Chapter 7 - The Downfall
The boardroom erupted into total bedlam.
Julian Vance dropped to his knees, sobbing hysterically as the federal marshals pulled his arms behind his back, clicking the cold steel handcuffs around his wrists.
"It was Graham!" Julian shrieked, pointing his finger at the old chairman. "He promised me ten percent of Northstar! He told me Nolan would never check the fine print in Zurich! He forced me!"
"Shut up, you fool!" Graham roared, his face turning an unhealthy shade of purple as two marshals seized him by the arms.
Graham struggled against the guards, glaring at Nolan with venomous hatred. "You think you've won, Nolan?! You destroyed this company's reputation! The media knows about you and your little secretary! They will tear your personal life apart!"
Nolan slowly walked over to Graham. He adjusted Graham’s crooked tie with terrifying calmness, leaning down until his lips were inches from the old man's ear.
"First of all, Graham," Nolan whispered in a voice so cold it chilled the entire room, "she is no longer my secretary. She is my equal, my partner, and the future mother of my children."
My heart leaped into my throat, sweet heat flooding my entire body.
"And secondly," Nolan added, turning toward the glass wall pointing down to Fifth Avenue, "the media isn't waiting for a scandal. They're waiting for a press conference."
Ten minutes later, the federal agents led Graham Morrison and Julian Vance out through the glass lobby of the Rivers Meridian Tower in front of fifty news cameras.
The image of the disgraced former chairman and CFO being loaded into federal police cruisers exploded across global news networks within seconds.
Up on the 50th floor, the remaining nine board members stood around the table, terrified, looking at Nolan like he was a god who held their financial lives in his hands.
Nolan took his seat at the head of the table.
"Gentlemen," Nolan announced, gesturing to the empty chair on his right—the seat formerly occupied by the Chairman. "Please welcome the new Vice-Chairwoman and Chief Forensic Officer of Rivers Meridian Group... Maya Ward."
The board members didn't hesitate. They stood up immediately, bursting into desperate, enthusiastic applause, bowing their heads to me in absolute respect.
I walked over to the head of the table, pulling out the heavy leather chair beside Nolan.
May you like
Before I sat down, Nolan reached under the table, finding my hand, squeezing it tightly.
Our eyes met—a silent, unspoken triumph born from three years of hidden longing, shared late nights, and an unyielding trust that had brought down an empire of corruption.
