Chapter 4 - The True Master of the BoardWilliam Hayes stepped up the stairs of the stage, ignoring Ryan completely, and bowed respectfully to me.
"Madame President," William announced loudly, his voice carrying clearly across the entire ballroom. "The executive restructuring documents have been fully processed. All digital keys, asset portfolios, and operational control have been successfully transitioned back to your direct oversight."
The ballroom erupted into sheer pandemonium.
Madame President?
Investors gasped. Board members stared at William in shock. Whispers exploded from every corner of the room.
Ryan grabbed William’s arm, his face completely drained of color, sweat beading across his forehead. "What is the meaning of this?! I am the newly appointed Vice President of Operations! I signed the executive charter last week! I report directly to the board!"
William slowly pulled his arm away from Ryan’s grip with an expression of profound, icy disgust.
"You report to no one, Mr. Bennett," William said crisply. "Because as of five minutes ago, your executive appointment has been permanently revoked."
"Revoked?!" Ryan screamed, losing all control, his voice cracking with panic as two hundred wealthy elites watched his life unravel in real time. "You can't revoke my position! I secured three major logistics contracts this quarter! I earned this promotion! Ask Madison! Ask the advisory board!"
"Your logistics contracts were vetted, financed, and subsidized by the Victoria Sterling Legacy Trust," William replied, opening the leather portfolio and holding up a signed employment agreement. "Every single dollar of operating capital your department utilized came directly from her personal holdings. You didn't build Sterling Global, Mr. Bennett. You were an employee managing a department funded by the very woman you humiliated tonight."
Ryan stumbled backward, his hip slamming against the edge of the mahogany podium. He turned his wide, terrified eyes toward me, his chest heaving as reality finally shattered his delusions of grandeur.
"Victoria..." he choked out, his voice dropping into a pathetic, desperate plea. "Victoria, please. It was a joke. The dress... I was just stressed about the gala, it was a moment of madness! We’ve been together for seven years! You love me!"
I looked down at him—the man who had stood in our backyard less than two hours earlier, coldly pouring lighter fluid over the only elegant dress I owned, convinced he was eradicating a embarrassing anchor holding him back.
"I loved a man who didn't exist, Ryan," I said quietly. "You didn't burn my dress because you were stressed. You burned it because you were ashamed of where you came from, and you wanted to erase every trace of the person who carried you through the dark."
I turned to William. "Is the federal audit for the corporate expense discrepancies ready?"
"Yes, Madame President," William answered smoothly, pulling out a second set of documents. "Preliminary findings indicate that Mr. Bennett systematically misallocated forty-thousand dollars in corporate funds to finance unauthorized personal luxuries, including leasing his vehicle and purchasing jewelry for unauthorized third parties."
William glanced briefly at Madison, who instantly turned the color of chalk, taking three rapid steps backward away from Ryan as if he were carrying a plague.
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"That's a lie!" Madison shrieked, pointing a shaking finger at Ryan. "I had nothing to do with his finances! He bought those things himself! We aren't even together, he tricked me!"
The hypocrisy was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
