Chapter 6 - The Emergency Boardroom
The holding cell at the local police station was cold, but Ethan didn't care. He sat on the metal bench, his suit jacket gone, his sleeves rolled up to reveal his bruised knuckles. Across from him, Clara was pacing back and forth, her phone glued to her ear.
“The bail has been processed, Mr. Whitmore,” Clara said, hanging up. “But the damage is severe. The video of you punching Vance is the number one trending topic worldwide. The press is calling it the 'Billionaire Meltdown.' The Whitmore Enterprises stock has opened down twelve percent this morning.”
“Where are Lily and Annie?” Ethan asked, his voice deadpan.
“I had them moved to a secure, private location owned by a trusted friend of mine. No one knows where they are. Not even your mother,” Clara assured him.
The door to the holding cell opened, and Julian walked in. He looked frantic, his hair uncharacteristically messy. “You’ve lost your mind, Ethan. Completely lost it. Mother is ecstatic. She has everything she needs to depose you.”
Ethan stood up, stretching his shoulders. “Let her try.”
“The emergency board meeting is in two hours in Los Angeles,” Julian said, his voice cracking. “She has proxies from the European investors. She has the pension funds. If you walk into that boardroom, they will strip you of your title, strip you of your shares, and cast you out. Just walk away, Ethan. Let Mother settle with the girl, and save yourself.”
Ethan walked up to his younger brother, looking down at him. “Julian, do you remember what Arthur told us before he died? He said the family business was a golden cage. I never understood it then. I do now. If I let Mother destroy that little girl to save a company, then I’m already dead inside. Are you going to stand with me, or are you going to stand with her?”
Julian looked away, unable to meet his brother’s eyes. “I can’t lose my inheritance, Ethan. I just can’t.”
“Then stay out of my way,” Ethan said, walking past him.
Two hours later, the top floor of the Whitmore Tower in downtown Los Angeles was a battleground. The massive mahogany boardroom table was surrounded by fifteen grim-faced board members. At the head of the table sat Eleanor Whitmore, looking like a queen preparing for an execution.
Ethan walked in, his presence commanding despite the bruised knuckles and the lack of a tie. He took his seat at the opposite end of the table.
“This meeting will come to order,” Eleanor said, her voice dripping with ice. “Due to the recent scandalous behavior of our CEO, Ethan Whitmore, which has resulted in a multi-billion-dollar loss in market value and criminal charges, I move for an immediate vote of no confidence and his removal as Chief Executive Officer.”
“Seconded,” Vance said, sitting next to Eleanor with a heavy bandage wrapped around his jaw.
“Before we vote,” Ethan said, slamming his hands onto the table and standing up. “I think the board deserves to see what we are actually voting on.”
Ethan nodded to Clara, who was standing by the projector control. She pressed a button, and instead of financial charts, a series of documents appeared on the screen.
They were internal bank transfers from seven years ago, signed by Eleanor Whitmore, moving millions of dollars into offshore accounts. Alongside them were private investigator reports detailing the stalking and harassment of Lily Andrews.
But the final document was what made the entire room gasp. It was a copy of Arthur’s true medical report from the night of his crash—a report that had been suppressed. The brakes on Arthur’s car had been compromised before he hit the mountain road.
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“What is the meaning of this?” Eleanor hissed, her perfect composure cracking for the first time.
“The meaning, Mother,” Ethan said, his voice echoing through the silent boardroom, “is that you didn’t just pay off a girl. You caused the death of your own son because he wanted to leave your empire. And now, you’re trying to do the same to his daughter.”
