Chapter 14 - The Boardroom Door Opens
Maya had never owned a business suit.
Julian offered to have one delivered.
She refused.
Samuel’s assistant suggested a stylist.
She refused that too.
Instead Maya bought a navy suit from a department store herself.
Nothing extravagant.
Nothing designed to make her look wealthy.
When she stood in front of the mirror before the Vance Development shareholder meeting, she still looked like Maya.
That mattered.
She did not want money to transform her into someone Richard could claim had been hiding underneath.
She wanted to remain the woman he underestimated.
Only now she knew what her signature could do.
The boardroom fell silent when she entered.
Richard was already seated.
He had been released pending investigation but prohibited from contacting Maya or Lily.
His face looked thinner.
His confidence did not.
“Cute suit,” he muttered.
Maya ignored him.
Olivia’s chair was empty.
Vanessa was nowhere to be seen.
Julian sat near the back as an observer representing a creditor fund.
Samuel sat beside Maya.
The chairman cleared his throat.
“We’re here to review voting control following verification of the Orchid Legacy Trust.”
Richard immediately spoke.
“This is a manufactured claim.”
Samuel slid certified documents forward.
“It is not.”
“My father built this company.”
Maya finally looked at him.
“Then you shouldn’t be worried about the paperwork.”
Richard’s eyes flashed.
The chairman continued.
Orchid held forty-one percent.
Because several outside shares were non-voting, Maya effectively controlled fifty-three percent of current voting rights.
Richard’s face changed.
Maya had authority to nominate directors.
Approve major borrowing.
Demand forensic audits.
And, under specific conditions, remove executive officers.
The chairman asked,
“Mrs. Vance, do you wish to make a motion?”
Every face turned toward her.
This was the moment everyone expected revenge.
Fire Richard.
Seize his office.
Humiliate him publicly.
Maya folded her hands.
“Yes.”
Richard leaned back.
Here it comes.
Maya said,
“I move for a complete independent forensic audit of every corporate transaction involving Vance family members during the last fifteen years.”
Richard stopped smiling.
The chairman blinked.
Samuel continued for her.
“And until completion, suspension of all executive authority held by any individual currently under investigation for misuse of company funds.”
Richard shot to his feet.
“This is my company!”
Maya remained seated.
“No.”
Her voice was quiet.
“It was my mother’s money.”
Richard slammed his palm onto the table.
“You don’t know anything about running development projects.”
“You’re right.”
That surprised everyone.
Maya continued.
“I don’t.”
She looked around the room.
“So I’m not pretending I do.”
She pointed toward the audit proposal.
“I’m asking professionals to determine where the money went.”
One director nodded.
Then another.
The motion passed.
Richard was suspended as CEO.
He stood frozen.
For years, Maya had imagined what it might feel like to defeat him.
She expected satisfaction.
Instead she felt tired.
As security escorted him toward the door, he turned.
“You’re enjoying this.”
“No.”
“You always wanted my life.”
Maya almost laughed.
“Richard, I spent eleven years making your life easier.”
“You’d have nothing without me.”
Maya looked around the company her mother’s trust had funded.
Then back at him.
“You really need to stop saying that.”
The door closed behind him.
The forensic audit began immediately.
Within six hours, auditors identified personal expenses disguised as construction costs.
Luxury vehicles.
Vacations.
Vanessa’s apartment.
Olivia’s travel.
Richard had spent company money as though the corporation were a private checking account.
By evening, the preliminary questionable amount exceeded twenty-three million dollars.
But one payment made Maya stop.
Two hundred thousand dollars.
To a medical consulting company.
The company’s registered director had once worked at Evelyn’s oncology clinic.
Samuel called federal investigators.
The former nurse was seventy-one and lived in Delaware.
Agents interviewed her that night.
Initially, she denied remembering Evelyn.
Then they showed her the payment.
She began crying.
Maya received the call at 1:08 a.m.
“She admitted Olivia contacted her.”
Maya sat on the hotel floor beside Lily’s bed.
“For what?”
“To report details about Evelyn’s treatment.”
“That’s all?”
A pause.
“No.”
Maya closed her eyes.
“What else?”
“She says Olivia wanted access to Evelyn’s medication schedule.”
Maya pressed her fist to her mouth.
“Did she hurt my mother?”
“We don’t know.”
“What did the nurse do?”
“She provided information. She insists she never altered medication.”
“But somebody could have.”
“Yes.”
Maya looked at Lily sleeping.
For sixteen years, she believed cancer stole her mother.
Now she didn’t know what to believe.
The following morning, another development arrived.
The nurse gave investigators a name.
A physician assistant who had been fired shortly after Evelyn’s death.
He had moved to Nevada.
When federal agents located him, he asked one question before agreeing to speak.
“Is Olivia Vance finally in custody?”
The answer was no.
May you like
The man laughed nervously.
“Then you’d better find her before she finds the Ashford girl.”
