Chapter 7 - THE TRUSTEE
Samuel Price had not been recovering from surgery.
That was another lie.
Rebecca found him registered at a private hotel in Manhattan under an abbreviated name.
At 10:30 that night, Arthur walked into Suite 1704 with Rebecca beside him.
Samuel stood near the window.
Daniel Mercer was gone.
Elena was gone.
Samuel looked twenty years older than Arthur remembered.
“Arthur.”
“You lied to me.”
Samuel closed his eyes.
“I know.”
“You handed me your security token knowing Elena could get access to it.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“You met her tonight.”
Samuel’s hands trembled.
“You’re in over your head.”
Arthur almost laughed.
“This is my son’s money.”
“It’s much bigger than Lucas.”
“No. For me, it isn’t.”
Rebecca closed the door.
“Mr. Price, you can cooperate now or explain twenty-eight million dollars to federal prosecutors later.”
Samuel looked toward her.
“You’re Rebecca Shaw.”
“You did your homework.”
“I know who Arthur hires when he thinks someone betrayed him.”
Arthur stepped closer.
“Did you?”
Samuel’s eyes filled with shame.
“Yes.”
The word landed hard.
Arthur looked away.
Samuel had known him since he was twelve.
“Why?”
“They had something on me.”
“What?”
Samuel sat down.
“Eight years ago, my son’s company collapsed. I moved client funds temporarily to protect him.”
Rebecca’s expression changed.
“You embezzled trust assets.”
“I put everything back.”
“That doesn’t make it legal.”
“Elena found out.”
Arthur stared.
“So she blackmailed you?”
“At first.”
“And later?”
Samuel’s silence answered.
Arthur’s jaw tightened.
“You started taking money.”
“Daniel said it was temporary.”
Arthur slammed his hand onto the table.
“Stop saying Daniel said! You’re a seventy-three-year-old trustee. You knew exactly what you were doing.”
Samuel flinched.
“Yes.”
Arthur lowered his voice.
“What happens Monday?”
Samuel looked toward the door.
“I shouldn’t tell you.”
Rebecca stepped forward.
“You absolutely should.”
Samuel rubbed his face.
“The transfer executes at eight.”
“We know.”
“Then at nine, Daniel files the parentage petition.”
“We know that too.”
Samuel looked surprised.
Arthur leaned closer.
“What don’t we know?”
Samuel swallowed.
“At ten thirty, the board holds an emergency meeting.”
Arthur’s expression changed.
“My board?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Daniel has spent six months securing votes.”
“For what?”
“To declare you temporarily unfit to serve as CEO.”
Arthur stared.
“On what grounds?”
“Financial misconduct.”
Arthur laughed bitterly.
“They steal from my company, then blame me?”
“They’ve created records showing you authorized every transfer.”
Rebecca nodded slowly.
“Classic internal framing.”
Samuel continued.
“The board freezes your authority. Elena takes temporary voting control through the emergency succession agreement. The trust becomes disputed. Daniel controls legal proceedings.”
Arthur finally saw the whole machine.
They weren’t merely stealing from Lucas.
They were taking Arthur’s company.
His home.
His name.
His son.
Everything.
“Why wait until Monday?”
Samuel’s eyes dropped.
“Because there’s a scheduled press release at eleven.”
Arthur went cold.
“What press release?”
Samuel reached into his briefcase.
He handed Arthur several pages.
The headline was already written.
VANCE MERIDIAN CEO STEPS ASIDE AMID FINANCIAL IRREGULARITIES AND FAMILY CRISIS.
Arthur scanned the first paragraph.
Allegations of misused trust funds.
Questions about Lucas’s parentage.
Concerns about Arthur’s mental health after his first wife’s death.
Every detail designed to destroy him publicly before he could respond.
Arthur placed the pages down.
“Elena wrote this?”
“Daniel’s crisis firm did.”
Arthur looked at Rebecca.
“Can we stop Monday?”
“Yes.”
Samuel suddenly shook his head.
“No.”
Arthur turned.
“Why?”
Samuel’s voice became almost inaudible.
“Because Daniel knows you found the documents.”
“How?”
“I told him.”
Arthur stared.
Samuel looked ashamed.
“He said if I didn’t, he’d send my son to prison.”
Arthur stepped back.
“So everything we’ve done tonight…”
“They know.”
Rebecca’s face hardened.
Samuel nodded.
“And Daniel told me something else.”
“What?”
“He said if Arthur refused to cooperate…”
May you like
Samuel looked toward the bedroom.
“…Lucas would disappear before Monday morning.”
