Chapter 4 - The Photograph
Michael showed the photograph to Andrew Walsh at seven the next morning.
Andrew stared at it.
“What happened that night?”
“Vanessa tried to drive after drinking. I stopped her.”
“Any witnesses?”
“Two.”
“Who?”
“My driver, Marcus. And my mother.”
Andrew looked up.
“Patricia witnessed it?”
“Yes.”
“That’s bad.”
Michael paced across the law office.
“How?”
“Because if Vanessa claims domestic abuse and Patricia supports her version, we need independent evidence.”
“There may be garage cameras.”
“Find them.”
Michael’s phone rang.
Claire Morgan, his chief of staff.
“Michael, we have a problem.”
“Another one?”
“The board called an emergency meeting for ten.”
“Who authorized it?”
“Patricia and Daniel.”
Michael stopped pacing.
“Purpose?”
“Temporary leadership review.”
Andrew heard enough from Michael’s expression.
“Go,” he said. “I’ll handle the evidence preservation requests.”
Sterling Development occupied the top fourteen floors of a downtown Denver tower.
When Michael entered the boardroom, no one met his eyes.
Patricia sat at the head of the table.
His chair.
Daniel sat beside her.
Michael remained standing.
“That’s mine.”
Patricia folded her hands.
“Today, that is precisely the question.”
General counsel Thomas Reed cleared his throat.
“Michael, allegations have been raised concerning judgment, personal instability, and potential reputational risk.”
“By whom?”
Patricia spoke.
“Your wife.”
Michael’s jaw tightened.
A screen illuminated.
Rebecca Sloan appeared by video.
Vanessa sat beside her.
Michael stared.
Vanessa looked pale and fragile.
Rebecca began.
“My client has serious concerns regarding Mr. Sterling’s escalating behavior.”
Michael almost laughed.
Then Rebecca displayed the photograph.
Several directors shifted uncomfortably.
Vanessa spoke softly.
“He frightened me.”
Michael’s fists tightened beneath the table.
“When?”
“Many times.”
“That photograph was taken when you were drunk and trying to drive.”
Vanessa began crying.
Rebecca interrupted.
“Please direct comments through counsel.”
Michael looked at Patricia.
“You know what happened.”
Patricia’s expression was sorrowful.
“I remember Vanessa being frightened.”
It was a masterful betrayal.
Michael realized too late that he had walked into a prepared proceeding.
Thomas Reed slid a document across the table.
“The board proposes you take thirty days of voluntary leave pending independent review.”
“No.”
Patricia said, “Then we vote.”
Michael turned toward Claire.
She looked devastated.
He counted votes.
Something was wrong.
Director Samuel Pike, who always supported Michael, refused eye contact.
So did Elaine Foster.
Patricia had already reached them.
“What did you promise them?” Michael asked.
Patricia’s mouth tightened.
“Enough.”
The vote passed seven to four.
Michael was temporarily suspended as CEO.
Daniel became interim chief executive.
Patricia looked almost sympathetic.
“Go home. Take care of your family.”
Michael stood.
“You used my daughter to get this vote.”
Gasps moved around the room.
Patricia’s face hardened.
“Be very careful.”
“I intend to be.”
Outside the boardroom, Claire followed him.
“I’m sorry.”
“Who flipped?”
“Pike and Foster.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Find out.”
Claire hesitated.
“I may be fired.”
“You probably will be.”
“Comforting.”
Michael almost smiled.
Then she handed him a folder.
“I pulled the Halberg due diligence files before they locked your access.”
Michael opened it.
“What am I looking for?”
“Page seventy-two.”
He found a consulting payment.
Halberg Hospitality had transferred $4.8 million to a Wyoming LLC called Blackstone Advisory.
Michael frowned.
“So?”
Claire handed him another page.
Blackstone Advisory’s registered agent was a law firm.
The beneficial owner was concealed.
“But,” Claire said, “look at the bank routing information.”
Michael recognized the institution.
It was the same private bank Patricia used for her personal trusts.
“Coincidence?”
Claire shook her head.
“I checked older invoices. Blackstone has received payments from three companies Sterling acquired over the last five years.”
“How much?”
“About eleven million.”
Michael felt the room tilt.
“Kickbacks?”
“Possibly.”
“Who approved the acquisitions?”
“Patricia chaired every transaction committee.”
Michael closed the folder.
His mother’s motive was becoming visible.
He had blocked the Halberg deal because it looked overpriced.
If Halberg was paying Patricia secretly, his refusal threatened more than one acquisition.
It threatened years of hidden payments.
His phone rang.
Andrew.
“We found the garage footage.”
Michael exhaled.
“Good.”
“Not good.”
“What?”
“The camera archive was remotely deleted two days after the incident.”
“By whom?”
“We’re tracing access.”
Michael looked through the glass wall toward the boardroom.
Patricia was still inside.
Andrew continued.
“And the microSD card?”
“Yes?”
“Turn it over immediately.”
“Why?”
“Because someone called the sheriff this morning claiming you fabricated it.”
Michael went silent.
“Who?”
Andrew’s answer came quietly.
May you like
“Vanessa.”
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