Chapter 10 - THE BOARDROOM
At 9:00 the next morning, Marcus entered the Cole Enterprises boardroom smiling.
Vanessa sat beside him.
Twelve directors surrounded the table.
Adrian’s chair was empty.
Marcus waited ten minutes.
Then stood.
“My brother won’t be joining us.”
One director frowned.
“Did Adrian approve this meeting?”
Marcus lowered his eyes sympathetically.
“That’s why we’re here.”
He slid folders across the table.
“Adrian’s condition has worsened.”
Vanessa spoke softly.
“He’s not himself anymore.”
The board members opened the psychiatric report.
Marcus continued.
“He’s become paranoid. Aggressive. He accuses people of ridiculous things.”
The doors opened.
Everyone turned.
Adrian rolled inside.
Grace followed.
Marcus froze.
“Adrian.”
Adrian smiled.
“Don’t stop on my account.”
Vanessa stood.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“It’s my company.”
“You need rest.”
Adrian looked around the table.
“My fiancée believes I’m mentally incompetent.”
Nobody spoke.
Adrian lifted the fake psychiatric report.
“There’s only one problem.”
He tossed it onto the table.
“I’ve never met the doctor who signed this.”
Marcus laughed.
“That doesn’t prove—”
“Actually, it does.”
The doors opened again.
Dr. Evelyn Park entered with Adrian’s attorney.
Then Daniel.
Then Leonard Kane.
Marcus’s face lost color.
Vanessa whispered, “What is this?”
Adrian turned toward her.
“The end.”
Daniel connected a laptop to the conference screen.
Security footage appeared.
Vanessa beside Adrian’s car.
Leonard receiving the envelope.
Board members gasped.
Marcus slammed his hand on the table.
“This is fabricated.”
“Sit down,” Adrian said.
“You think a video proves anything?”
“No.”
Adrian nodded.
“That’s why I brought bank records too.”
Offshore transfers appeared.
Fake vendors.
Construction invoices.
Payments connected to Marcus.
Marcus stared at the screen.
“You son of a—”
He lunged toward Adrian.
Daniel stepped between them.
Adrian raised one hand.
“No.”
He placed both palms on the conference table.
Grace’s eyes widened.
Adrian pushed himself upward.
Slowly.
Painfully.
The boardroom fell silent.
He stood.
Marcus looked as though he had seen a ghost.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
Adrian’s legs shook.
But he stayed upright.
“For eleven months,” Adrian said, “you drugged me, lied to me, isolated me, and waited for me to disappear.”
Marcus took a step backward.
Adrian held his gaze.
“You made one mistake.”
“What?”
“You left me alive.”
Police officers entered.
Vanessa screamed.
“This wasn’t my idea!”
Marcus turned toward her.
“You lying bitch!”
She pointed at him.
“He planned everything!”
Marcus laughed.
“You paid Leonard!”
The room exploded into shouting.
Adrian slowly lowered himself into the wheelchair.
Grace touched his shoulder.
“It’s over.”
Adrian stared at his brother being handcuffed.
“No.”
His attorney leaned toward him.
“What do you mean?”
Adrian’s eyes moved to one document still lying unopened on the table.
His father’s old company ledger.
“There’s one name in here I didn’t expect.”
Grace looked at him.
“Whose?”
May you like
Adrian swallowed.
“My mother’s.”
