Chapter 6 - My Marriage Had Been a Business DealFor seven years, I had wondered whether Garrett ever loved me.
My father left minutes later.
Neither of them knew Eleanor was alive.
We decided to keep it that way.
Rebecca entered Room 614 carrying two briefcases and nearly a decade of anger.
She hugged my grandmother without speaking.
For almost a minute, two women I had been told were gone from my life held each other beside a hospital window.
Then Rebecca wiped her eyes and became a lawyer again.
“The board meeting starts at two.”
Marcus looked at me.
“You don’t have to attend in person.”
“Yes, I do.”
My physician objected.
Evelyn objected more loudly.
Eventually, we compromised.
I would attend remotely from a private conference room inside the hospital.
At 1:58 p.m., Marcus placed a laptop on the table.
Rebecca sat to my right.
Detective Bell was not part of the meeting, but he had already begun coordinating with financial-crimes investigators.
My grandmother remained upstairs under restricted access.
The screen connected.
A conference room appeared.
Garrett sat at the head of the long table.
His face looked composed until my video appeared on the monitor.
Then his jaw tightened.
Eight directors surrounded him.
My father sat two seats away.
Of course he did.
He had never officially served on the board.
Apparently, rules only mattered when they protected him.
“Charlotte,” Garrett said.
“Garrett.”
A director named Paul Henderson cleared his throat.
“Mrs. Andrews, first, I want to say how sorry we all are about your injuries.”
Garrett’s eyes flicked toward him.
“Thank you.”
Paul continued.
“We’ve been informed that your trust suspended access to several financing vehicles connected with the company.”
“That’s correct.”
“May we ask why?”
“Yes.”
Garrett leaned forward.
“This is inappropriate. Charlotte is currently under medication and—”
Rebecca spoke.
“Careful.”
Garrett stared.
Rebecca smiled without warmth.
“Continue implying my client lacks capacity without evidence, and we’ll add that to the growing file.”
Garrett looked toward my father.
My father said nothing.
I placed copies of the suspected forged loan documents before the camera.
“My financial review uncovered approximately forty-eight million dollars in debt secured against assets held by my trust.”
Several directors turned toward Garrett.
He raised both hands.
“All of those facilities were approved.”
“Not by me.”
“Your signatures are on them.”
“They’re forged.”
The room changed.
Paul looked at the papers in front of him.
“Garrett?”
“This is absurd.”
I continued.
“We also found transfers totaling approximately nine million dollars to Wallace Strategic Consulting.”
My father finally spoke.
“Those were legitimate consulting fees.”
“For what services?”
“Strategic advisory.”
“What strategy cost nine million dollars?”
He glared.
Garrett interrupted.
“This board meeting is not a family therapy session.”
“You’re right.”
Marcus passed me another document.
“It’s a corporate-control meeting.”
Garrett’s confidence flickered.
I continued.
“My trust owns thirty-eight percent of the company’s common equity, plus a class of preferred voting shares activated upon covenant default.”
The directors began whispering.
Garrett stood.
“That clause was eliminated.”
Rebecca leaned toward the camera.
“No.”
Garrett froze.
“It wasn’t.”
My father went pale.
Rebecca placed the authenticated amendment before her.
“The controlling instrument gives Charlotte sufficient voting authority, upon default conditions that occurred this morning, to exercise fifty-two percent of current board voting rights.”
Garrett stared at the screen.
“That document doesn’t exist.”
Rebecca smiled.
“Interesting choice of words.”
Garrett realized his mistake.
Not that document is invalid.
That document doesn’t exist.
The statement sounded like someone who believed it had been destroyed.
I spoke.
“I’m exercising those rights.”
Paul Henderson looked uncertain.
“For what purpose?”
“To call an immediate vote.”
“Regarding?”
I stared at Garrett.
“Removal of Garrett Andrews as chief executive officer pending independent forensic investigation.”
The conference room erupted.
Garrett shouted over everyone.
“You can’t do this!”
“Yes, I can.”
“This company is mine!”
“No.”
My voice stayed calm.
“That’s the lie you told yourself because everyone around you was too afraid or too dependent on you to correct it.”
He slammed both palms onto the table.
“I built this company!”
“With land from my grandmother.”
“I built the developments!”
“With guarantees from my trust.”
“I created the relationships!”
“With introductions from my father.”
That last sentence hurt more than I expected.
My father looked down.
Garrett turned toward him.
“Richard, tell her.”
My father remained silent.
“Tell her!”
Nothing.
Because my father finally understood the arithmetic.
If Garrett fell, perhaps he could save himself.
Garrett saw it too.
“You coward.”
My father’s expression hardened.
“You made this situation worse.”
I almost laughed.
They were already turning on each other.
Men who had spent years telling me loyalty mattered above everything else.
Paul interrupted.
“We have a motion.”
One director seconded it.
The vote proceeded.
Garrett watched each hand rise.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Including one man who had golfed with him every Saturday for eleven years.
The final tally appeared.
Removal approved.
Garrett remained standing.
His face was white.
“You think this is over?”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“I think it just started.”
He pointed toward the camera.
“You have no idea what you’ve done.”
“Actually, I do.”
I ended the connection.
My entire body began trembling.
Rebecca reached for my shoulder.
“You did well.”
“I feel sick.”
“That’s normal.”
Marcus’s phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
Then looked at me.
“What?”
“The bank located Eleanor’s safe-deposit box.”
My breath caught.
“And?”
“We can access it this afternoon.”
The bank manager insisted on confirming Eleanor’s identity personally.
That required a discreet transfer from the hospital.
By four thirty, a private conference room inside First Commonwealth Bank had been secured.
My grandmother arrived through an underground entrance accompanied by Rebecca and a hospital transport aide.
I remained at the hospital by video.
The manager placed the box on a table.
Eleanor inserted the brass key.
Inside were papers wrapped in plastic.
A small velvet jewelry case.
Three envelopes.
And an external hard drive.
Rebecca picked up the first document.
“The amendment.”
Marcus nearly cheered.
Then Eleanor opened one envelope.
She stared at the contents.
Her expression changed.
“What is it?” I asked.
She slowly lifted a photograph.
It showed my father meeting Garrett outside a medical facility.
Nine years earlier.
On the back, in Eleanor’s handwriting, was a date.
Two days before she supposedly died.
The next envelope contained invoices from the facility where she had been held.
Paid by a shell corporation.
Marcus searched it.
His face went still.
“What?”
“The shell company is owned by Garrett.”
My grandmother shut her eyes.
We finally had proof linking him directly to her disappearance.
Then Rebecca opened the last envelope.
A letter.
Eleanor’s letter to me.
She began to read silently.
Halfway through, her hand stopped.
“Rebecca?”
She looked at my grandmother.
“You knew?”
Eleanor’s face filled with sadness.
“Yes.”
“Knew what?” I asked.
Rebecca turned toward the camera.
“Charlotte…”
She seemed to struggle for the words.
“Garrett didn’t meet you by accident.”
My throat tightened.
“What are you talking about?”
Eleanor stared at me through the screen.
“Your father introduced him into your life deliberately.”
I remembered meeting Garrett at a charity auction.
He had accidentally spilled champagne near my dress.
He made me laugh.
He asked for my number.
I thought it was fate.
It had been arranged.
“Why?”
May you like
Eleanor’s answer made the room go cold.
“Because Richard needed someone you would trust more than you trusted yourself.”
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