Chapter 13 - the vote at midnight
The theft of the original footage created an immediate legal problem.
Copies existed, but Isabella’s lawyers argued that the evidence chain had been compromised. They claimed the video could no longer be authenticated because the original storage device was missing.
Ethan disagreed.
“The second camera stored mirrored copies in Thomas’s surveillance room. Owen never knew it existed.”
“Do we still have the mirrored device?” Marcus asked.
“Yes. It remains secured at the residence.”
“Then move it.”
“To where?”
“Somewhere no Vale employee controls.”
Khloe suggested the federal prosecutor’s office.
By afternoon, the mirrored device, Aurelia ledgers, trust amendments, and Owen’s recordings had been transferred under armed protection.
Isabella’s first defense collapsed.
Julian’s attorneys then filed an emergency petition against the trust.
They argued that the investigation, Khloe’s alleged involvement with Brighton Strategy, and Serena’s disputed identity made the succession agreement unstable.
The board scheduled a midnight vote to suspend Marcus as chief executive until the courts reviewed the documents.
“They are using the scandal to remove you,” Khloe said.
Marcus stood inside his office overlooking the city.
“Let them.”
“You cannot surrender the company to people who helped Aurelia operate.”
“I will not trade your safety for my title.”
“This is not only your title. Vale Global employs thousands of people. If the board takes control, they will destroy every remaining record.”
Ethan entered.
“Khloe is right.”
Marcus looked between them.
“I thought security directors were supposed to agree with me.”
“Not when you’re making a bad decision.”
Margaret joined them carrying a list of shareholders.
“To block the suspension, we need three additional votes.”
“Julian controls four,” Marcus said.
“Not anymore. His voting rights were frozen after the confession.”
“Who replaces them?”
“The foundation’s protected shares.”
Khloe understood.
“The trust.”
“It is not fully active,” Margaret said. “But Thomas included emergency voting authority for the interim beneficiary.”
“Serena,” Marcus said.
They found Serena in the library.
She had spent the day answering investigators’ questions and learning that her entire career had been arranged by people she had never met.
“I don’t want the shares,” she said.
“You don’t have to keep them,” Marcus replied. “But for one vote, you can stop the board from burying the investigation.”
“How do I know you won’t bury it later?”
“You don’t.”
Khloe sat beside her.
“Then don’t vote for Marcus. Vote for complete disclosure. Require every Aurelia account, contract, and board approval to be released to independent investigators.”
Marcus nodded.
“Make it a condition.”
Serena looked toward Margaret.
“And Helena?”
“We search for her,” Margaret said.
“Publicly?”
“If that is what you want.”
Serena considered the offer.
“I want the company to admit what happened to my mother, even if the truth destroys the Vale name.”
Marcus extended his hand.
“Agreed.”
At midnight, the board assembled by secure video conference.
Several members demanded Marcus resign.
Others claimed Isabella had acted alone.
Khloe watched from outside the conference room as the same people who praised the foundation hours earlier attempted to protect themselves.
The vote began.
Five members supported suspension.
Four opposed it.
The final votes belonged to Margaret and the interim trust beneficiary.
Margaret voted against suspension.
The result became tied.
Serena activated her camera.
Most board members did not recognize her.
“My name is Serena Holt,” she said. “I am the daughter of Helena Cross and Thomas Vale.”
Silence followed.
“Under Amendment 7 of the Vale Legacy Trust, I am exercising emergency voting authority.”
One trustee interrupted.
“Your identity has not been legally verified.”
Serena held up the sealed preliminary DNA report.
“It has now.”
Marcus looked at the report.
The result confirmed a paternal family connection to Thomas Vale’s line.
Serena continued.
“I vote against suspending Marcus Vale, but my vote has four conditions. Every Aurelia record will be released to investigators. Every affected charitable account will be restored. An independent board will oversee the foundation. And no member of the Vale family will control the investigation.”
The trustees understood the consequences.
Approving her vote would expose them.
Rejecting it would make them appear complicit.
The motion to suspend Marcus failed.
Within minutes, two board members resigned.
A third attempted to transfer funds overseas.
Ethan froze the transaction.
The immediate battle was over.
Marcus remained chief executive.
Serena became a recognized beneficiary.
Khloe’s name was cleared by the security footage.
But as the meeting ended, the preliminary DNA laboratory called.
Ethan placed the call on speaker.
“There is a problem with Serena Holt’s result,” the technician said.
Marcus looked toward Serena.
“What problem?”
“The sample confirms she is related to Thomas Vale.”
“That is what the report says.”
“Yes, but she is not his daughter.”
Serena went pale.
The technician continued.
“The genetic distance indicates Thomas Vale was most likely her uncle.”
Margaret stood slowly.
“Then Helena’s child was not Thomas’s.”
Khloe looked toward the hidden photograph.
“Which Vale brother was Helena involved with?”
Everyone turned toward Julian’s empty chair.
Ethan checked the latest custody report.
Julian had been transferred to a secure medical unit after reporting chest pain.
May you like
The unit called at the same moment.
Julian Vale had disappeared.
