Chapter 5: A Different Kind of Debt**
The board of directors called an emergency meeting on Thursday morning. Julian walked into the boardroom wearing his standard tailored suit, but for the first time, he wore no lapel pin from his father's club.
"Julian, the press is having a field day," declared Marcus Finch, the interim board chair. "Step down as CEO temporarily. Let PR frame this as an extortion attempt while we settle quietly with the child's legal guardians."
"There are no guardians," Julian replied evenly. "I am her father. I have submitted DNA confirmation, and my petition for full custody is filed."
"You are jeopardizing our expansion," Marcus warned, his voice rising. "Our investors value stability and moral predictability."
"Moral predictability?" Julian gave a bitter laugh. "We exploited offshore labor and buried estate fraud for decades, yet you worry about an eight-year-old child living in my house? If loving my daughter is a liability to this board, I resign effective immediately."
May you like
He placed his company security badge on the center of the conference table. The room went utterly silent as he turned and walked out, feeling lighter than he had in a decade.
---
