Chapter 22 - MEGAN
Megan surrendered the box.
Through an attorney.
She claimed she took it because Charles asked her to.
Nathan looked physically ill when he heard.
“Charles knew Megan?”
Apparently.
Years earlier, Charles had paid Megan for information about whether Emily had recovered enough after delivery to speak with me.
That explained why Charles and Vanessa were at St. Catherine's.
They were trying to learn whether Emily had told me about Northstar.
Megan had been their inside source.
Nathan's relationship with her had been coincidence at first.
Then Charles discovered it.
Afterward, Megan occasionally used Nathan to learn things about me.
Another relationship poisoned by access and shame.
Megan insisted she never interfered with Emily's care.
The medical audit supported her on that point.
She had accessed administrative status information she wasn't authorized to share, but there was no evidence she changed medication or treatment.
That distinction mattered.
Emily died from a medical catastrophe.
The people circling us had exploited it.
They had not caused it.
For months, part of me had wanted a villain responsible for every loss.
Reality refused to give me one.
Sometimes tragedy was tragedy.
And predators simply arrived afterward.
Megan took the archive because Charles contacted her after his cooperation began.
He told her one folder could expose both of them to additional liability.
That meant Charles was still obstructing while pretending to help.
His usefulness no longer made him trustworthy.
Inside the recovered box was the missing piece.
Emily had printed an email chain and handwritten a note across the top:
LEONARD DOESN'T WANT THE PATENT. HE WANTS THE LICENSING VOTE.
I brought it to Julia.
She understood immediately.
Our patent itself wasn't the target.
A licensing agreement scheduled for renewal would determine which manufacturers could use the technology for the next decade.
Northstar had quietly invested in one bidder.
If Mercer gained enough influence to steer the vote, the return could be enormous.
This wasn't about owning my company forever.
It was about controlling one decision.
The licensing vote was scheduled for the following week.
Everything suddenly had a deadline.
Mercer hadn't spent eighteen months building leverage for some vague future takeover.
He had been working toward a date.
Seven days away.
Julia checked the board materials.
Northstar's preferred bidder remained eligible.
If the process continued normally, Mercer could still profit even after his misconduct became public unless the conflict was formally addressed.
I looked at Rachel.
“What do we do?”
“Not revenge.”
She closed Emily's folder.
“Governance.”
May you like
For once, that word sounded like a weapon.
📖 We finally understood what Mercer had been buying eighteen months of manipulation to control, and stopping him would require me to risk the deal my company needed most. 👇
