Chapter 3 - The Boardroom Confrontation
Three weeks later, the battle shifted from the courtroom to the corporate offices of Carter Financial in downtown Portland.
Despite his parents cutting him off personally, Ryan was still technically employed as a junior vice president at the firm—a position his father had handed him out of nepotism. He had been using his corporate credit card to pay for his high-priced defense attorney, hoping to drag the divorce out until I ran out of money.
But he didn't know that my father-in-law, Harold Carter, had invited me to the annual board of directors meeting.
When the heavy glass doors of the boardroom swung open, the board members fell silent. At the head of the table sat Harold, his face grim. Ryan was sitting near the end of the table, looking smug, assuming this was a standard quarterly review.
His smile vanished the moment he saw me walk in, flanked by Jennifer and Michael Bennett.
"Emily?" Ryan gasped, half-rising from his chair. "What is the meaning of this? This is a private corporate meeting!"
"Sit down, Ryan," Harold said, his voice dropping like an anvil.
Ryan sat, his face turning a dangerous shade of red. "Dad, you can't let her interfere with the business! This is a personal matter—"
"Actually, Ryan, it is very much a corporate matter," I said, stepping forward and placing a flash drive on the center of the table. "While you were busy enjoying your month-long vacation in Europe, you didn't just abandon your family. You also abandoned your fiduciary duties."
Michael Bennett clicked his remote, and the large screen at the front of the room lit up.
"Over the past year, Ryan Carter has authorized six different offshore wire transfers to a shell company registered in the Cayman Islands," Michael explained to the stunned board members. "The total amount exceeds four hundred thousand dollars. These funds were taken directly from the firm's client acquisition accounts—and used to fund a private yacht charter, luxury hotels, and jewelry for a Ms. Vivienne Vance, the woman photographed with Mr. Carter in Ibiza."
"You're lying!" Ryan shrieked, slamming his hands on the table. "That's client development! Vivienne is a potential investor!"
"She's a twenty-two-year-old swimwear model, Ryan," I said, my voice calm and steady. "And the Cayman account has her name on the signature card alongside yours."
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Harold Carter looked at his son, his eyes filled with a deep, crushing disappointment.
"Effective immediately, Ryan, you are terminated from Carter Financial," Harold said, his voice breaking slightly. "The board has voted to cooperate fully with the federal investigation into corporate embezzlement. Security will escort you from the building. And Ryan? Don't bother coming to the house. Your mother has already packed your things and left them at the local shelter."
