Chapter 1: The Board Had Already Decided
Daniel stood frozen in the middle of the foyer.
"No..."
The word barely escaped his lips.
My chief legal officer, Victor Hale, walked past him without so much as a glance and handed me a leather portfolio embossed with the Ward Holdings seal.
"Everything is ready, Ms. Ward."
Behind him, four members of the executive security team entered the penthouse.
Not to protect me.
To secure company property.
Patricia pointed an accusing finger at them.
"How dare you walk into my son's home?"
Victor answered calmly.
"Respectfully, ma'am..."
"This residence is owned by Ward Residential Trust."
He turned another page.
"The occupancy agreement was tied to Mr. Daniel Brooks' employment contract."
Daniel frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Victor met his eyes.
"It means your executive housing privileges expired twelve minutes ago."
The room became deathly quiet.
Daniel laughed nervously.
"This is insane."
"I'm the CEO."
Victor slid another document across the table.
"You were."
"The Board of Directors held an emergency meeting one hour ago."
"By unanimous vote, your employment has been terminated for breach of fiduciary duty and executive misconduct."
Daniel grabbed the resolution.
His signature authorization...
Gone.
Corporate access...
Revoked.
Voting rights...
Canceled.
His phone vibrated.
One notification after another.
Corporate email disabled.
Executive banking privileges suspended.
Building access revoked.
Even his company credit cards stopped working before he finished reading.
Chloe slowly stepped backward.
"You told me this company belonged to you."
Daniel couldn't answer.
She looked toward me instead.
"I'm sorry."
I smiled politely.
"No."
"You're sorry you backed the wrong person."
She lowered her eyes.
She knew I was right.
May you like
Without another word, she picked up her designer handbag and walked out.
She never looked back.
