Chapter 14 - THE BOARD VOTED TO REMOVE ME
Thursday morning, Arthur Vale called an emergency board meeting.
He smiled when I entered.
That told me everything.
Twelve directors sat around the table.
Arthur occupied the chair directly opposite mine.
“CEO Lin,” he said warmly.
“Arthur.”
He looked disappointed.
“I hoped we could resolve this privately.”
“You tried threatening me privately.”
Several directors shifted.
Arthur sighed.
“This is exactly the instability I’m concerned about.”
There it was.
The attack.
Not on facts.
On me.
He distributed folders.
Inside were documents alleging that my father had manipulated ownership records decades earlier.
Forged signatures.
Improper transfers.
Hidden liabilities.
“Based on newly discovered evidence,” Arthur announced, “the legitimacy of CEO Lin’s controlling position may be compromised.”
One director stared at me.
“Is this true?”
“No.”
Arthur raised a hand.
“She cannot know that.”
“I know my father.”
“This is governance, Lin. Not family loyalty.”
I almost laughed.
He had spent decades weaponizing my father’s family loyalty.
Now he wanted to pretend emotions were my weakness.
Then the doors opened.
Ethan Hsu entered.
Arthur’s smile vanished.
“Who authorized him?”
“I did.”
Ethan placed his documents on the table.
“My father was Daniel Hsu.”
Whispers spread.
Arthur recovered quickly.
“Then you have a financial interest in these proceedings.”
“Yes.”
Ethan looked at me.
“And so does CEO Lin.”
Arthur’s smile returned.
“Exactly.”
Then Ethan said:
“That’s why neither of us will vote.”
The room went silent.
Arthur frowned.
“What?”
I understood Ethan’s strategy.
We weren’t there to fight for control.
We were there to expose Arthur.
Arthur pushed forward anyway.
He proposed temporarily suspending me as CEO pending investigation.
The vote began.
Five directors supported me.
Five supported suspension.
One abstained.
Arthur held the deciding vote.
He smiled.
“I vote for suspension.”
The corporate secretary recorded it.
Arthur leaned back.
“Effective immediately, CEO Lin will surrender executive authority.”
I removed my access badge.
Placed it on the table.
Arthur looked surprised.
“No argument?”
“No.”
“You finally learned when you’ve lost.”
I stood.
“No, Arthur.”
I smiled.
“I finally learned when someone needs to believe they’ve won.”
For the first time, uncertainty entered his eyes.
I walked out.
Employees filled the hallway.
News had traveled.
Mei approached.
“What happened?”
“I’m suspended.”
Her eyes widened.
“What do we do?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Follow the board.”
She stared at me like I had lost my mind.
Then I whispered:
“Especially Arthur’s orders.”
Understanding slowly appeared.
Arthur needed authority to move the money.
We needed him to use it.
At 2:14 p.m., he did.
He authorized the $480 million transfer.
At 2:19, the bank flagged it.
At 2:23, Arthur overrode the flag using emergency board authority.
At 2:31, the money moved.
Straight into Northstar Holdings.
Arthur had done it.
He had taken the bait.
There was only one detail he didn’t know.
Northstar no longer belonged to Ethan.
At 11:00 that morning, Ethan had transferred ownership.
To a trust.
A trust jointly controlled by him and me.
Arthur had just moved $480 million into an account we controlled.
But that wasn’t the crime.
The crime was what he did next.
At 3:07, Arthur ordered Northstar to purchase shares through six shell companies.
At 3:22, the securities regulator received our evidence.
At 3:41, federal investigators entered headquarters.
And at 3:43, Arthur called me.
“You.”
I answered from the café across the street.
“Hello, Arthur.”
“You set me up.”
“No.”
“You transferred Northstar.”
“Correct.”
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“You stole my money.”
I almost admired the arrogance.
“Your money?”
Silence.
Then I said:
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For saying that while investigators are recording this call.”
The line went dead.
Across the street, black vehicles surrounded headquarters.
Mei texted me.
They’re taking him downstairs.
Then another message arrived.
Lin. We have a problem.
I typed:
What?
Her reply came immediately.
Arthur wasn’t working alone.
A photograph followed.
The second person standing beside investigators was someone I knew very well.
Someone who had been at my second wedding.
May you like
Someone who had kissed my cheek and called me daughter.
My mother-in-law.
