Chapter 9 - The Board Begins to Turn
By eight the next morning, Grant's affair was public.
By nine, photographs of Rebecca leaving the East 74th Street apartment appeared online.
By ten, financial reporters were asking whether Northstar funds had been used to purchase the property.
Northstar shares fell eleven percent before lunch.
Grant's office issued no statement.
That silence made everything worse.
Claire sat with Evelyn and Daniel in a private conference room three floors below the boardroom.
Peter Shaw was there too.
He looked exhausted but determined.
Evelyn placed her phone on the table.
"The directors are panicking."
"They should," Daniel said.
Evelyn looked at Claire.
"How much of the reporting is accurate?"
"Most of it."
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"God."
Claire slid a folder toward her.
"There's more."
Evelyn read for twenty minutes.
Vale.
Nathan's payments.
The trust structure.
Project Northstar.
When she finished, she looked older.
"Did Grant authorize these transfers?"
"Yes."
"All of them?"
"Yes."
Evelyn turned toward the window.
"I defended him."
Claire said nothing.
"I told directors he was reckless but brilliant. I told them his instincts justified his temperament."
She looked at Claire.
"I was wrong."
"Grant was wrong."
"That distinction is generous."
Claire did not feel generous.
She felt tired.
Evelyn tapped the folder.
"What do you want?"
"An emergency board meeting."
"To remove him?"
Claire hesitated.
This was the moment she had prepared for.
Yet when it arrived, the answer felt complicated.
Grant deserved removal.
But exposing everything immediately might bury Northstar under investigations before they understood Victoria and Charles Vane's role.
Evelyn watched her.
"Claire?"
"I want the board prepared to remove him."
"But?"
"But I need twelve hours."
Evelyn almost laughed.
"Northstar may not have twelve hours."
"Then give me six."
"For what?"
"Charles Vane."
Daniel looked at Claire.
Evelyn frowned.
"The former general counsel?"
"He's connected to Vale, Thomas's death, and my father's trust."
"Do you know where he is?"
"Not yet."
Peter spoke.
"I might."
Everyone turned.
Peter opened his laptop.
"After Nathan had me taken, I started thinking about how he knew which files we'd accessed."
Daniel leaned forward.
"And?"
"Northstar's archive system logs administrator access."
Peter typed.
"Someone accessed the Vale folder from an external legal credential."
A name appeared.
CV Counsel.
Daniel stared.
"Charles Vane."
"Maybe."
Peter showed them an IP record.
Connecticut.
Evelyn said, "Can you identify the location?"
"With time."
Claire looked at Daniel.
"We don't have time."
Daniel stood.
"I know someone."
Twenty minutes later, they had an address.
Greenwich.
The property belonged to a trust.
Claire and Daniel left immediately.
Grant called while they were driving.
Claire watched his name appear.
She almost ignored it.
Then answered.
"What?"
"Where are you?"
"Busy."
"The board is meeting."
"Not yet."
"Claire."
"What?"
"I know you control the third trust."
She went silent.
Grant continued.
"My mother told me."
"Congratulations."
"Did you always know?"
"About the voting rights, yes. About my father, no."
Grant exhaled.
"Are you going to remove me?"
Claire looked out the window.
"Do you think I should?"
He did not answer.
"Grant."
"Yes."
Claire turned slightly.
"What?"
"Yes. I think you should remove me."
The answer hurt more than expected.
"Why?"
"Because I compromised the company to protect myself."
"You compromised it to protect Victoria too."
"That doesn't make it better."
"No."
"I'll cooperate."
Claire almost believed him.
Then Grant said, "But not yet."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"My mother disappeared."
"What?"
"Her driver went to pick her up this morning. She wasn't home."
"Where is she?"
"I don't know."
Claire glanced at Daniel.
"Do you think she's with Charles?"
Silence.
"Grant?"
"I think Charles called her last night."
"How do you know?"
"I checked her phone records."
Claire's pulse quickened.
"Why would she go to him now?"
"I don't know."
Daniel quietly said, "Ask him about Project Northstar."
Claire did.
Grant went silent.
Then he said, "Claire, wherever you're going, turn around."
"Why?"
"My mother warned me about Charles."
"You've spent years ignoring warnings. I don't feel obligated to start taking yours."
"Claire."
"What did she say?"
Grant lowered his voice.
"She said Charles was the reason Dad changed the succession agreement."
Claire's hand tightened around the phone.
"Explain."
"I can't. That's all she said."
"Then I'll ask Charles."
Grant swore.
"You're going to him?"
"Goodbye, Grant."
She ended the call.
Daniel glanced at her.
"Healthy communication."
"Divorce helps."
They reached Greenwich shortly after noon.
Charles Vane's property sat behind stone walls and iron gates.
Daniel pressed the intercom.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
The gate was partially open.
Daniel looked at Claire.
"This is a bad idea."
"We've had worse."
They drove in.
The front door stood open.
Claire's unease deepened.
"Charles?"
No response.
They entered.
The house smelled of coffee and old wood.
Papers covered the dining table.
A glass lay shattered near the kitchen.
Daniel touched Claire's arm.
"Stay here."
"No."
They moved together toward the study.
Charles Vane sat behind a desk.
For one terrible second, Claire thought he was dead.
Then his eyes opened.
He looked at them.
"Claire Bennett."
Not Whitmore.
Bennett.
Claire froze.
Charles smiled weakly.
"You look like Michael."
She stepped closer.
"Where is Victoria?"
Charles looked toward the fireplace.
"Late."
"For what?"
"Stopping you."
Daniel asked, "Stopping her from what?"
Charles ignored him.
He opened a desk drawer and removed an old cassette recorder.
Claire stared.
"Is that Samuel's recording?"
Charles laughed softly.
"No."
"What is it?"
"Thomas."
Grant's father.
Claire stopped breathing.
Charles pushed the recorder toward her.
"Your father and Grant's father made one final agreement before they died."
Claire looked at the machine.
"About Northstar?"
Charles nodded.
"About who should own it."
Before Claire could press play, a car door slammed outside.
Charles's expression changed.
"She's here."
Claire turned toward the window.
A black sedan had stopped in the driveway.
Victoria stepped out.
May you like
But she was not alone.
Grant emerged from the passenger side.
