Chapter 4 – The Vote
One hand rose.
Then another.
Within seconds, nearly every director around the long walnut table had cast a vote.
The company secretary counted them twice before speaking.
"Fourteen votes in favor."
She looked toward the only dissenting director.
"One abstention."
Daniel Foster nodded.
"The motion passes."
Damian's face drained of color.
"What motion?"
Daniel closed the folder in front of him.
"An independent forensic investigation into Cross Capital's finances."
He continued evenly.
"Effective immediately, all executive authority previously held by Mr. Damian Cross is suspended pending the outcome of that investigation."
Damian pushed back his chair so hard it struck the wall.
"You can't do this!"
"No," Daniel replied calmly. "The board just did."
Across the room, the large screen displayed Evelyn sitting quietly in the bedroom of the penthouse.
She hadn't celebrated.
She hadn't smiled.
She simply watched.
Damian pointed at the screen.
"This is because of her!"
"No," one of the directors answered.
"This is because of you."
Another director slid a thick binder toward Damian.
"The evidence speaks for itself."
Damian flipped through it frantically.
Every page made his breathing faster.
Emails.
Wire transfers.
Expense reports.
Security footage.
Electronic signatures.
Even recordings of executive meetings.
Someone had documented everything.
For years.
He looked up at Evelyn.
"You've been spying on me."
She shook her head.
"I was keeping records."
Miles away, in the Cross penthouse, Dr. Samuel Whitaker arrived with a medical bag in hand.
Margaret opened the door immediately.
"Doctor, thank goodness."
He hurried upstairs.
When he entered the bedroom, his expression hardened.
"Evelyn..."
She tried to smile.
"I've had better evenings."
He knelt beside her and gently checked her pulse.
"Tell me exactly what happened."
She hesitated.
"I fell."
Margaret looked away.
The doctor sighed.
"Evelyn."
She met his eyes.
For years, he had treated her.
He knew when she was lying.
Finally, she whispered,
"Damian lost his temper."
The doctor's jaw tightened.
He finished the examination before speaking again.
"The babies are still stable."
Relief washed over her face.
"But..."
He paused.
"You are showing signs of early contractions."
The room fell silent.
"You need a hospital."
"I can't leave yet."
"You don't have a choice."
"I do."
She looked at her phone.
"There are still things I have to finish."
Dr. Whitaker spoke more firmly than ever before.
"If you wait too long, you could lose both children."
Those words finally reached her.
She slowly nodded.
"All right."
Back at Cross Capital...
Damian refused to sit.
"You've all lost your minds."
"No," said Director Helen Brooks.
"We ignored the warning signs for too long."
Another director stood.
"I move that all company accounts requiring dual authorization be frozen."
"Seconded."
"Approved."
The secretary entered the decision into the record.
Another vote followed.
"I move that all company-owned properties be secured immediately."
"Approved."
Another.
"I move that all executive access cards belonging to Damian Cross be deactivated."
Approved.
Another.
"I move that outside counsel notify federal regulators of the ongoing investigation."
Approved.
Each decision landed like another brick sealing a wall around him.
Damian looked around the table.
People who had toasted him less than an hour earlier now refused to meet his eyes.
His empire wasn't collapsing.
It was quietly walking away from him.
As the meeting adjourned, Daniel received a text message.
He read it, then looked toward the screen.
"Mrs. Cross."
"Yes?"
"The ambulance has arrived."
Several directors exchanged confused glances.
"Evelyn..."
Daniel's voice softened.
"Please go."
She nodded.
Before ending the video call, she looked directly at Damian one last time.
"I never wanted revenge."
He stared back silently.
"I only wanted peace."
The screen went black.
For the first time in years...
Damian Cross found himself completely alone.
Outside the boardroom, two corporate security officers were already waiting for him.
"Mr. Cross," one said politely.
"We've been instructed to escort you from the building."
Damian looked past them toward the darkened boardroom.
His father's portrait hung on the wall.
For just a moment...
May you like
It almost felt as though the old man was watching.
And he was not proud.
