No one moved.
Then suddenly papers began turning all around the table.
The CFO muttered something under his breath. Harold adjusted his glasses and leaned closer to the ownership chart. Another board member, Sandra Pike, looked from the documents to Ethan with visible disgust.
Ethan recovered enough to laugh. “This is absurd.”
“No,” Miriam said calmly. “It is documented.”
He pointed toward her. “You work for my wife.”
Miriam’s eyes sharpened. “I work for the controlling owner of this company. That has always been Mrs. Hayes.”
Brooke rose abruptly from her chair. “This is obviously some revenge stunt because Ethan is leaving her.”
I tilted my head slightly. “Brooke, sit down.”
She froze.
Not because I raised my voice. I didn’t.
Because I sounded like someone with the authority to command the room.
And I was.
I clicked the remote in my hand. The screen behind me lit up.
The first slide showed the attempted reserve account transfer.
The second displayed Brooke’s consulting shell company.
The third revealed emails between Ethan and Brooke discussing how to “shift funds before Claire gets emotional.”
