Chapter 10 - THE VOTE"I never said that," Grace told the board.
Peter's statement described a private conversation on a day Grace had worked off-site at Rosebridge. It quoted her confessing she wanted "a better life" and had moved grant funds for personal use.
"Those are words people say in terrible movies," Grace said. "Show me the recording."
"There isn't one," Peter answered.
Trustee Miriam Cole asked a narrower question. "Were you together at all that day?"
Grace showed the shelter's visitor record and the transit receipts on her phone. A security camera placed Peter at headquarters for the entire afternoon. He leaned back in his chair and went silent.
The trustees voted to keep Grace employed under protected reporting arrangements, remove Peter's finance permissions, and commission an outside forensic review. Victoria's suspension remained in force. Malcolm voted against every motion.
"This doesn't settle the criminal questions," Miriam warned. "It protects the records while others do their jobs."
Adrián turned to Grace afterward. "I should have caught this before you did."
"Yes," she said. "You should have."
He accepted it.
The meeting had barely ended when Paula called. The landlord had served Rosebridge with a formal notice to appear in court Monday. The foundation's frozen funds could not cover the overdue rent in time, and the emergency charity payment had purchased beds and food, not months of housing.
"If we lose that building, the teenagers scatter," Paula said. "Some have nowhere safe to go."
Grace proposed that the trustees authorize counsel to contest the debt and seek a temporary agreement with the landlord. Miriam approved the expense from unrestricted reserves after confirming those funds were clean.
"We can fight the eviction," Grace said. "But we need to know who actually owns the building."
Lana called from the registry office an hour later. Hawthorn had filed another deed that morning.
The name of its new controlling shareholder was not Nolan Ashford.
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It was Malcolm Price, the trustee who had just tried to fire Grace.
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