Chapter 6 - Confrontation at the Boardroom
The board meeting of Vance Enterprises was held on the top floor of the company’s glass skyscraper. Eleven board members sat around a mahogany table, looking uncomfortable as my mother, Eleanor Vance, stood at the head of the table. Victoria sat in the corner, wearing a dark suit, trying to look composed, though her bloodshot eyes gave away her terror.
“Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” Eleanor began, her voice smooth and practiced. “As you know, my son, Ethan, has recently suffered a personal crisis. His erratic behavior over the past few days threatens the reputation of this company and our upcoming fifty-million-dollar municipal project. Therefore, I move to suspend Ethan Vance from his duties as Chief Executive Officer...”
The heavy oak doors of the boardroom swung open.
I walked in. I wasn’t alone.
Beside me was Julian Reed, carrying a briefcase, and behind us were two officers from the Financial Crimes Division of the State Police.
“Please, Mother, don’t let me interrupt your speech,” I said, stepping up to the opposite end of the table.
The board members began whispering frantically amongst themselves. Eleanor’s face flushed with anger. “Ethan! This is a private corporate meeting! Leave at once!”
“I’m afraid he can’t do that, Mrs. Vance,” Detective Miller stepped forward, displaying his badge. “We are here to execute a warrant for the arrest of Victoria Sterling and Eleanor Vance.”
Victoria gasped, jumping out of her chair. “What?! On what grounds? This is ridiculous!”
Julian opened his briefcase and laid stacks of legal documents, bank statements, and sworn affidavits in front of the board members.
“The grounds are criminal fraud, forgery of legal and medical documents, extortion, and corporate embezzlement,” Julian stated loudly for everyone to hear. “Over the past seven years, Victoria Sterling embezzled over two million dollars from Vance Enterprises under the guise of ‘consulting fees.’ That money was used to pay off conspirators to cover up the forced relocation and harassment of Maya Lin and her children.”
The room erupted into chaos. Several board members gasped, picking up the bank statements and looking at Victoria with absolute disgust.
“You stole from the company to cover up your personal vendetta?” one board member shouted at Victoria.
“It was Eleanor’s idea!” Victoria shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at my mother. “She forced me! She told me if I didn’t help her keep Maya away from Ethan, she would destroy my father’s business!”
“Shut up, you fool!” Eleanor snapped, though her own voice cracked with panic. She turned to me, her eyes pleading. “Ethan... my son... I did everything for you! For your future! That woman was nothing! She was going to drag you down!”
“You didn’t do it for me, Mother,” I said, looking at her with cold detachment. “You did it for control. You couldn’t stand the fact that I loved someone you couldn’t manipulate. You stole seven years of my life. You stole seven years of my children’s lives.”
Detective Miller stepped forward and placed handcuffs on Victoria’s wrists. She began to sob hysterically as she was led out of the boardroom.
Detective Miller then turned to my mother. “Eleanor Vance, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
As the police led my mother away, she stopped beside me, looking into my eyes, searching for a trace of the obedient son she used to command.
“Ethan... please...” she whispered.
“Goodbye, Mother,” I said quietly.
May you like
I turned back to the remaining board members, who were sitting in stunned silence.
“As majority shareholder,” I announced calmly, “I am assuming full control of Vance Enterprises effective immediately. My first decree is to liquidate twenty percent of my personal shares to fund a charitable foundation for low-income mothers and children. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a family to take care of.”
