Chapter 3 - The Board Convenes
"Is this true?" Grant’s voice was barely a whisper, vibrating with raw venom. "You lied to me?"
Madison scrambled back against the booth, knocking over an empty water goblet. The glass rolled across the white linen, spilling ice onto her designer dress. "Grant, listen to me! I did it for us! I wanted to make sure you actually left her! You've been stalling for two years, promising me you'd walk away, but every time she smiled at you, you went running back to her bed!"
"Because she is my wife!" Grant roared, slamming his fist onto the table.
The candles jumped. The silverware rattled.
The door to the private dining room swung open.
Grant snapped his head toward the entrance, expecting Ethan the waiter or restaurant security. But the men standing in the doorway were not restaurant employees.
Stepping into the room was Marcus Vance, lead partner of Vance & Associates, flanked by two men in dark charcoal suits. Behind them stood Harold Holloway—Grant’s seventy-two-year-old uncle and the chairman of the Holloway Enterprises ethics committee.
Grant’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. His face turned an alarming shade of mottled purple.
"Uncle Harold..." Grant stammered, his voice shrinking like a chastised schoolboy. "What... why are you in Chicago? You're supposed to be in Aspen."
"I took Claire’s private jet three hours ago," Harold said, his gravelly voice cutting through the tension like a straight razor. He stepped into the room, leaning lightly on his silver-tipped cane, his expression carved from granite. "I came because Claire showed me something that made me sick to my stomach. Something that dishonors your grandfather’s name."
Marcus Vance stepped forward, setting a sleek leather briefcase on the credenza by the wall. He clicked the brass locks open and withdrew three manila folders.
"At four o'clock this afternoon," Marcus announced in a calm, legal cadence, "an emergency quorum of the board of directors was convened remotely. By unanimous vote—excluding your own, Grant—your executive privileges were suspended indefinitely pending an official federal investigation into wire fraud, grand larceny, and corporate embezzlement."
"You can't do that!" Grant yelled, his composure completely disintegrating. He grabbed the lapels of his tailored jacket. "I brought this company three record quarters! I brokered the European expansion!"
"With Claire’s collateral," Harold interrupted coldly. "With your wife’s family backing every single loan. And while she was carrying your child, you were using corporate expense accounts to buy Cartier bracelets and fund luxury trips to St. Barts for a woman who isn't even employed by our firm."
Madison slipped her purse strap over her shoulder, attempting to edge toward the door.
May you like
"I wouldn't leave just yet, Ms. Reed," Marcus Vance said without even looking at her. "Chicago PD and the Cook County State's Attorney are waiting in the main foyer. They have a few questions regarding two point four million dollars routed through your personal tax ID."
Madison collapsed back into her chair, burying her face in her trembling hands, weeping silently.
