Chapter 6 - The Boardroom Execution
Within forty-eight hours of Selina’s arrest, the house of cards Julian Vance had built completely collapsed.
Facing accessory to attempted murder and conspiracy charges, Selina Cole cracked within two hours of interrogation. To save herself from a maximum twenty-year prison sentence, she signed a full cooperation agreement with the District Attorney, handing over every text message, email, and financial record proving that Julian had planned the assault under her constant manipulation and pressure.
David Vance didn't waste a single second. Armed with the audio recording, Selina's confession, and forensic medical reports of my near-fatal injuries, he filed a multi-pronged legal tsunami against Julian.
It was a total corporate and personal annihilation.
The emergency board meeting of Vance Global was called for 9:00 AM on a crisp Tuesday morning. I insisted on being discharged early, wearing a sharp, structured black pantsuit that hid my healing abdominal bandages, my hair pulled back into a severe, elegant chignon, and dark sunglasses shielding my eyes.
When I walked through the double glass doors of the Vance Global executive boardroom on the fiftieth floor, every head turned in absolute shock.
Julian sat at the head of the mahogany table. He looked like a corpse walking. His skin was gray, his designer suit hung loosely off his shoulders, and his eyes were bloodshot from sleepless nights and mounting panic. News of Selina’s arrest had broken the evening before, wiping out another 30% of the company's stock value.
"Nora..." Julian whispered, half-rising from his leather chair, his voice cracking. "What... what are you doing here? You should be in the hospital."
"And you should be in a holding cell, Julian," I said coldly, my voice ringing clear across the silent, massive room.
I walked straight to the empty chair directly opposite him—the seat reserved for the controlling shareholder—and sat down with absolute authority.
"Madame Chairman," Marcus Sterling, Julian’s high-priced defense attorney who had rushed to the boardroom to represent him, stammered nervously, standing up. "This is a private corporate meeting. Mrs. Vance has no legal standing to—"
"Shut up, Marcus," David Vance interrupted smoothly, stepping into the room right behind me carrying a thick leather briefcase. He dropped heavy legal folders in front of every single board member. "Let me introduce myself. I am David Vance, Senior Counsel for Nora Vance. And these documents represent an emergency shareholder takeover, backed by 51% of voting shares."
Julian stared at David, then back at me, his breath hitching in his throat. "Fifty-one percent? That's impossible! I hold the controlling stake!"
"Not anymore, Julian," I said, leaning forward, resting my elbows on the polished mahogany table, locking my gaze onto his terrified eyes. "Under our pre-nuptial agreement, reinforced by emergency civil forfeiture statutes due to attempted homicide and spousal abuse, all of your corporate shares, assets, and voting rights have been legally transferred to my name as restitution and emergency marital relief."
The board members began frantically flipping through the legal documents, murmuring amongst themselves in stunned disbelief.
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Julian’s face twisted in sheer panic. He lunged across the table toward me, his hands clawing at the air. "You can't do this! I built this company! You're a nobody without me! I'll kill you—!"
Before Julian could take another step, two towering security guards stationed at the boardroom doors grabbed him by the shoulders, slamming him down hard back into his leather chair.
