Chapter 5 - The Gathering Storm
The boardroom at Hayes Global headquarters on Michigan Avenue was designed to intimidate. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the grey expanse of Lake Michigan, dark oak paneling absorbed every sound, and the long conference table could seat thirty executives comfortably.
At 2:00 PM, the emergency board meeting was in full swing.
Twelve division heads, two outside legal counsel representatives, federal investigators in sharp charcoal suits, and Victor Kane sat around the mahogany table. Victor looked relaxed, wearing a bespoke navy suit, leaning back in his executive chair with a cup of espresso in hand, playing the role of the loyal, grieving lieutenant holding the fort together while the boss dealt with a personal family crisis at the hospital.
“As you can all see from the financial summary,” Victor was saying, his voice smooth and authoritative as he gestured to the projector screen at the front of the room, “the recent discrepancies in the employee medical fund point directly to an administrative breach. While our primary focus right now is supporting Dominic through this difficult time regarding Ms. Ellis’s sudden collapse, we must also protect the integrity of the corporation.”
Federal Investigator Vance sat near the back of the room, arms crossed, staring intently at Victor with a look that could cut glass.
The heavy double doors at the end of the boardroom swung open with a loud bang.
Every head turned.
I walked into the room. I wasn't wearing my usual immaculate tie. My shirt sleeves were rolled up to my forearms, my hair slightly disheveled, and my eyes locked dead-center on Victor Kane. The air in the room instantly dropped twenty degrees.
“Dominic,” Victor said smoothly, standing up with a practiced display of solemn concern. “You shouldn't be here. You should be at the hospital with—'”
“Shut up, Victor,” I said.
My voice wasn't loud. It didn't need to be. It carried the lethal weight of an avalanche rolling down a mountain.
Victor blinked, a flicker of genuine confusion crossing his face before he recovered his composure. “Excuse me? Boss, I know you’re under a lot of stress right now with Mara in intensive care, but—'”
“I said shut up,” I repeated, walking slowly down the length of the long table.
I reached my usual seat at the head of the table, but I didn't sit down. I dropped a thick manila envelope onto the polished wood right in front of Victor’s coffee cup.
“What is this?” Victor asked, eyeing the envelope warily.
“Open it,” I commanded.
Victor hesitatingly reached out, lifted the flap, and pulled out the top three documents. As his eyes scanned the printed bank transfer receipts bearing his own hidden authorization codes and the SEC email correspondence, the color drained completely from his face. His carefully constructed veneer of corporate charm shattered into a million jagged pieces.
“This... this is fabricated,” Victor stammered, his voice pitching an octave higher. “These documents are forged. Anyone could print these out—”
“Anyone except the man who keeps them in a digital safe behind the wet bar of his Lake Shore Drive penthouse,” I interrupted, leaning forward over the table, planting my fists on the wood. “Combination 111418. Right beside your secondary passport and your federal immunity agreement.”
The room erupted into sudden, chaotic murmurs. Division heads muttered to one another; the outside legal counsel scrambled backward in their chairs; and Investigator Vance stood up slowly from the back, pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt.
“Victor Kane,” Vance said, stepping forward, his voice ringing clearly across the boardroom. “You’re under arrest for grand larceny, wire fraud, embezzlement, and conspiracy to obstruct federal investigators.”
Before Victor could move—before his hand could even twitch toward the small of his back where I knew he carried a backup Walther PPK—I lunged across the table, grabbed him by the throat, and hauled him clean out of his executive chair.
The heavy oak chair crashed backward onto the floor.
I slammed Victor against the dark wood paneling of the boardroom wall, my fingers tightening around his windpipe until his face turned a bruised, ugly purple.
“You tried to steal from the men who built this company,” I whispered fiercely into his ear, my voice trembling with a rage I had held back for forty-eight hours. “You tried to frame an innocent woman who had more integrity in her little finger than you’ve had in your entire miserable life. And you thought you could walk away scot-free.”
“Dominic...” Victor choked out, clawing frantically at my wrists. “Please... we’re partners...”
“We were never partners, Victor,” I said.
I shoved him hard forward into the waiting arms of Detective Vance and two federal marshals who had materialized by the doorway.
Vance slapped the cuffs onto Victor’s wrists with a harsh click-click, shoving him toward the exit as Victor snarled curses and threats over his shoulder.
When the heavy doors closed behind them, silence descended once again on the boardroom.
May you like
I stood at the head of the table, breathing heavily, adjusting my cuffs. I looked around at the pale, terrified faces of the division heads.
“Meeting’s adjourned,” I said.
