Chapter 7 - The Boardroom Siege
Forty-eight hours later, the grand executive boardroom on the top floor of Hayes Tower was dead silent.
The morning light poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating a room that was filled with twenty panic-stricken shareholders, corporate attorneys, and board members.
Matthew Hayes sat at the head of the long mahogany table.
Through an emergency bail hearing secured by his remaining personal funds, he had been temporarily released on a two-million-dollar bond, wearing a black GPS ankle monitor hidden under his trousers. He looked hollowed out—his face sunken, his eyes bloodshot, his hands trembling as he stared at the empty seats across from him.
"We have ten minutes before the market opens," Robert said grimly from the middle of the table. "If we don't announce a restructuring plan today, the SEC will suspend trading on our stock permanently."
"I am still the founder," Matthew rasped, his voice rough. "I hold forty percent of the voting shares. You cannot pass any resolution without my consent—"
The heavy double doors of the boardroom swung open with a resounding thud.
Every head in the room turned.
Julian Vance walked in first, his tall, imposing figure radiating terrifying authority. But he didn't take the head seat. He stepped aside, pulling back a heavy leather armchair.
Elise walked into the boardroom.
She wore a sharp, custom white power suit that accentuated her lean, recovered silhouette. Her dark hair was styled into a sleek ponytail, her face glowing with quiet confidence. She carried a leather briefcase in her right hand.
Behind her walked three senior partner attorneys from Vance Capital’s litigation team.
Matthew leapt to his feet, his chair scraping violently against the hardwood floor. "Elise?! What are you doing here?! This is a private corporate board meeting! Security, remove her!"
None of the security guards moved. They stood by the door, bowing their heads respectfully as Elise passed.
"Sit down, Matthew," Elise said calmly, placing her briefcase on the center of the table.
"You have no standing in this room!" Matthew shouted, his face turning dark red. "You are my ex-wife! You own zero shares of this company!"
"She doesn't own zero shares, Matthew," Julian’s chief attorney interrupted, stepping forward to distribute a stack of legal documents to every board member. "As of 8:00 a.m. today, Miss Hayes filed a formal petition for corporate asset reclamation in federal court."
Robert opened his document, his eyes scanning the first page. "My God..."
"What is it?!" Matthew snapped, snatching a paper from Robert’s hands.
"Three days ago," Elise said, her voice clear, commanding, and ringing like steel through the room, "a forensic handwriting analysis conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed that the patent assignment agreement for the core diagnostic AI algorithm was forged."
She looked directly into Matthew’s horrified eyes.
"The core patent never belonged to Hayes Innovations," Elise continued smoothly. "It belongs to me personally, registered under my maiden name, Elise Bennett. And thirty minutes ago, I officially revoked Hayes Innovations' license to use my technology."
A collective gasp echoed across the boardroom.
"Without that patent," Robert whispered, his face turning pale, "this company has no product. Our software is illegal. We are completely insolvent."
"Precisely," Julian spoke up, stepping behind Elise’s chair, his hands resting on the leather backrest. "Which brings us to Vance Capital’s final proposal."
Julian nodded, and his lead attorney placed a final document in front of Matthew.
"Vance Capital has acquired ninety-two percent of Hayes Innovations' defaulted debt," Julian explained coldly. "In exchange for forgiving four hundred million dollars in debt, Elise Hayes will assume fifty-one percent controlling equity of the restructured enterprise."
Matthew stared at the document as if it were a death warrant. "Fifty-one percent... you’re taking my company... and giving it to her?"
"She isn't taking your company, Matthew," Julian corrected, leaning down until he was eye-to-eye with the disgraced founder. "She is taking her company back."
Elise stood up, leaning over the table, her brown eyes locking onto Matthew with lethal finality.
"Under section twelve of the new corporate charter," Elise announced, "as majority owner, my first official action is to terminate Matthew Hayes as Chief Technology Officer, strip him of his remaining stock options, and ban him from entering any property owned by this enterprise."
She looked at the security guards by the door.
May you like
"Escort Mr. Hayes out of my building."
Matthew opened his mouth to scream, to plead, to fight, but two broad security guards grabbed his arms, lifting him out of his chair. He kicked and thritted helplessly as he was dragged down the long glass hallway past hundreds of his former employees, who stood at their desks, silently watching their former CEO fall into total ruin.
