Chapter 14 - Asserting Command
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I stared at the grid of faces on the screen, taking a deep, slow breath to steady the adrenaline rushing through my veins.
“Mr. Greer,” I said, keeping my voice perfectly level and devoid of emotion. “Did Lucian request the formation of that committee?”
Malcolm blinked, his slick smile faltering for a fraction of a second. “Well, given the unprecedented situation—”
“That was not my question, Malcolm,” I interrupted, my tone hardening.
The virtual room went dead still. No one breathed.
He cleared his throat nervously. “No. He did not explicitly request it.”
“Did Lucian leave any instructions whatsoever regarding a shift in governance during my tenure as trustee?”
Marcus smoothly slid a heavily redacted legal document into the camera’s view. The board members already had digital copies in their inboxes, but seeing physical paper moving decisively in the right hands always held a certain undeniable power.
I leaned closer to the camera.
“Lucian appointed me as the sole voting trustee because he implicitly trusted me to protect our son’s inheritance and to fiercely guard this company’s core mission. I will not personally run engineering reviews. I will not pretend to understand the intricate code of every technical system by next Tuesday. But I will absolutely decide who is trustworthy enough to lead those teams. And I will not begin my tenure by surrendering my legal authority to men who think pregnancy is a corporate governance weakness.”
Silence hung heavy over the call.
Then, Dr. Priya Nandakumar, the head of medical systems, spoke up. She looked down quickly, hiding a small, triumphant smile.
“I support Mrs. Ashcroft’s position entirely. We can easily provide detailed operational briefings and retain structural continuity without stripping her of her legal authority. Lucian’s estate documents are crystal clear.”
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Another senior director unmuted and voiced his agreement. Then another.
Malcolm Greer’s attempted coup died right there on the screen, completely suffocated before it ever reached a formal vote. That very afternoon, I approved an independent forensic audit of all accounts, retained Priya as my acting operational liaison, and asserted my absolute control over the empire.
