Chapter 15 - The Recess
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The atmosphere inside the boardroom had fundamentally shifted. After Gabriel Voss displayed the irrefutable banking record on the projector, Marian Cho slammed her hand on the table and immediately ordered a recess.
Adrian jumped to his feet, his face flushed with panicked rage. He loudly objected, desperately insisting that this meeting had been scheduled for the sole purpose of resolving my “disruptive and baseless claim,” not to put the company on trial. Marian looked at him with eyes as cold as ice, flatly replying that the entire purpose of the meeting had just drastically changed.
The board’s audit committee swiftly retreated to a smaller, soundproof conference room down the hall, taking Gabriel, the outside corporate attorneys, and Naomi with them.
Adrian aggressively demanded to be allowed inside.
Marian shut the door in his face.
Sloane attempted to follow him, but one of the corporate attorneys stepped into her path, coldly informing her that all financial payments connected to her previous consulting arrangements were now actively under review.
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That was the exact moment the suffocating arrogance in the room evaporated, instantly replaced by sheer, unadulterated terror. The heavy doors clicked shut, leaving Adrian, Sloane, and me alone in the expansive main boardroom.
Adrian turned slowly, his eyes locking onto mine. Stripped of his protective sycophants and his compliant board, he looked entirely different. He began a slow, deliberate march toward where I stood near the floor-to-ceiling windows. The gray light of the Boston morning cast long, harsh shadows across his pale face. He looked like a cornered animal—desperate, unpredictable, and entirely stripped of the polished veneer he presented to the world.
