Chapter 4 - The Liquidation
"I already sent the photograph of this document to my father's legal team from the hallway," I stated, pulling my phone from my clutch.
I tapped the screen once.
"The merger is officially canceled," I decreed, my voice ringing with absolute, crushing authority. "The SEC has been notified of the fraudulent proxy. Your institutional investors will pull their funding by sunrise. Vale Meridian’s stock is going to be delisted before the market even opens."
"Mara, please!" Graham shouted, openly panicking now, his polished CEO persona shattering into a million pathetic pieces. "It was a mistake! Celeste drafted it, she told me you approved it over the phone! I didn't know!"
He threw his mistress under the bus without a second of hesitation.
Celeste gasped, backing away from him in sheer horror. "You told me to sign it! You promised me a board seat!"
I looked at the two of them—the man who thought he had bought a wife, and the woman who thought she had stolen an empire. They were already turning on each other like rats on a sinking ship.
"You both deserve each other," I whispered.
My phone buzzed. A text from my father’s head of security.
Authorities are en route to the Aurelia. Lobby secured.
I walked to the bridal suite door and opened it, letting the cold air of the hallway rush in.
"Federal agents will be here in less than five minutes," I told them. "I suggest you use that time to put your jacket back on, Graham. It's raining outside, and they won't let you take an umbrella into the back of a squad car."
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Graham fell to his knees in the center of the rose petals, sobbing uncontrollably, begging for a wife who no longer existed.
I stepped out of the suite, pulled the heavy oak door shut behind me, and walked toward the elevator. I didn't look back. The deal was done.
