the meeting chair enforcing the same boundaries our attorneys had arranged.
I wore a navy suit and flat shoes.
My wrist no longer needed the brace.
I still chose the seat closest to the door.
The committee summarized unauthorized payments, false documents, and efforts to obstruct the review.
The company would refer its findings to investigators and pursue recovery.
Employees would receive a clear notice about leadership and payroll.
Julian listened until Vantage Advisory appeared on the screen.
“She handled those arrangements,” he said.
His lawyer touched his arm.
“Vanessa,” Julian added.
“She took advantage of my trust.”
There it was again.
Someone else had made him do it.
Someone else could carry the consequences.
The committee chair displayed a message from Julian's verified company account instructing Vanessa to split an invoice so it would fall below a review threshold.
“Did she write this as well?”
His lawyer requested a brief recess.
During it, Marcus found me by a window.
“You don't have to stay for the announcement.”
“I want to.”
“Then stay.”
Such simple permission.
Such a different thing from an order.
The vote passed.
Julian was removed as chief executive and from the board through the applicable votes and governing procedures.
An interim executive would manage the business while an independent search proceeded.
I would exercise my oversight rights without pretending I knew how to run every division.
As the meeting ended, Julian looked at me across the table.
“I built this.”
The chair reminded him to address counsel.
He ignored it.
“Eleven years, Evelyn.”
I gathered my papers.
“I remember all of them.”
He waited for something else.
An apology, perhaps.
Or enough rage to turn me into the woman he had described in court.
I walked out with Nora.
In the elevator, her phone rang.
May you like
She listened, then looked at me.
The prosecutor's office had made its charging decision.
