Chapter 3 — The Boardroom Where He Begged
Chapter 3 — The Boardroom Where He Begged
By eight o'clock the next morning, Andrew's entire world had changed.
At seven, he had still been the CEO.
At seven-thirty, he had still believed he could fix everything.
At eight, his own board had summoned him to an emergency meeting.
At eight-fifteen, he walked into the room believing he was about to defend his company.
He had no idea he was walking into the end of his career.
I knew.
I was already sitting at the head of the table.
The boardroom was silent when Andrew entered.
He stopped in the doorway.
His eyes moved across the room.
Nine directors.
Three senior executives.
Two attorneys.
Daniel Reed.
And me.
His face went pale.
“You.”
I didn't answer.
He looked at the others.
“What is this?”
Nobody spoke.
Andrew walked farther inside.
“This is my company.”
One of the directors, Martin Hale, cleared his throat.
“Please sit down, Mr. Wentworth.”
Andrew stared at him.
“Why?”
Martin didn't answer.
Andrew looked at me.
“You can't do this.”
I folded my hands.
“Sit down, Andrew.”
His jaw tightened.
“I'm not taking orders from my wife.”
I looked at the empty chair across from me.
“Then don't.”
He remained standing.
“You froze the company accounts.”
“Yes.”
“You suspended my credit.”
“Yes.”
“You contacted my board.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I looked at him.
“Because your board works for the company.”
He laughed.
“The company works for me.”
“No.”
I pushed a folder across the table.
“The company works for its shareholders.”
Andrew glanced at it.
“I'm the largest shareholder.”
Daniel spoke quietly.
“No, you're not.”
Andrew looked at him.
“What?”
Daniel opened the folder.
“Mr. Wentworth, according to the latest beneficial ownership records, Escalante Holdings controls seventy-four percent of the voting shares.”
Andrew stared.
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
“Those shares belong to my company.”
“No.”
Daniel turned the document around.
“They belong to Mariana Escalante.”
Andrew looked at me.
I held his gaze.
“Me.”
He walked toward the table.
His hands were shaking.
“You lied to me.”
“No.”
“You told me your family invested in businesses.”
“They do.”
“You never told me you owned this.”
“I didn't need to.”
“I'm your husband!”
I looked at him.
“Were you my husband when you ordered me to kneel?”
His face tightened.
“Mariana…”
“Were you my husband when you hit me?”
Silence.
“Were you my husband when you planned to steal from me?”
He looked away.
The room remained completely silent.
One of the directors lowered his eyes.
Everyone had seen the footage.
Everyone knew.
Andrew finally whispered:
“I was angry.”
“That doesn't excuse it.”
“I made a mistake.”
“Two mistakes.”
His eyes lifted.
I touched my cheek.
“Two.”
He said nothing.
Martin cleared his throat.
“Mr. Wentworth, the board has reviewed the emergency documents.”
Andrew turned toward him.
“What documents?”
Martin looked uncomfortable.
“The company has been operating under Escalante-backed financing for years.”
Andrew shook his head.
“I knew about the financing.”
“You knew some of it.”
Daniel corrected him.
“You didn't know the extent.”
Andrew looked at me.
“How much?”
I didn't answer.
Martin did.
“Approximately two hundred and eighty million dollars in direct and indirect capital.”
Andrew's face lost its color.
“That's impossible.”
“No.”
Martin looked at him.
“It is the reason this company still exists.”
Andrew stared at me.
“You saved me.”
I shook my head.
“I saved the company.”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
I leaned forward.
“I saved the company because I thought it represented the man I married.”
His expression changed.
“And now?”
“Now I know better.”
The chief financial officer, Helen Morris, stood.
“I have something to add.”
Andrew turned.
“You?”
Helen looked nervous.
“I've been CFO for six years.”
“Yes.”
“And for four of those years, I received instructions from Escalante Holdings.”
Andrew stared.
“From who?”
She looked at me.
“Mrs. Escalante.”
His mouth opened.
“You?”
I nodded.
Helen continued.
“She personally reviewed several major transactions.”
Andrew laughed.
“This is ridiculous.”
Helen's voice became firmer.
“You didn't know because she specifically instructed us not to tell you.”
Andrew looked at me.
“Why?”
“Because I didn't want you to succeed because of me.”
His face twisted.
“You wanted to test me.”
“Yes.”
“And now you're punishing me because I failed?”
“No.”
I looked directly into his eyes.
“You're facing consequences because you hurt me.”
The door opened.
Brenda walked in.
She was wearing a cream-colored suit.
Perfect hair.
Perfect makeup.
Perfect expression.
Until she saw the board.
Then she stopped.
“Andrew?”
He turned.
“What are you doing here?”
