Chapter 8 - The Inside Man
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Daniel paced the length of the study, the crumpled paper clutched in his fist.
"Who has the authority to sign off on an emergency medical or legal proxy?" Daniel demanded into the phone.
"The executive committee," Marcus replied, the sound of keyboard clicking echoing in the background. "Myself, Robert Hale from operations, and Julian Vance, the chief legal counsel. That's it. If she filed this document, one of us had to countersign it to legitimize it in the corporate registry."
"It wasn't you," Daniel said. It wasn't a question.
"If it was me, you'd already be locked out of the building," Marcus snorted. "Robert is a coward; he wouldn't risk federal fraud charges. That leaves Julian."
Julian Vance. The man who had drawn up Daniel’s prenuptial agreement. The man who had been a trusted friend of the Bennett family for two decades.
"Julian introduced me to Vanessa," Daniel realized, the sickening pieces of the puzzle snapping into place.
"Three years ago at the charity auction," Marcus confirmed. "He brought her as his plus-one. Six months later, you married her."
It was a long con. Julian Vance had planted Vanessa in Daniel’s life, slowly grooming her to become the perfect wife, all while meticulously planning to steal the company from the inside out.
"Julian knows I wasn't arrested," Daniel said, his mind racing. "The proxy failed. What is their next move?"
"If they can't get you arrested, they'll try to prove you are medically unfit," Marcus warned. "Julian will call an emergency board meeting. He'll use the police report from the gala, the witnesses who saw you strike her, and he'll claim you are suffering a psychological break. They will vote to remove you temporarily for your own health."
"When?"
"The quarterly board meeting is tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM," Marcus stated. "I guarantee Julian is putting a motion of no confidence on the agenda."
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"I need proof that Julian signed the documents," Daniel said fiercely. "If I walk into that boardroom with just a crumpled draft, they will call me paranoid."
"I can't access Julian's secure files remotely," Marcus sighed. "You need hard evidence, Daniel. You need a confession, or you need the original documents. And you have less than twelve hours."
