Chapter 5 - THE Serpents AT THE TABLE
By Wednesday evening, twenty-four hours before the grand shareholder gala, the trap was fully set.
Evelyn had tracked the Cambridge property deed to an offshore shell entity registered under the name Vanguard Apex LLC. And behind Vanguard Apex sat Julian Vance—Nathaniel’s senior board member and long-time family friend.
Julian had been Nathaniel’s father’s contemporary. He was a man with silver hair, impeccable manners, and an insatiable desire for power. He had watched Nathaniel build CrossAtlas into a global powerhouse, quietly festering with jealousy as the young mogul eclipsed him in wealth and influence.
Nathaniel sat in his private study, looking through the stack of bank statements Evelyn had compiled.
“Julian bought up twelve percent of our floating stock over the last three months through third-party brokers,” Evelyn explained, leaning over the desk. “He used the stolen forty million from Project Avalon to fund the purchases. At tomorrow night’s gala, he plans to announce that CrossAtlas is facing an emergency SEC audit for fraud. He will call for an immediate vote of no confidence to remove you as CEO and install himself as interim chairman.”
Nathaniel leaned back in his leather chair, swirling a glass of scotch—this time being very careful not to press too hard against the glass.
“He used Clara’s security clearance,” Nathaniel said, his voice terrifyingly calm. “That was his biggest mistake.”
“How do you want to play it?” Evelyn asked. “We can call the FBI right now. We have enough evidence to arrest him for wire fraud before he sets foot on your property tomorrow.”
“No,” Nathaniel said, a cold, dangerous smile touching his lips. “Julian wants a public execution. He wants to destroy my reputation in front of the entire financial world. I’m going to give him his stage... and then I’m going to take everything he owns.”
A soft patter of tiny feet sounded outside the study door.
The door, which had been left slightly ajar, was pushed open. Lily came shuffling into the room on all fours, her pink footie pajamas sweeping the rug. She crawled straight across the floor, ignored Evelyn entirely, and pulled herself up using Nathaniel’s trouser leg.
Nathaniel immediately set his scotch glass high out of reach. He reached down and scooped Lily into his lap.
Lily looked at the mountain of financial papers spread across the desk. She reached out a chubby hand, grabbed a printout containing Julian Vance’s secret bank transactions, and promptly crumpled it into a ball before putting a corner of it into her mouth.
“Hey,” Nathaniel said gently, pulling the paper from her mouth. “That’s evidence, small fry.”
Evelyn laughed, watching the hardened corporate ruthless predator gently wipe baby drool off a million-dollar financial report with his thumb.
“She’s grounding you, Nathaniel,” Evelyn said softly. “A year ago, you would have burnt the entire city down to win a fight like this. Look at you now.”
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Nathaniel looked down at Lily, who was currently trying to put her pink sock over his thumb.
“A year ago, I didn't have anything worth protecting,” Nathaniel said quietly.