She looked around.
“I thought you asked me to come.”
“I didn't.”
Brenda's face changed.
Then she saw me.
Her eyes narrowed.
“You.”
I smiled.
“Good morning, Brenda.”
She looked at Andrew.
“What is happening?”
Andrew didn't answer.
Martin spoke.
“Ms. Carter, you're not authorized to attend this meeting.”
She stepped forward.
“I am Andrew's partner.”
I corrected her.
“His mistress.”
Brenda glared at me.
“You have no right—”
“I own the majority voting interest in this company.”
She stopped.
I continued.
“And you are currently under investigation for unauthorized transfers.”
Her face went pale.
“What transfers?”
I nodded toward Daniel.
He opened a file.
“Fourteen transfers totaling eleven million, eight hundred thousand dollars.”
Brenda stared.
“That money was legitimate.”
Daniel turned another page.
“It was transferred to accounts under your control.”
“They were gifts.”
“From the company?”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
Andrew looked at her.
“What?”
Brenda turned.
“Andrew, I can explain.”
“You took company money?”
“No.”
Daniel placed a document on the table.
“This transfer was authorized using Mr. Wentworth's digital signature.”
Andrew stared.
“I didn't authorize it.”
Brenda swallowed.
“You did.”
“No.”
“You gave me access.”
Andrew's eyes widened.
“When?”
“Last year.”
“I never gave you access to corporate accounts.”
“You did.”
She looked at me.
“Tell her.”
I stared at her.
“Tell me what?”
Brenda's confidence began to disappear.
“That Andrew knew.”
I turned toward him.
Andrew looked stunned.
“I didn't.”
Brenda's face hardened.
“You knew.”
“I didn't.”
“You signed the authorization.”
Andrew shook his head.
“That isn't my signature.”
Daniel studied the document.
Then looked at me.
“This signature may have been forged.”
Silence.
I looked at Brenda.
She said nothing.
Security officers entered the room.
Brenda immediately backed away.
“Why are they here?”
I answered.
“Because this meeting is over for you.”
“You can't do this.”
“I can.”
“You think you own everyone?”
“No.”
I looked at her.
“Just the company.”
She stared at me with hatred.
“You'll regret this.”
I didn't react.
“Take her out.”
The officers approached.
Brenda turned toward Andrew.
“Say something!”
He didn't.
“Andrew!”
He remained silent.
She was escorted out.
The door closed.
Andrew looked exhausted.
Martin stood.
“Mrs. Escalante, there is another matter.”
“What?”
“The company's emergency credit facility.”
“Yes.”
“The bank has requested immediate clarification.”
“Give it to them.”
“They're concerned that the freeze could cause insolvency.”
I looked around the table.
“Then tell them this.”
Everyone waited.
“The company will survive.”
I looked at Andrew.
“He won't be running it.”
Andrew's head snapped up.
“What?”
I looked toward the board.
“Effective immediately, Andrew Wentworth is suspended as CEO.”
The room went silent.
Andrew stood.
“You can't remove me.”
I nodded toward Daniel.
“Read Clause Four.”
Daniel opened the trust documents.
“Escalante Holdings retains the right to suspend any executive officer whose conduct creates material financial or reputational risk to the controlled entity.”
Andrew stared.
“That's me?”
“Yes.”
“Because of the affair?”
“Because of financial misconduct, breach of fiduciary responsibility, and violence involving a controlling shareholder.”
He looked at me.
“You're using the company against me.”
“No.”
I stood.
“You used my marriage against me.”
He stared.
“I am simply no longer protecting you from the consequences.”
He walked toward me.
For a second, I thought he might become violent again.
Security stepped forward.
He stopped.
His voice became quieter.
“Mariana.”
I looked at him.
“Please.”
It was the first time he had said that word to me in person.
Please.
Not an order.
Not a threat.
A plea.
“Don't do this.”
I remained silent.
“I'll fix everything.”
“No.”
“I'll leave Brenda.”
“That isn't enough.”
“I'll apologize to your father.”
“No.”
“I'll give you the company.”
I almost laughed.
“You can't give me something I already own.”
He closed his eyes.
“I love you.”
I looked at him.
“Maybe.”
He opened his eyes.
“But you don't know how to love me.”
Tears appeared in his eyes.
“I can change.”
“Then change.”
He stared.
“But do it without me.”
He lowered himself into the chair.
The powerful CEO was gone.
The man who had ordered me to kneel the night before was now sitting in front of his own board, unable to stop his removal.
Martin stood.
“The board vote is ready.”
One by one, the directors voted.
Eight in favor.
One abstention.
Zero against.
Andrew was removed.
The room remained silent.
He looked at me.
“You won.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
He frowned.
