Chapter 9 - The Boardroom Trap
Victor’s voice was calm enough to make Graham’s skin crawl.
“You should come back to New York,” Victor said. “The board has questions.”
“Tell them I’m busy.”
“You’re always busy now. That’s the problem.”
“What do you want?”
“To save you from yourself.”
Graham watched the man outside raise his phone and take a photograph of the house.
“Stop following my family.”
“Your family?” Victor laughed softly. “Graham, you haven’t had a family in years. You have a housekeeper, a dead wife, and a florist who thinks she can play detective.”
Lucy heard him. Her face hardened.
Graham ended the call.
Nina arrived with two investigators. They took custody of the ledger and arranged protection for Elise and Lucy. Graham was instructed not to return to the office alone.
But Victor had already moved.
At noon, the company issued a statement announcing that Graham Whitmore was taking a temporary leave of absence for health reasons. By one, financial news channels were reporting concerns about his judgment. By two, a board meeting had been called to discuss his removal.
“He’s trying to get ahead of the evidence,” Nina said.
Graham stared at the statement. “He’s using my name to steal my company.”
“He’s using your reputation,” Nina corrected. “The company is not a person. The people who work there are the ones who matter.”
That afternoon, Graham entered the boardroom with Nina beside him. Victor stood at the head of the table, surrounded by directors who had known Graham for decades.
“Graham,” Victor said, wearing a sympathetic expression. “We were worried.”
“Then you’ll be relieved to hear I’m fine.”
Victor gestured to a chair. “We need to discuss the allegations you’ve been making.”
“I have evidence.”
“Evidence from a woman who has spent eleven years pretending to be dead?”
A murmur moved around the table.
Graham placed a document in front of the directors: a transfer authorization bearing his electronic signature.
“I never approved this.”
Victor folded his hands. “Your signature is on it.”
“Yes. Because you used my credentials.”
“Can you prove that?”
Nina opened her briefcase.
Before she could speak, the boardroom screens flickered on. A live video appeared. It showed Lucy outside Hart & Stem, being led toward a car by two men.
Graham shot to his feet.
May you like
Victor leaned back.
“Perhaps we should keep this meeting focused,” he said. “Unless you want to make things worse for her.”
