Chapter 13
The Boardroom Trap Was Already Set
Monday morning, Morgan Holdings headquarters looked normal from the street.
Inside, nothing was normal.
Federal agents waited on two floors.
Chicago detectives monitored the underground garage.
Clara's team controlled the elevators.
Victor entered the boardroom at 8:57 a.m. carrying no notes.
Thomas sat at one end of the table.
Malcolm Reid sat beside outside counsel, no longer representing the family but cooperating as a witness.
Three independent directors joined by secure video.
At 9:04, Daniel appeared on one of the screens.
Victor almost admired the nerve.
Daniel was seated in an anonymous hotel room, wearing a navy suit and a calm expression.
"I assume everyone's heard some version of the allegations," he said.
Thomas's voice shook with anger.
"Where are you?"
"That isn't relevant."
"You killed Amelia."
Daniel's smile vanished.
"Careful."
Victor leaned toward the camera.
"We found the garage invoice."
Daniel's face stayed controlled.
"An invoice proves I paid for repairs."
"On Amelia's vehicle."
"Which I had authority to service through the company fleet account."
It was a defense.
A thin one.
But Victor finally understood Daniel's strategy.
He wanted the board to treat everything as disputed long enough to force the Lakeshore sale.
Once the money moved, he would have leverage, allies, and cash.
"We're not voting on Lakeshore," Victor said.
Daniel laughed softly.
"You don't get to decide that alone."
"No."
Victor looked around the table.
"But Lily does."
Silence.
Victor placed a document in front of him.
Three years earlier, Amelia had amended Lily's trust to prohibit the sale of designated family housing assets if any transaction was under investigation for self-dealing or fraud.
Victor had never noticed the clause.
Malcolm had found it overnight in an archived trust amendment.
Daniel stared at the screen.
For the first time, he looked genuinely stunned.
Amelia had anticipated more than anyone knew.
"The Lakeshore vote is frozen," Victor said. "Indefinitely."
Daniel leaned back.
Then his image flickered.
Clara touched her earpiece.
"We have his location."
The video feed had been routed through multiple servers, but Daniel had made one mistake.
He had used a secure Morgan Holdings board token registered to a physical device.
The device had pinged a hotel Wi-Fi network in Milwaukee.
Agents were already moving.
Daniel realized it at the same moment.
He stood.
The camera shook.
The screen went black.
Victor exhaled for the first time in what felt like minutes.
Then Clara's phone rang.
She listened.
Her face changed.
"They got into the room."
Victor waited.
"Daniel's gone."
Thomas cursed.
Clara held up a hand.
"But he left something behind."
A photo arrived on her phone.
It showed a hotel desk.
On it sat a printed photograph of Lily at the mall fountain.
May you like
Across the image, Daniel had written one sentence.
YOU STILL DON'T KNOW WHO CALLED VICTORIA FIRST.