“You did.”
“No.”
I picked up my purse.
“I didn't come here to win.”
“Then why?”
“To stop losing.”
I walked toward the door.
Andrew followed.
“Mariana.”
I stopped.
He stood several feet behind me.
His voice cracked.
“Where will you go?”
I turned.
“Home.”
He looked around the boardroom.
“This is your home?”
“No.”
I smiled faintly.
“My home is wherever I don't have to beg someone to respect me.”
He looked down.
Then whispered:
“I destroyed everything.”
I didn't answer.
Because for the first time, I realized he was right.
But he had destroyed it himself.
Not me.
Outside the boardroom, Daniel caught up with me.
“We have another problem.”
“What?”
“The forensic audit is complete.”
“And?”
He handed me a thick report.
“There are forty-seven suspicious transfers.”
I opened the first page.
“Forty-seven?”
“Yes.”
“Total?”
“Thirty-six million dollars.”
I stared.
“Where did it go?”
“Mostly offshore.”
“Who authorized it?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Andrew's signature appears on thirty-one.”
“And the others?”
“Margaret.”
My jaw tightened.
“Anything connected to Brenda?”
“Yes.”
“Anything connected to Victor Hale?”
Daniel looked at me.
“That's the problem.”
He turned the page.
A company name was highlighted.
Hale Meridian Advisory.
I stared.
“Victor.”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Twenty-three million.”
My stomach dropped.
“That means Andrew wasn't just stealing from me.”
“No.”
Daniel looked grim.
“He was paying Victor.”
“For what?”
“We don't know.”
I closed the folder.
“Find out.”
That afternoon, Andrew returned to the mansion.
But the security system no longer recognized him as the owner.
His key card failed.
His fingerprints were denied.
The gate wouldn't open.
He stood outside in silence.
Margaret came rushing toward him.
“What happened?”
Andrew looked at her.
“It's gone.”
“What?”
“The company.”
Margaret's face changed.
“You're still the CEO.”
“No.”
“What did she do?”
Andrew looked toward the mansion.
“She owns everything.”
Margaret stared.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“She can't.”
“She can.”
Margaret's breathing became shallow.
“What are we going to do?”
Andrew didn't answer.
His phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
The bank.
He answered.
“Yes?”
The banker spoke.
Andrew listened.
His face became increasingly pale.
“What?”
A pause.
“No.”
Another pause.
Andrew closed his eyes.
“That's not possible.”
He hung up.
Margaret looked at him.
“What?”
Andrew whispered:
“The house is gone.”
Margaret froze.
“What do you mean?”
“Escalante Holdings has exercised its ownership rights.”
Margaret looked around the mansion.
“This is our house.”
Andrew shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at the marble staircase.
The chandelier.
The portraits.
The life they had believed belonged to them.
“It was hers.”
That evening, I sat alone in my office.
The city lights reflected across the windows.
My phone remained silent.
For the first time in years, I didn't feel the need to explain myself to anyone.
Then Daniel walked in.
“We found the person who owns the fourth offshore account.”
I looked up.
“Who?”
He placed a photograph on my desk.
I stared at it.
A woman.
Middle-aged.
Dark hair.
Sharp eyes.
I recognized her immediately.
My heart stopped.
“That's impossible.”
Daniel shook his head.
“It's confirmed.”
I picked up the photograph.
“Who is she?”
Daniel answered quietly:
“Your mother.”
My hand went cold.
“My mother died twenty years ago.”
“I know.”
“Then who is this?”
Daniel placed another document beside the photograph.
A passport.
A bank statement.
A company registration.
All under the same name.
Elena Escalante.
My mother's name.
I stared at the documents.
Then at Daniel.
“What are you telling me?”
He lowered his voice.
“We're not sure yet.”
“But?”
“There are transfers from this account to Andrew's company.”
“How much?”
“Nearly sixty million dollars.”
I stood.
“Sixty?”
“Yes.”
“Over how long?”
“Three years.”
My heart began pounding.
Three years.
Andrew's betrayal had begun three years ago.
My mother had supposedly died twenty years ago.
And somehow, someone using her identity had been moving millions of dollars through my husband's company.
I looked at the photograph again.
Then Daniel said something that made my blood run cold.
“There's one more thing.”
“What?”
“The woman in the photograph…”
He paused.
“…was photographed six months ago.”
I couldn't breathe.
My mother was supposed to be dead.
But someone who looked exactly like her had been alive.
And she had been sending money to my husband.
I stared at the photograph.
For the first time since leaving Andrew's mansion, I felt something stronger than anger.
Fear.
May you like
Because perhaps Andrew's betrayal wasn't the biggest secret I had uncovered.
Perhaps it was only the beginning.
