Chapter 3 - Shadows Inside The Boardroom
The eleventh-floor boardroom of Apex Logistics smelled of cold coffee and intimidation. The mahogany conference table reflected the harsh fluorescent lights overhead, casting long shadows across the empty leather chairs. Emma walked in alone, wearing the same dark pants and white turtleneck from the afternoon, her posture immaculate. She carried a single manila folder containing the preliminary asset freeze order Marcus had managed to push through a sympathetic night-court judge just forty minutes before the midnight deadline.
The double doors swung open, and Julian walked in. He had traded his suit jacket for a rumpled dress shirt, his tie loosened, looking every bit a man who had spent the last three hours screaming at bankers. Victoria hovered near the doorway, not daring to sit at the table, clutching a tablet like a shield.
“You’re trespassing, Emma,” Julian said, dropping a heavy briefcase onto the table with a loud thud. His voice lacked the booming confidence of the afternoon; it sounded frayed at the edges. “The board hasn't opened this session. Security is already on their way up to escort you out.”
Emma calmly opened her manila folder, sliding a single sheet of heavy cardstock across the glossy wood toward him. “Security isn't coming, Julian. I bought out Miller’s shares this evening using my personal trust. Combined with my statutory marital holdings, I now hold fifty-one percent of the voting shares.”
Julian stopped dead in his tracks, staring down at the signature line on the document. His face drained of color as he realized the trap had snapped shut hours before he even knew he was being hunted.
“You couldn't have,” Julian whispered, his hands trembling as he reached for the paper. “Miller’s shares were locked in a trust until next year.”
“Miller didn't want to go down with a sinking ship,” Emma said, standing up slowly and leaning across the table toward him. “And neither do the rest of the board members, who are currently waiting in the executive lounge to vote on your immediate termination for corporate fraud.”
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Before Julian could scream a denial, the heavy boardroom doors swung wide open again, and three federal agents in dark suits stepped inside, badges gleaming under the harsh lights.
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