Chapter 4 - The Boardroom SiegeAt 2:00 p.m., the grand executive boardroom on the 40th floor of Vance Tower in downtown Chicago was filled with fifteen senior shareholders, legal directors, and primary investors.
Sitting at the head of the long mahogany conference table, looking pale, disheveled, and flanked by his high-priced criminal defense attorney, Richard Sterling, was Daniel.
He had been released on a two-million-dollar emergency bail bond posted by his mother’s legal trust forty-five minutes earlier, pending his formal arraignment. He wore a rumpled dark suit, his dark hair unstyled, sweat glistening on his forehead as he tried frantically to maintain his seat on the board.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the board," Richard Sterling announced, standing beside Daniel. "My client is the victim of a coordinated personal campaign. The allegations regarding his wife's injuries are a domestic matter that will be addressed in court. Regarding the corporate audit requested by Julian Vance—"
BOOM!
The double mahogany doors of the boardroom were thrown open.
A automated wheelchair rolled smoothly down the center aisle, pushed by Dr. Lena Ortiz.
Sitting in the chair, wearing an immaculate dark emerald wool blazer over her high-collared white blouse—concealing the heavy bandages wrapping her shoulders and neck—holding a sleek tablet, was me.
Walking directly beside my right shoulder, carrying four thick leather binders, was Julian Vance.
The fifteen board members jumped out of their chairs in total, shock-filled silence.
Daniel’s jaw dropped open. He staggered back against his chair, his eyes bulging as he stared at the woman he had stepped over twenty-four hours earlier.
"Evelyn...!" Daniel stammered, his voice cracking into a high, frantic squeak. "What... what are you doing here?! You're supposed to be in ICU!"
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I locked my hazel eyes onto him, my voice booming through the high-ceilinged room with thunderous, sovereign authority.
"I am here to execute a corporate receivership, Daniel," I stated flatly.
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