Chapter 5 - Betrayal in the Boardroom
The quarterly board meeting was a theater of power. Men in suits sat around a mahogany table that could seat thirty, their faces as smooth as polished glass. Arthur stood at the head of the table, his hands gripping the wood.
"We are divesting," Arthur said, his voice echoing. "Selling the assets. Liquidating the offshore holdings."
A man named Marcus, Thorne’s successor, chuckled. He stood up, his smile thin. "You don't own the holdings, Arthur. We do. And if you attempt to liquidate, the file on your mentor’s death goes to the District Attorney."
The room went cold. Arthur looked around. These were his "friends." They weren't shocked. They were waiting.
"You knew," Arthur said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "You all knew."
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"We built you, Arthur," Marcus said, walking toward him. "You were the perfect public face. You provided the charity, the glamour, the success. We provided the substance. Don't mistake your position for autonomy."
Arthur saw it then—the entire structure. He wasn't the CEO. He was the laundering machine, the scapegoat waiting for the right moment to be sacrificed.
