Chapter 6 - A Reckoning in the Boardroom
The emergency board meeting of Hail & Mercer Innovations was called for nine o’clock the following morning. Lucas Mercer entered the executive boardroom holding a leather portfolio, a confident smile plastered across his face.
“Adrien, what is the meaning of this urgent meeting?” Lucas asked, sitting at the head of the table. “I was told we had an emergency investor presentation.”
Adrien sat at the opposite end of the mahogany table, calm and unreadable. He slid a thick blue binder across the polished surface.
“Open it, Lucas,” Adrien said.
Lucas frowned, opening the folder. As his eyes scanned the bank transfer records, the lab technician’s signed confession, and the forged medical documentation, the color drained from his face until he was as pale as ash.
“This... this is a misunderstanding,” Lucas stammered, looking around at the silent board members. “Adrien, someone is trying to frame me—”
“You took five years of my daughter’s life,” Adrien said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, icy tone. “You framed my wife. You embezzled twelve million dollars from this company. And you used my mother’s vanity to cover your tracks.”
Two officers from the Boston Police Department stepped into the boardroom.
“Lucas Mercer, you are under arrest for grand larceny, corporate fraud, and obstruction of justice,” the lead officer announced, stepping forward with handcuffs.
Lucas looked wildly at Adrien, his composure entirely shattered. “Adrien! Please! We were brothers! Your mother asked me to do it! She said Meera wasn't worthy of the family name!”
“You were never my brother,” Adrien said smoothly as the officers pulled Lucas from his chair and led him out in cuffs before the entire executive staff.
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An hour later, federal marshals arrived at the Hail estate on Beacon Hill. Evelyn Hail watched from her window as police cars lined the cobblestone driveway. When the officers served her with an indictment for tax evasion and conspiracy, she did not cry. She merely demanded her lawyer.
As she was escorted to the vehicle, she saw Adrien standing across the street, watching silently. She opened her mouth to speak, to demand his loyalty, but Adrien simply turned his back on her and walked away.
