Chapter 11 - The Boardroom Execution.
Adrian joined the Cafalli Holdings emergency board meeting by secure video from a hospital conference room.
Twelve faces appeared on the screen.
Most of them looked frightened.
Two looked eager.
Marcus Vane sat at the center of the Manhattan boardroom.
"Adrian," he began, "federal investigators served warrants this morning."
"I saw."
"The records carry your authorization."
"Forged."
A director named Helen Ward leaned toward the camera.
"Can you prove that?"
"Yes."
It was a gamble.
Adrian did not yet know if it was true.
But hesitation would be treated as guilt.
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
"Until this is resolved, the board is considering temporary suspension of your executive authority."
Adrian almost admired the timing.
Victor had designed the attack perfectly.
Take away his company.
Discredit his name.
Isolate him from the resources he needed.
Then come for Claire and the key.
"Who proposed the suspension?" Adrian asked.
No one answered immediately.
Helen finally said, "I did."
Adrian looked at her.
"At whose request?"
Her eyes flickered.
That was enough.
"Victor Cafalli contacted you."
Helen's face hardened.
"Your uncle is a shareholder."
"My uncle hasn't attended a board meeting in four years."
"He was concerned."
"About the company?"
Adrian leaned closer to the camera.
"Or about what Daniel Dawson found?"
Several directors exchanged looks.
Marcus spoke sharply.
"What does Dawson have to do with this?"
Adrian studied him.
For the first time, Marcus seemed genuinely confused.
Perhaps not everyone around him was compromised.
"Daniel did not steal from Cafalli Holdings," Adrian said.
"He discovered a criminal network using our accounts."
Helen interrupted.
"This is absurd."
"Then why did Victor sign Daniel's internal audit when Victor held no office at the company?"
Silence spread across the screen.
Marcus turned toward someone outside the camera frame.
"Get me that file."
Helen stood.
"This meeting is becoming reckless."
Adrian watched her leave.
Then her video feed abruptly disappeared.
A second later, Peter opened the conference-room door.
"We have a problem."
Adrian muted the call.
"What?"
"Claire is gone."
Adrian stood so fast the chair struck the wall.
"What do you mean gone?"
"Evelyn was with Noah. Claire said she was going to the restroom. One of our guards saw her enter the elevator with a nurse."
"Which nurse?"
Peter's expression answered before he spoke.
"There was no nurse assigned to that floor matching the description."
Adrian's pulse surged.
He left the conference room without ending the board call.
At the nurses' station, Evelyn looked furious with herself.
"She told me she needed two minutes."
"Did she take the key?"
Evelyn looked toward Noah's room.
The brass chain that had been around Claire's neck was lying on the chair.
The key was gone.
Adrian stared at it.
Then his phone vibrated.
A text from Claire appeared.
DON'T FOLLOW ME.
May you like
A second message arrived immediately after.
THEY SAY DANIEL IS ALIVE.
