Chapter 4 - The Corporate Boardroom Coup
The morning sun over downtown Los Angeles usually brought a sense of renewal, but inside the top-floor boardroom of Carter Dynamics, the atmosphere was thick with corporate execution. The twenty-person board of directors sat in absolute silence around the obsidian conference table. Holographic displays projected financial audits, transaction logs, and internal messaging transcripts that exposed Jason’s months-long conspiracy to siphon intellectual property to a rival shell company managed by Tiffany’s brother.
Jason sat at the far end of the table, looking hollowed out, his expensive suit wrinkled from a night spent in holding before his legal team managed to secure a conditional release pending trial. His hair was disheveled, and his hands were cuffed loosely to the arm of his chair.
"The evidence before us is unequivocal," announced Arthur Pendelton, the senior board member and founding investor who had backed me back in our startup days. He looked at Jason with undisguised disgust. "Mr. Carter has actively engaged in corporate espionage, embezzlement, and breach of fiduciary duty. Eleanor, the floor is yours."
I stood at the head of the table, sliding a sleek tablet across the surface. "Effective immediately, Jason Carter’s voting shares are revoked under the moral turpitude and criminal misconduct clauses of our corporate charter. Furthermore, all patents registered under his secondary LLC have been legally transferred back to Carter Dynamics via court order obtained this morning."
Jason stood up abruptly, his chair screeching against the polished floor. "You can't do this to me! I built this company with you! I made you who you are!"
"You were an employee with a fancy title, Jason," I replied, my voice steady and cold. "And as of right now, you're fired."
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Security guards stepped forward, placing firm hands on his shoulders and guiding him toward the double doors. As he passed me, his eyes flashed with venomous hatred. "You'll regret this, Eleanor. You’re cold, calculating, and nobody will ever truly love a woman like you."
"Save your breath for your criminal defense attorney," I answered without blinking an eye. "You're going to need every ounce of it."
