Chapter 14 - The Emergency Meeting Ross Couldn't Stop|
Meredith spent the next week coordinating three separate legal matters.
The divorce.
The disputed company transactions.
And the attempted interference with Poppy's trust.
I stopped expecting one lawsuit to solve everything.
Each matter had different documents, different legal standards, and different risks.
But all three were connected by one thing.
Ross and his family had made decisions involving assets they didn't control.
The independent forensic review uncovered additional discrepancies in company spending.
Westbridge appeared to have received payments unsupported by the records produced.
A portion of those funds had been transferred onward to accounts associated with personal expenses.
The auditor couldn't yet account for every dollar.
But the findings were serious enough that several outside directors demanded a special board meeting.
Ross called me that morning.
“Lydia, you need to stop this.”
I was in my kitchen packing Poppy's school lunch.
“Stop what?”
“The board meeting.”
“I didn't schedule it.”
“Your lawyers pushed for it.”
“My trust requested records. The directors made their own decision.”
He exhaled angrily.
“You're destroying the company we built.”
I paused.
The words caught my attention.
We built.
For twelve years, he hadn't said that.
Not publicly.
Not privately.
Now, suddenly, he remembered.
“Ross, the company isn't being harmed by people asking where its money went.”
He went quiet.
Then whispered:
“If I lose control, everything falls apart.”
I looked at the lunchbox.
“Then perhaps control was never the thing you should have valued most.”
I ended the call.
At the special board meeting, Meredith and I attended as representatives of the Pierce trust.
Ross sat at the head of the conference table.
Delia occupied a chair near the end.
Two independent directors joined remotely.
Marcus Bell presented the auditor's preliminary findings.
He explained the unusual consulting payments, missing support documents, and potential conflicts of interest.
Ross interrupted repeatedly.
“These are ordinary business expenses.”
Marcus remained calm.
“Then the supporting contracts and work product should be available for review.”
Delia crossed her arms.
“Some vendor materials are confidential.”
One director frowned.
“Confidential from the company's own independent auditors?”
Nobody answered.
Then Marcus displayed a transaction related to the Gold Coast condominium.
I watched Ross's expression change.
“This isn't relevant,” he said.
Meredith spoke.
“It's relevant because company funds may have been used in anticipation of acquiring property that was never owned by the company.”
Silence spread across the room.
Ross looked directly at me.
“You planned this.”
I held his gaze.
“No, Ross. You created the transactions. We're reviewing them.”
After extended discussion, the directors voted to place Ross on temporary administrative leave while an independent investigation continued.
Delia's payment-approval authority was also suspended.
The company's finance team was instructed to preserve records and cooperate with the auditors.
Ross remained a shareholder.
He hadn't been convicted of anything.
But he was no longer permitted to approve expenditures or direct the investigation.
As the meeting ended, he walked toward me.
“You must be proud of yourself.”
I looked at him.
“I'm relieved somebody finally asked the questions you wouldn't answer.”
His face hardened.
Then he whispered:
“Mother won't let you get away with this.”
I stared at him.
“Ross, your mother doesn't run this company.”
He smiled bitterly.
May you like
“That's what you think.”
And when he walked away, I realized Constance might have been much more involved than anyone had yet discovered.
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