Chapter 10 - THE DOCTOR'S BOARD
Marcus called an emergency board meeting that afternoon.
Daniel almost admired the nerve.
The company was in crisis.
Police raids.
Leaked accusations.
A missing CFO suddenly alive.
Marcus proposed removing Daniel as CEO for "emotional instability."
Three directors supported him.
Mara whispered, "They are in the ledger."
"Daniel, this is not the time."
"It is exactly the time."
Daniel placed the notebook on the table.
One director stood.
Marcus did not.
"Where did you get that?"
"My dead father's office."
A few faces changed.
"Interesting choice of words, right?"
Mara activated the screen.
Pages appeared.
Payments.
Dates.
Initials.
Marcus finally lost color.
Daniel said, "My father is alive."
Silence.
"And for thirteen months, this board accepted votes and transfers from a woman you knew was missing."
Marcus said, "That is an allegation."
Daniel played Vanessa's audio.
We only need eighteen months.
Then Elise's logs.
Then Claire's video from Northstar.
"This meeting is adjourned."
"No."
Daniel's voice was quiet.
"Your meeting was never valid."
Mara explained.
Every board decision relying on that proxy could be challenged.
Including Marcus's appointment as lead independent director.
The room erupted.
Federal agents entered.
Not local police.
FBI financial crimes.
"You think your father is the top of this?"
"Henry built a machine. He wasn't the only one using it."
Agents arrested two directors.
Marcus had already obtained an injunction preventing his own removal pending a hearing.
For now.
Daniel's phone buzzed.
A live video.
Claire tied to a chair in a dark room.
Marcus stepped into frame.
"Bring the original ledger," he said.
"You have a copy."
"I need the original."
"Why?"
"Because your father wrote one page in ink that doesn't scan."
Every page looked ordinary.
"Heat reveals it."
Invisible ink.
A hidden page.
May you like
"What's on it?"
"The reason your mother really died."
