Chapter 14: The Vote
Arthur survived surgery.
The bullet passed beneath his collarbone without damaging his heart.
Daniel was returned to custody under armed guard. Richard was charged with financial fraud, obstruction, conspiracy, and offenses connected to Thomas Carter’s death.
Vanessa’s recording helped investigators locate sixty-three million dollars in hidden funds.
It did not make her innocent.
She pleaded guilty to conspiracy and agreed to testify. Her one-million-dollar settlement was placed in a restricted legal fund, most of which would be used for restitution.
Three days after the wedding, Emily chaired a joint meeting of the Carter Trust and Brooks Hospitality board.
She wore a simple gray suit.
Her ankle remained wrapped.
The engagement ring was gone.
“The Carter Trust will not complete the consolidation,” she announced.
Daniel’s allies protested immediately.
Emily raised one hand.
“However, we will provide direct emergency financing to the twelve hotels under court-supervised restructuring.”
The Carter Trust would receive temporary control of operations.
Employee wages, health benefits, and pensions would be protected.
Richard and Daniel’s ownership would be canceled if the court confirmed the fraud.
The Brooks name would be removed from every property.
A board member asked how Emily planned to finance the rescue.
Everyone knew the answer.
The mineral rights.
Extraction companies had already offered billions.
Emily could lease part of the northern field and receive enough money to stabilize the hotels while keeping permanent ownership of the land.
Arthur, still in the hospital, sent a written recommendation supporting the plan.
Environmental groups opposed it.
Local workers supported it.
Investors demanded it.
Emily listened to hours of arguments.
Then she announced her decision.
“No mining will take place on Blackwood land.”
The room erupted.
She continued.
“The deposit will be placed under permanent environmental protection.”
A director accused her of sacrificing economic security for sentiment.
Another called it irresponsible.
Richard’s former allies claimed thousands of jobs would still be at risk.
Emily unveiled an alternative.
The recovered offshore money would fund immediate operations. Three profitable Carter properties would be sold. Executive compensation would be suspended, and the hotels would gradually convert into an employee-owned hospitality group.
It was slower.
Riskier.
And far less profitable.
Emily would personally lose hundreds of millions in future value.
“Why?” a reporter asked.
“Because every person in this room treated Blackwood as something to be taken,” Emily said. “My father tried to protect it. Daniel tried to steal it. I will do what none of them expected.”
“What is that?”
“Leave it in the ground.”
Half the country praised her.
The other half called her a privileged heiress wasting a national resource.
Emily accepted both judgments.
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But she still had one final decision to make.
It concerned the bridal chair.
