Chapter 13 - THE BOARDROOM WAR
Margaret had guards waiting.
Charlotte walked into the lobby anyway.
Daniel was beside her.
Detective Ruiz followed several steps behind.
Phones rose the second Charlotte entered.
The same marble floor.
The same chandeliers.
The same place Margaret had slapped her less than twenty-four hours earlier.
Only now nobody laughed.
Margaret stood near the elevators.
“I said she wasn’t permitted inside.”
Daniel looked at the guards.
“She is Sebastian Valle’s guest.”
Margaret lifted a folder.
“Sebastian Valle no longer controls this building.”
Charlotte kept walking.
“You really love folders.”
Margaret’s mouth tightened.
“Leave.”
“No.”
“Security.”
Nobody moved.
Margaret turned.
“Did you hear me?”
One guard glanced at Daniel.
Daniel said quietly, “Think carefully.”
Charlotte stopped six feet from Margaret.
“You forged Sebastian’s emergency authority papers.”
Margaret laughed.
“Prove it.”
Charlotte held up page nine.
Margaret’s expression flickered.
There.
Charlotte saw it.
“You recognize this?”
“No.”
“Mom did.”
“Your mother wrote a lot of nonsense.”
Charlotte stepped closer.
“Then you won’t mind if the police take a look.”
Margaret saw Detective Ruiz.
For the first time, fear entered her eyes.
But she recovered quickly.
“A twenty-five-year-old handwritten note proves nothing.”
“Good thing that isn’t all we have.”
Daniel handed Ruiz the phone seized from Lewis.
Ruiz said, “Lewis Grant is cooperating.”
Margaret looked at her.
“Who?”
Charlotte almost laughed.
“You’re going with that?”
The boardroom doors opened.
Nine directors waited inside.
Margaret walked in.
Charlotte followed.
The attorney called the meeting to order.
Margaret immediately produced a document.
“This is a DNA report.”
Charlotte frowned.
Margaret slid copies around the table.
“It shows Charlotte Reed is not biologically related to Sebastian Valle.”
The room exploded with whispers.
Charlotte stared at the page.
“What?”
Margaret smiled.
“You wanted facts.”
Charlotte grabbed the report.
The laboratory name looked legitimate.
The signature looked real.
One director turned to her.
“Did you take a DNA test?”
“No.”
Margaret leaned back.
“Then perhaps your mother lied to you.”
Charlotte felt the room tilt.
She looked at Sebastian’s empty chair.
For one terrible second, doubt entered her mind.
Then Daniel whispered.
“Look at the date.”
Charlotte did.
The sample had supposedly been collected three months earlier.
She smiled.
Margaret frowned.
“What?”
Charlotte held the report up.
“This test was done in June.”
“So?”
“I was living in Missouri in June.”
Margaret shrugged.
“Samples can be obtained without your knowledge.”
“From what?”
“Hair. A glass. Anything.”
Charlotte looked at Ruiz.
“Can you collect DNA legally without consent?”
Ruiz said, “Depends on the circumstances.”
Charlotte looked back at Margaret.
“Want to tell us what circumstances?”
Margaret’s jaw tightened.
Then the boardroom doors opened again.
Everyone turned.
Sebastian Valle stood there.
Hospital bracelet still around his wrist.
Cane in hand.
Doctor behind him.
Margaret shot to her feet.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
Sebastian walked inside.
“No.”
He looked directly at her.
“You shouldn’t.”
He dropped a sealed DNA report onto the table.
“I had the test done nineteen years ago.”
Charlotte stared at him.
“What?”
Sebastian looked at her.
“Your mother sent me a sample after you were born.”
His voice cracked.
“I knew exactly who you were.”
Charlotte’s eyes filled.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
Margaret stepped back.
Sebastian turned toward her.
“And now I want to know who you are.”
Margaret’s face hardened.
She opened another folder.
“Fine.”
She removed one document.
“Then you should also know I transferred ownership of this hotel at midnight.”
Sebastian went still.
Margaret smiled.
May you like
“You don’t own the Valle Grand anymore.”
And this time, even Sebastian had no answer.
