Chapter 9 - A Place at the TableFriday morning, 9:00 AM.
The main boardroom of Argent Holdings was filled with fifty major shareholders, board members, and press reporters.
Julian Vance stood at the podium in a immaculate grey suit, smiling smugly as he adjusted his microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the board,” Vance announced smoothly. “As you know, today we vote on whether to remove Maris Ellen as CEO due to gross negligence, financial favoritism, and the safety risks associated with her unauthorized hiring of Rowan Hail—”
The heavy double doors of the boardroom swung open.
Maris Ellen walked into the room, flanked by four uniformed officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and two city detectives.
The entire boardroom went dead silent.
“Julian Vance,” the lead FBI agent announced, his voice echoing through the microphone system. “You are under arrest for corporate sabotage, attempted grand larceny, and reckless endangerment.”
Vance’s face went completely pale, his smooth composure shattering in a single second. “What?! This is absurd! On what grounds?!”
Maris stepped up to the podium, placing a tablet onto the projector system. High-definition video footage filled the room's giant screens, showing Vance’s security chief sabotaging the Harbor Point boilers, followed by an audio recording of Vance ordering the trap.
Gasps of outrage erupted across the boardroom.
“Yesterday, Julian Vance tried to destroy a two-hundred-million-dollar asset and endanger human lives just to steal control of this company,” Maris declared, her voice ringing with absolute, untouchable power. “Instead, he has secured himself a twenty-year prison sentence.”
As the agents placed Vance in handcuffs and dragged him out of the room amidst flashing news cameras, Maris turned to face her shareholders.
“Many of you questioned my decision to hire Rowan Hail as Senior Facilities Director,” Maris continued, her expression softening as she pointed toward the back of the room.
Rowan stood near the entrance, dressed in a sharp, dark suit that fit his broad frame perfectly. Beside him stood little Bram, holding his dad’s hand and smiling proudly.
“Rowan Hail did not just save Harbor Point last night through his courage and technical brilliance,” Maris said, her voice filled with deep emotion. “He saved my life eighteen years ago when I had nothing. He represents the honesty, integrity, and resilience that this company was built on.”
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Maris looked directly at Rowan, her dark eyes shining with tears. “And effective immediately, I am appointing Rowan Hail as Vice President of Operations for Argent Holdings.”
The boardroom broke into thunderous applause. Shareholders stood up, cheering for Rowan as he looked across the room at Maris, his heart overflowing with love and pride.
