Chapter 6 - THE BOARDROOM INQUISITION
At 9:00 AM the following morning, the sixty-fifth floor of Cross Meridian Holdings was packed to capacity. The board of directors—twelve men and women representing trillions of dollars in global capital—sat around the massive oval table of polished obsidian. The atmosphere was suffocating. News of the Vale arrests had broken at dawn, sending shockwaves through the financial markets. The financial news networks were broadcasting live from the lobby downstairs, demanding to know if Daniel Cross had truly returned from the dead.
The heavy double doors swung open.
Daniel walked in. He was no longer wearing the tattered jacket of Danny Cole, nor was he confined to the wheelchair that had been his shield for two years. He wore a bespoke midnight-blue three-piece suit cut from Savile Row wool, his signet ring gleaming under the recessed lighting.
Beside him walked Eleanor.
She wore an elegant, charcoal-gray silk dress Daniel’s stylists had acquired at three in the morning, her silver hair styled in a graceful updo that highlighted the noble lines of her face. Pinned directly over her heart was the Morning Star emerald brooch, blazing with green fire against the dark fabric.
The board members gasped. Several stood up immediately out of respect; others remained frozen in shock.
At the far end of the table sat Gregory Sterling, the vice-chairman who had spent the last two years attempting to declare Daniel legally dead to liquidate the company’s assets.
"Daniel," Sterling stammered, adjusting his silk tie with shaking fingers. "We... we were told you were incapacitated. The rumors from Riverside Station... the press is calling it a circus."
"The circus is over, Gregory," Daniel said, taking his seat at the head of the table. He pulled the chair out beside him, gesturing for Eleanor to take the seat reserved for the primary stakeholder.
"Who is this woman?" Sterling asked, a sneer creeping into his tone. "Board protocol does not permit guests during an executive quorum."
"This is Eleanor Hayes," Daniel said, leaning forward, resting his forearms on the obsidian table. "She is the majority shareholder of Cross Meridian Holdings."
A chorus of murmurs erupted across the room.
"Absurd!" Sterling shouted, slamming his palm on the table. "You own sixty percent through the family trust! She has no legal standing!"
Harrison stepped forward, placing a thick stack of certified legal documents in front of Sterling. "As of 7:30 this morning, the Supreme Court of New York verified the 1974 Cross Family Succession Trust retrieved from the Bank of New York vault. Under Section Four, Paragraph Two: in the event of fraudulent concealment of lineage, all shares held by Richard Cross are retroactively transferred to the biological line of Evelyn Cross's surviving sister. Eleanor Hayes holds fifty-one percent of all voting shares. Mr. Daniel Cross holds thirty-nine percent. The remaining ten percent held by this board is legally non-voting until an independent audit is completed."
Sterling turned the color of ash. He flipped through the documents with frantic hands, his eyes darting across the wax seals and judicial stamps. "This... this is an ambush."
"This is an eviction," Eleanor spoke. Her voice was quiet, calm, and utterly commanding. The entire room fell into instant, breathless silence. "For thirty years, you gentlemen sat in this room and divided the profits of ships that traded on lies. You allowed Richard Cross to bury my sister in an unmarked grave while you toasted his genius at charity dinners."
She leaned forward, her gaze locking onto Sterling. "I ran an alterations shop for forty years, Mr. Sterling. I know how to fix a torn seam, and I know when a piece of cloth is so rotten it has to be cut away and burned. You signed off on Arthur Vale's fraudulent loans three months ago because he promised you a board seat at his maritime firm."
Sterling swallowed hard, unable to meet her gaze. "I was only doing what was best for the shareholders..."
"You are fired, Gregory," Daniel said simply. "Effective immediately. Security will escort you from the building. Your stock options are frozen pending the federal investigation into your collusion with the Vale family."
Two security officers stepped forward, flanking Sterling’s chair. The vice-chairman looked around the room, but not a single board member would look him in the eye. Defeated, he pushed his chair back and walked out of the boardroom with his head down.
Daniel looked around the table at the remaining directors. "The rest of you have a choice. You can submit your resignations by noon with your basic pensions intact, or you can undergo a forensic audit conducted by my personal team. If we find one dollar of dirty money in your accounts, you will join Arthur Vale in federal custody."
Within ten seconds, seven board members reached for their pens to write their resignations.
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Daniel turned to Eleanor. For the first time in forty-eight hours, a genuine, warm smile broke across his face. "Madam Chairwoman, what is your first order of business?"
Eleanor looked at the gleaming skyline outside the window, then down at the emerald brooch on her chest. "Cancel every eviction notice on the properties owned by this company in the lower boroughs. And build a real clinic at Riverside Station. No one should have to freeze in the rain just to be seen."
