CHAPTER 5
Three days later, I was transferred from the intensive care unit to a private recovery suite on the top floor of the hospital.
My lead corporate attorney, Arthur Pendelton, arrived carrying three thick leather folders containing emergency board resolutions for Hartwell Biotech.
"Victoria, the board of directors has called an emergency session for eleven o'clock this morning," Arthur informed me, setting the documents on my bedside table. "The board members who aligned with Celeste are currently scrambling to resign before federal subpoenas hit their desks."
"Who led the internal movement against me while I was in the coma?" I asked, my voice growing stronger with every passing hour.
"Vice President Marcus Sterling," Arthur replied with a disgusted scowl. "Celeste promised him twenty percent of the foreign patent licensing rights if he voted to strip your executive authority."
"Send a formal notice to the board," I instructed firmly, sitting up straight against my hospital pillows. "I will be attending the board meeting via high-definition secure video link directly from this hospital bed."
Arthur smiled broadly, leaning down to open the first folder containing my reinstated chief executive credentials.
May you like
"The stock price of Hartwell Biotech dropped thirty percent after the news of Celeste's arrest broke yesterday," Arthur noted. "Wall Street is panicked, thinking the company is on the verge of total collapse."
"Then let's give Wall Street something real to talk about," I said, my eyes flashing with unyielding determination. "Upload the complete forensic audit to the Securities and Exchange Commission immediately."
