Chapter Three
The Meridian Group’s headquarters was a towering monolith of glass and steel. At 9:55 a.m., Maya and I stepped off the elevator onto the executive floor. My heart was a frantic drum against my ribs, but my hands, gripping the leather briefcase containing the true incorporation documents, were entirely steady.
A receptionist with a headset looked up, startled. “Excuse me, do you have an appointment?”
“I’m Claire Bennett,” I said smoothly. “I’m here for the 10:00 a.m. acquisition closing.”
She checked her screen. “Ah, Mrs. Bennett. They didn’t mention you’d be joining. Conference Room A, right down the hall.”
I pushed open the heavy glass doors of Conference Room A.
The scene was picture-perfect corporate triumph. Daniel sat at the head of a massive mahogany table, wearing his most expensive tailored suit, looking relaxed and victorious. Flanking him were three executives from the Meridian Group and two lawyers. In the center of the table sat a thick stack of contracts. A silver Montblanc pen rested beside it, waiting.
Daniel looked up as the door opened. The smug smile on his face instantly shattered. He turned the color of wet ash.
“Claire?” he choked out. “What are you doing here?”
One of the Meridian executives, an older man with sharp eyes, stood up. “Mrs. Bennett? I’m Richard Vance. We were told you couldn’t make the signing today.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Richard,” I said, walking slowly to the edge of the table. Maya stood by the door, arms crossed, blocking the exit.
Daniel shot up from his chair. “Claire, this is a closed meeting. You need to leave. Now.”
“Actually, Daniel, I believe I have the right to a seat.” I unlatched my briefcase and pulled out the certified copies of the incorporation filing and the corporate bylaws. I slid them across the polished mahogany directly to Richard Vance.
“Mr. Vance,” I said, my voice ringing clear and authoritative in the silent room. “I understand you are here to finalize the purchase of this consulting firm from my husband.”
Richard frowned, putting on his reading glasses. “Yes. We have the signed term sheets right here.”
“I suggest you look closely at the document I just gave you. The term sheet you have contains a forged signature for the spousal consent. More importantly, Daniel Bennett does not have the authority to sell this company.”
Daniel lunged forward, slamming his hand on the table. “She’s crazy! She’s having a mental breakdown. Don’t listen to her!”
Richard ignored him, his eyes scanning the state seal on the incorporation papers. He looked up, his expression hardening into corporate stone. “It says here Claire Bennett is the majority shareholder holding fifty-one percent of the voting stock.”
The other Meridian executives began muttering. The lawyers snatched the documents to verify them.
“That’s exactly right,” I said, looking directly into Daniel’s terrified eyes. “And as the majority shareholder, I am officially vetoing this acquisition. The deal is dead.”
“You bitch,” Daniel hissed, losing all semblance of his polished facade. He stepped toward me, his fists clenched, the violent man I knew at home finally showing his face in public.
Before he could take another step, Richard Vance slammed his file shut. “Mr. Bennett! If you take one more step toward her, I will have security escort you out of my building.”
Daniel froze, breathing heavily, realizing he had just exposed himself in front of the very people he had spent months trying to impress.
“Furthermore,” Richard continued, his voice dripping with disgust, “the Meridian Group does not do business with individuals who commit fraud. If my legal team confirms you forged her signature on our preliminary documents, we won’t just pull out of the deal. We will report you to the authorities. This meeting is over.”
The executives stood up in unison, packing their briefcases. Daniel stood completely frozen, his entire life’s work and his golden parachute dissolving into dust in a matter of seconds.
I looked at him one last time. “You can go back to the hotel, Daniel. You don’t have a company to sell anymore.”
I turned and walked out, Maya right behind me.
We were halfway back to Margaret Hale’s office when my phone rang. It was Samuel Ortiz, the forensic accountant.
“Claire,” Samuel said, his voice completely devoid of its usual calm demeanor. “I finished digging into the missing seventy thousand dollars.”
“The money Daniel was siphoning out?” I asked, still riding the adrenaline high of the boardroom.
“Yes. I traced the dummy corporation, L.C. Residential Services. It’s not a property management firm. It’s a shell account. And the money wasn’t going to Lorraine.”
I frowned. “Then who was he paying?”
“Patricia Bennett,” Samuel said. “Daniel’s aunt. Lorraine’s sister.”
I stopped walking. Daniel had barely ever mentioned his Aunt Patty. They supposedly hadn’t spoken in years due to a petty family squabble.
“Why would Daniel be secretly sending seventy thousand dollars of company money to an estranged aunt?” I asked.
“Because it wasn’t a gift, Claire,” Samuel replied, the dread heavy in his tone. “I pulled the accompanying bank memos. It was structured as a restitution schedule. Claire… Daniel wasn’t embezzling for himself. He was paying hush money.”
Chapter Four
