Chapter 3 - The Board on the Board
By Wednesday morning, I was sitting in a sunlit corner booth at a quiet bistro in Midtown, across from Marcus Sterling.
Marcus was Manhattan’s premier forensic accountant and corporate litigation attorney—a man whose very name caused board directors to sweat through their bespoke suits. He was also my late father’s closest friend.
I pushed a black flash drive across the marble tabletop.
Marcus picked it up, weighing it in his hand before looking at me over his gold-rimmed reading glasses. "What’s on this, Maya?"
"Audio recordings of my husband and his sister-in-law, Victoria, plotting to frame me for grand larceny and wire fraud," I said smoothly, taking a sip of black coffee. "Along with bank statements proving that the thirty thousand dollars currently sitting in my business account was illegally funneled from the Carter Family Trust using Victoria’s digital signature."
Marcus’s eyebrows shot up. "Victoria Carter? Julian’s wife?"
"The very same," I replied. "They're having an affair. She's eight weeks pregnant with Andrew's child. They plan to use the pregnancy to consolidate voting power on the Carter Holdings board while stripping me of my marital assets."
Marcus let out a low whistle. "Jesus, Maya. Andrew has lost his mind. If the Carter Holdings board finds out the CEO is sleeping with his brother's wife and fabricating federal financial crimes against his spouse, the board will remove him before market close."
"Not yet," I said softly, leaning forward. "Removing him quickly is too merciful, Marcus. I want everything."
"What do you mean by everything?"
"Andrew signed a post-nuptial agreement four years ago when he needed my personal inheritance to secure the initial loan for Carter Holdings' expansion," I reminded him. "Paragraph 14, section B: In the event of confirmed marital infidelity or criminal conspiracy against either spouse, the offending party forfeits all claims to joint equity, voting shares, and real estate holdings."
Marcus smiled—a slow, razor-sharp grin. "You kept the original copy."
"In my safety deposit box at Chase," I said. "I also want you to trace The Grand Bay Hotel booking for Friday. Andrew claims he's going for a 'bachelor party gag.' Victoria plans to meet him there to establish their framing scheme against me. But I suspect there's a third party helping them manipulate the bank records."
"Consider it done," Marcus said, slipping the flash drive into his breast pocket. "What's your move for the next forty-eight hours?"
"I play the dutiful, oblivious wife," I smiled serenely. "I pack his bags. I wish him luck on his trip. And I let them walk right into the vault doors they think they’re opening."
That evening, I returned home to our Townhouse. Andrew was in the study, reviewing quarterly projections.
I walked in carrying a cup of chamomile tea, setting it gently beside his elbow.
"You're working too hard, Andrew," I said sweetly, massaging his shoulders.
He leaned back, closing his eyes, enjoying the touch. "Just finalizing things for the weekend retreat at The Grand Bay, honey. It’s a tough account, but if I land it, the company gains twenty percent in market cap."
"I know how dedicated you are," I murmured softly in his ear. "I packed your gray suit and your favorite blue silk tie. The one I bought you for our fifth anniversary."
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"Thank you, Maya," he said, taking my hand and kissing the back of it with breathtaking hypocrisy. "What would I ever do without you?"
"You're about to find out," I thought to myself.
