Chapter 3
Katherine’s hand shook so violently that she nearly dropped the phone. She swiped the green icon, her voice cracking as she brought the device to her ear.
“Arthur? Arthur, what is happening? I’m seeing notifications about an emergency vote—!”
“Put it on speaker, Katherine,” Arthur Vance’s gravelly voice boomed through the receiver, cutting her off mid-breath.
Katherine swallowed hard and tapped the speaker button, her eyes darting frantically toward Richard.
“Arthur, this is Richard Keller,” Richard barked, stepping toward the phone with patriarchal arrogance. “I don’t know what kind of prank my younger daughter is playing, but Katherine is the controlling shareholder of Lumina! Any unauthorized vote is a direct violation of our family agreement!”
“Richard, shut up,” Arthur Vance snapped from the other end of the line, his tone brisk and entirely dismissive. “I am speaking to Katherine in my official capacity as Lead Independent Director. Katherine Keller, you have been formally stripped of all executive authority, effective immediately.”
Katherine gasped, clutching her throat. “Arthur! You can’t do this! I created the delivery vector for the neuro-drug! I brought you onto the board!”
“You committed gross corporate fraud, Katherine,” Arthur replied, his voice echoing off the foyer’s high ceiling. “Forensic auditors from Apex Global took control of our server infrastructure forty minutes ago. They found the offshore shell accounts in the Caymans. They found the diverted clinical trial funds. And they found the three million dollars you siphoned from the research endowment to pay for your Hamptons estate.”
Eleanor’s wineglass slipped from her fingers. It shattered against the polished marble, splattering burgundy liquid across her cream silk shoes. “Three million dollars? Katherine, what is he talking about?”
“He’s lying! He’s in on it with Jocelyn!” Katherine shrieked into the phone. “Arthur, you listen to me—!”
“Security is currently clearing your office on the forty-second floor,” Arthur continued over her screams. “Your corporate credit cards have been canceled. Your keycards are revoked. Your stock options have been frozen pending an SEC investigation. If you set foot within five hundred feet of Lumina headquarters, you will be arrested for criminal trespass. Have a good evening.”
The line went dead with a hollow beep.
Katherine stumbled backward, her back slamming against the antique console table. A silver vase rattled precariously beside her. “No... no, no, no! This isn't happening! This can't be happening!”
“The Caymans?” Richard stepped toward Katherine, his face reddening with explosive fury. “You swore to me those funds were reinvested into the second-phase FDA trials! I backed your commercial paper with my personal signature!”
“Dad, listen to me!” Katherine sobbed, grabbing his tailored sleeve with claw-like fingers. “It was just a temporary bridge loan! I was going to pay it back once the buyout went through! I didn’t know Apex was going to execute a hostile takeover!”
Jocelyn stepped forward, her voice cutting through their panic like a surgical blade. “You didn't know because you were too busy looking down on everyone else, Katherine. You thought you were untouchable.”
Eleanor turned on Jocelyn, her eyes wild with tears, her pearls bouncing against her chest as she pointed an accusatory finger. “You! You did this to your own sister! How could you be so wicked, Jocelyn? She’s your blood! How could you destroy her life over a spilled glass of water?”
“A spilled glass of water?” Jocelyn laughed, a sound so dry and bitter it chilled the room. “You think this is about the water, Mother?”
“What else could it be?” Eleanor cried out, rushing to wrap her arms around the trembling Katherine. “You’ve always been envious! Always! From the moment Katherine got into Princeton, you looked at her with hatred!”
“Look at Clara’s face,” Jocelyn demanded, pointing directly at the red mark on her daughter’s cheek. “Look at it, Eleanor!”
Eleanor looked away, waving a dismissive hand. “A scratch! Children bump themselves all the time! You don’t bankrupt a company over a toddler’s tantrum!”
“She pushed a five-year-old out of a chair because Clara’s dress brushed against her brocade,” Jocelyn said, stepping closer, her presence suffocating the room. “And three years ago, when Clara was in the ICU with respiratory syncytial virus, Katherine hacked my hospital portal and canceled Clara’s supplemental insurance policy because she wanted to redirect the trust dividends into her marketing budget.”
The foyer fell into a stunned, breathless silence.
May you like
Richard looked from Jocelyn to Katherine. “What did you say?”
“Ask your golden child,” Jocelyn whispered, her eyes burning into Katherine’s pale face. “Ask her what she did while Clara was hooked to a ventilator.”
