Chapter 10 - The Day I Lost Control of My Own Company
Claire did not answer again.
I called twice.
Then stopped.
Jenna told me not to race to her house and create another scene Marlene could use.
She was right.
I hated that she was right.
Instead, Claire texted twenty minutes later.
I’m safe. It was building maintenance. I panicked.
Then:
The file is still gone.
At four o’clock, I walked into Carter Group’s boardroom with Jenna beside me.
Marlene was already there.
So was Evan.
My mother wore a pale gray suit and a small square bandage on her cheek.
She looked fragile.
Carefully fragile.
The board chairman, Martin Keller, would not meet my eyes.
“We’re here to address allegations of fiduciary misconduct that may expose the company.”
“The trust is separate from Carter Group.”
Evan folded his hands.
“Except company credentials were used in the transfers.”
I turned to him.
“You mean forged credentials.”
“That remains unproven.”
“You sent messages to my mother about deleting Caroline’s phone.”
His expression barely changed.
“I sent no such message.”
“I saw it.”
“On a device with disputed chain of custody.”
Jenna leaned forward.
“The device is preserved.”
Evan looked at her.
“We’ll see what an expert says.”
Marlene touched her bandage.
“Can we please focus on Lily?”
I stared at her.
“You pinned Lily to the floor.”
“That is a lie.”
“She photographed you inside my safe seven weeks ago.”
The room went silent.
For the first time, Evan looked at Marlene instead of me.
A mistake.
Tiny.
Useful.
I placed the printed photograph on the table.
Marlene’s face whitened.
“You coached her.”
“She took the photograph before any of this happened.”
“That proves nothing.”
“It proves you lied about accessing my safe.”
Martin cleared his throat.
“We are not a court.”
“No,” I said. “You’re a board deciding whether to punish me based on documents created by the people I’m accusing.”
His eyes dropped.
Then the corporate secretary distributed a financial packet.
My stomach turned before I reached page three.
Blue Heron transfers had been booked as reimbursements through Carter Group.
The records made it appear that I had used Lily’s trust to cover company shortfalls.
“This is fabricated.”
Martin looked exhausted.
“Daniel, the audit committee cannot simply take your word.”
“Then don’t. Verify the server logs.”
“We are.”
“And until then?”
Martin looked toward the independent directors.
A vote had already been discussed.
I could see it.
“Effective immediately, you are placed on administrative leave as CEO pending the special review.”
For a second, I heard nothing.
Carter Group was the company my father built.
The company I had run for eight years.
And my mother had managed to push me out of it in less than forty-eight hours.
Marlene did not smile.
She didn’t need to.
I gathered my papers.
Evan spoke.
“One more matter.”
He slid a sealed envelope toward Jenna.
It contained notice that Marlene was seeking temporary emergency guardianship of Lily at Monday’s hearing.
Attached was a sworn declaration from Claire Hart.
I stared at the signature.
Claire had apparently testified that I personally ordered her to disguise the Blue Heron transfers.
I called her from the hallway.
The number went straight to voicemail.
Then I received a text from an unknown number.
Stop trusting signatures.
Attached was a photograph of Claire’s sworn declaration.
Across the signature, someone had drawn one red line.
Below it were four words.
May you like
CHECK THE NOTARY SEAL.
📖 See what was wrong with Claire’s sworn declaration—and why the person who forged it had access to records far beyond Marlene’s reach in CHAPTER 11. 👇
