Chapter 24 - The Coup at Romano Logistics
By sunrise, Leonard Vale had convinced five board members that Massimo Romano had destroyed the company.
The emergency meeting began at eight.
I arrived at seven fifty-five.
Reporters crowded the lobby.
Employees whispered in corridors.
Stock analysts were already predicting bankruptcy.
When the elevator opened on the executive floor, every conversation stopped.
I walked through wearing a black suit and carrying the insurance binders.
Claire called it my funeral outfit.
I called it appropriate.
Leonard Vale was standing inside the boardroom.
He looked exactly like I remembered.
Gray-haired.
Soft-spoken.
Forgettable.
That was probably his greatest talent.
“Sophie,” he said warmly.
“Mrs. Romano.”
His smile faltered.
“My apologies.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Board members shifted uncomfortably.
Rebecca sat beside me.
Marco remained hidden in a secure office downstairs.
We needed Vale to speak freely.
He opened the meeting.
“As everyone knows, federal investigators have detained our CEO in connection with long-term financial transfers.”
I said nothing.
“Our lenders are nervous. Our partners are nervous. Employees deserve stability.”
He handed out folders.
“I propose temporary removal of Massimo Romano as chief executive.”
One board member looked at me apologetically.
“This is business, Sophie.”
“No.”
I opened my folder.
“This is fear.”
Vale sighed.
“I understand this is emotional.”
That was a mistake.
Men had been dismissing women as emotional since the invention of bad decisions.
I smiled.
“Continue.”
He did.
For twenty minutes, Vale built his case.
Massimo had hidden liabilities.
Massimo had signed suspicious transfers.
Massimo’s marriage had triggered catastrophic litigation.
Massimo’s leadership was unstable.
Then Vale proposed himself as interim CEO.
Of course.
The board prepared to vote.
I stood.
“Before you do that, I have one question.”
Vale leaned back.
“Certainly.”
“What was Lakefront Indemnity Partners?”
His face barely moved.
Barely.
“A former insurance vendor.”
“You selected them?”
“I don’t remember.”
“You signed thirteen annual renewals.”
“Routine paperwork.”
I lifted a binder.
“Funny.”
His smile disappeared.
“We found the originals.”
Nobody spoke.
Rebecca distributed copies.
Vale looked down.
Then up.
I continued.
“Massimo signed approved premium schedules. After his signature, somebody altered the payment instructions.”
One board member frowned.
“Who?”
I looked at Vale.
“The executive responsible for risk management.”
He stood.
“This is absurd.”
“Sit down.”
His eyes widened.
I had never sounded more like Massimo.
He sat.
Rebecca displayed corporate records on the screen.
Wire instructions.
Shell entities.
Moretti-linked accounts.
Then Marco’s sworn statement appeared.
Vale went pale.
“You spoke to Bellini?”
“Last night.”
“He’s lying.”
The boardroom doors opened.
Federal investigators entered.
Vale stood again.
“This meeting is private.”
One agent held up a warrant.
“Not anymore.”
Vale looked toward the side exit.
Two agents blocked it.
For the first time, his calm vanished.
“This company would have collapsed without me!”
Nobody answered.
“You think Massimo built this?” he shouted. “I kept the banks quiet. I kept regulators away. I managed every weakness!”
“You created half the weaknesses,” I said.
His face twisted.
“Your husband is a criminal dressed in green marketing.”
I moved closer.
“My husband inherited a criminal empire and dismantled it.”
I pointed toward the employees visible through the glass wall.
“He gave thousands of people legitimate jobs.”
Then I held up my wedding ring.
“And unlike you, Leonard, he signs his own name.”
The agents cuffed him.
Vale stared at me.
“Dominic will destroy you.”
I smiled.
“Dominic is already in federal custody.”
For the first time, he looked genuinely surprised.
He had not known.
Gabriel had been right.
Dominic manipulated allies by keeping them isolated.
Vale had continued the plan without realizing his master had already fallen.
The board meeting resumed.
The vote to remove Massimo failed unanimously.
Thirty minutes later, Rebecca’s phone rang.
She listened.
Then smiled.
“What?”
“Federal prosecutors are releasing Massimo.”
I nearly cried.
Nearly.
Instead, I walked downstairs.
He entered through the lobby doors forty-five minutes later.
Employees erupted into applause.
Massimo barely noticed.
He saw me.
That was all.
He crossed the marble floor and pulled me into his arms.
“You took over my board meeting.”
“They were unsupervised.”
He laughed against my hair.
Then kissed me.
Hard.
Cameras flashed everywhere.
When he finally pulled back, his forehead rested against mine.
“You saved my company.”
“We saved it.”
His expression softened.
Then Rebecca approached.
“I hate to interrupt.”
Massimo sighed.
“What now?”
She held up her phone.
“Judge Prescott scheduled final arguments in Moretti Capital’s ownership case.”
“When?”
“Monday.”
I looked at Massimo.
We had stopped an arsonist.
Found the ledger.
Caught Dominic.
Exposed Vale.
But none of that canceled the lawsuit.
Not yet.
May you like
Gabriel still legally controlled Moretti Capital.
And Monday would decide who owned the Romano empire.
