Chapter 28 - THE TRAITOR SAT AT MY BOARD TABLE
The preschool pickup request had been submitted using information from a Vance Capital executive account.
Not hacked.
Authenticated.
Someone inside my company had helped.
The audit narrowed access to six people.
Martin.
Naomi.
Claire.
Me.
Chief Financial Officer Peter Sloan.
Board member Harrison Webb.
Martin was furious.
Naomi was offended.
Claire made coffee.
Harrison hired a criminal attorney.
Peter disappeared.
That simplified things.
Police found Peter at JFK with a ticket to Lisbon.
He claimed vacation.
His luggage contained three phones and eighty thousand dollars in cash.
Apparently Europe required excellent packing.
Peter confessed within forty-eight hours.
Veronica had paid him for information for three years.
Meeting schedules.
Investment targets.
Internal valuations.
My home address.
Maisie’s preschool information came from an emergency-contact form stored for executive travel insurance.
I nearly threw up.
He insisted he never intended kidnapping.
He said Veronica only wanted to “demonstrate access.”
I wanted to break something.
Instead I testified.
That was harder.
Peter identified Richard as the intermediary.
Richard identified Veronica as the person who approved the surveillance and intimidation campaign.
Veronica denied everything.
Then investigators recovered deleted messages.
Her attorney stopped making public statements.
The civil case changed overnight.
So did Vance Capital.
The board asked me to become interim CEO.
I refused.
Then reconsidered.
Not because Dad had wanted it.
He never told me what job to take.
That was the point.
I stood in the empty CEO office that evening.
Claire leaned against the door.
“You’re going to say yes.”
“I might.”
“You’re going to say yes.”
“I hate when you know things.”
“I survived the dinosaur sticker incident. I know everything.”
I smiled.
Then Derek appeared.
He had come to sign updated custody security documents.
“You heard?” I asked.
“CEO?”
“Interim.”
“You’ll be good.”
I studied him.
Years earlier he would have hated this.
My authority.
My money.
My competence.
Now he simply looked proud.
“You mean that?”
“Yes.”
“Does that bother you?”
“Also yes.”
I laughed.
He smiled.
“I’m allowed to have feelings without making them your problem.”
Therapy had created a monster.
A healthy one.
We signed the papers.
Then he said, “I’m seeing someone.”
I blinked.
That should not have mattered.
It did not hurt.
But it moved something.
“Okay.”
“Her name is Rachel.”
“Okay.”
“She knows everything.”
“That seems fair.”
“She wants to meet you eventually because of Maisie.”
“That seems responsible.”
“You’re not angry?”
“No.”
He nodded.
“Good.”
Then I asked, “Are you?”
“About what?”
“Me becoming CEO.”
He thought for a moment.
“No.”
Another pause.
“I’m jealous.”
Honesty.
“But I’m not angry.”
That was growth.
I accepted the interim CEO position the next morning.
At 9:03, reporters filled the lobby.
At 9:17, employees applauded.
At 9:26, I entered Dad’s old office.
At 9:31, Martin delivered one final evidence update.
Veronica Hale had been charged with multiple offenses related to surveillance, intimidation and financial conspiracy.
At 9:44, I received a call from the hospital.
Maisie had been brought into the emergency department.
I stopped breathing.
“What happened?”
The nurse spoke quickly.
“She’s conscious. Her father is with her.”
“What happened?”
“Allergic reaction. They administered epinephrine.”
I grabbed my coat.
The world narrowed.
Not Meridian.
Not Veronica.
Not money.
My daughter.
I called Derek.
One ring.
He answered.
“Audrey.”
That one word nearly destroyed me.
“Is she okay?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me the truth.”
“I am. She’s scared, but she’s breathing normally now.”
“I’m coming.”
“I know.”
“Derek.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t hang up.”
May you like
“I won’t.”
And for the entire twenty-seven-minute drive, he stayed on the phone.
