Chapter 10 - The Company Coup
The emergency board meeting began at nine the next morning.
I attended remotely from my attorney’s office because police advised against appearing publicly.
Ethan’s hospital bed remained empty on the screen.
He was still unconscious.
Yet his attorney presented the motion in his absence.
The accusations against me were brutal.
Emotional instability.
Reckless behavior.
Domestic conflict.
Poor judgment.
Mismanagement.
Then they introduced private psychiatric records from therapy I had attended after Claire died.
I felt rage rise.
Those records were confidential.
Victoria had obtained fragments through a medical administrator she knew.
The documents were twisted into something they were never meant to say.
Grief became instability.
Insomnia became incapacity.
Medication prescribed for three weeks became dependency.
The board members looked uncomfortable.
But fear could move billions of dollars.
Then Senator Malcolm Reeves joined the meeting.
He had no official role at Mercer Holdings.
Yet three directors greeted him warmly.
That told me everything.
Malcolm spoke calmly.
“Daniel, nobody is questioning your devotion to your child.”
I nearly laughed.
He continued.
“We are questioning whether this company can survive while you pursue conspiracy theories surrounding your wife’s tragic accident.”
I looked directly into the camera.
“Claire’s brake line was cut.”
Silence.
Malcolm barely reacted.
“According to whom?”
“A forensic specialist working with police.”
His eyes changed for one second.
That second was enough.
I knew.
He knew what happened.
Malcolm recovered quickly.
“Then allow law enforcement to investigate.”
“I intend to.”
I placed Claire’s original trust amendment in front of the camera.
“And while they do that, perhaps the board would like to know why you filed a fraudulent trust document after my father died.”
Everything stopped.
One director leaned forward.
Malcolm’s face remained perfectly calm.
“That accusation is defamatory.”
Judge Whitmore joined the call.
“I witnessed the original amendment.”
Malcolm’s expression finally cracked.
She continued.
“The version filed by Senator Reeves was not the document Richard Mercer signed.”
Chaos erupted.
The board postponed the vote.
Malcolm disconnected without another word.
Rachel exhaled.
“That bought us time.”
“No.”
I looked at the blank screen.
“It made him desperate.”
My phone rang.
The hospital.
Ethan had regained consciousness.
We arrived forty minutes later.
Police were already outside his room.
Ethan looked terrible.
But when he saw me, he smiled faintly.
“You finally found Malcolm.”
“What did he do to Claire?”
Ethan stared at the ceiling.
“He didn’t cut the brake line.”
“Did you?”
Tears formed in his eyes.
“Yes.”
Grace turned away.
I felt something inside me break.
Ethan continued.
“Malcolm told me Claire had evidence that would send us both to prison.”
“So you killed her?”
“I damaged the line.”
His voice cracked.
“I thought she would notice before driving.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“You cut her brakes and hoped she would notice?”
“I was scared.”
“You were a coward.”
“Yes.”
He closed his eyes.
Then he whispered.
“But Claire didn’t die because of the brakes.”
I froze.
“What?”
May you like
Ethan opened his eyes again.
“She survived the crash.”
