Chapter 34 - THE EMPLOYEE VOTEThe new charter named employees as the controlling beneficiaries.
Yet the transfer had been completed without their direct consent.
Adrian discovered an omitted schedule in the original Bellavere documents.
For elected stewardship to become permanent, at least sixty percent of active employees had to approve it within thirty days.
If the vote failed, the property would revert to the last valid hereditary claimant.
Because Isabella represented both the Moretti and Bell lines, that claimant was her.
Richard’s remaining allies immediately began campaigning against the trust.
Anonymous messages warned employees that shared control would destroy the hotel’s value. Managers were told investors would leave. Housekeepers were told pensions would disappear.
A newly formed company offered to purchase employee voting rights for cash.
Its owner was hidden.
Isabella addressed the staff in the ballroom.
“You have been told the trust will make you rich. It will not.”
The room became quiet.
“You have also been told it will destroy your jobs. It will not do that either.”
She explained the risks honestly.
Employees would elect board representatives and share in long-term profits, but they would also accept responsibility for preserving the hotel during difficult years.
“This vote is not about rewarding loyalty to me,” Isabella said. “You do not owe me your vote.”
The head of housekeeping raised her hand.
“What happens if we vote no?”
“I become the controlling owner.”
“And what would you do?”
“I would create as many protections as I legally could.”
“Then why should we accept responsibility?”
Clara stepped forward.
“Because protections created by one good owner can be removed by the next bad one.”
The ballroom remained silent.
The head security officer who had given Isabella his jacket stood.
“Will executives receive more votes than employees?”
“No,” Adrian said. “One employee, one vote.”
“Will temporary staff vote?”
“Yes, if they have worked the minimum qualifying period.”
“Can management see how we vote?”
“No.”
The campaign lasted two weeks.
Marcus’s trial began during the same period.
His attorneys argued that Isabella’s new biological identity invalidated the marital agreement and therefore Article Twelve.
The judge rejected the argument.
The fraud had occurred regardless of bloodline.
Marcus then made an unexpected request.
He wanted to address the Bellavere employees.
Isabella refused to allow him inside the hotel.
He submitted a recorded statement instead.
“I believed leadership meant being the most important person in the building,” Marcus said. “I was wrong. Leadership is knowing the building can continue without you.”
Several employees distrusted the message.
Others believed it.
Isabella did neither.
Marcus was finally telling a truth.
That did not erase what he had done.
On the day of the vote, ninety-one percent of eligible employees participated.
The result appeared on the ballroom screen.
Fifty-nine point eight percent voted yes.
The trust had failed by less than one percent.
Then Adrian noticed something.
Three hundred and twelve votes had been rejected.
All belonged to employees who had worked at the Bellavere during the fire.
Their identities had been marked deceased.
Clara stared at the list.
May you like
Many were still alive.
Someone had altered the voting registry.
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