Chapter 202 The Board Demands Her Head
Vance clamped his jaw shut. The mention of his money hit the target. He hated my blood, but he loved his wealth.
"You are toxic, Minerva," Vance said. The volume of his voice dropped, but the venom remained. "Julian Whitmore is going to file a federal injunction. The courts will strip you of your shares. I will not let you drag my life's work down with you."
He turned and walked out of the room. The other executives followed him. The doors clicked shut.
The adrenaline drained from my veins, leaving a hollow, aching exhaustion behind.
I placed my hands on the back of my leather chair. I gripped the wood to keep my hands from shaking.
I survived the freezing nights in Port Sterling. I survived the hunger. I built a life out of the dirt, piece by piece. But standing in this billion-dollar room, I felt exactly like the broken girl in the slums. Julian took my armor. He stripped my legitimacy away and left me naked in front of the world.
Tristan stepped behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist. He pulled my back against his chest. His heat soaked through the wool of my suit.
"Breathe," Tristan murmured against my ear.
"He took my name," I whispered. A single tear broke free. It tracked hot and fast down my cheek. I hated the tears. I hated the weakness. "He told the world I am the daughter of a monster."
"You are Minerva Johnston," Tristan swore. He tightened his hold. He anchored me to the floor. "You are my wife. You are the mother of my son. The blood in your veins does not dictate the woman you are."
"The law says it does," I countered. I dropped my head forward. "The Serrano Trust requires a blood relative. If Julian takes this to a federal judge, he wins. He takes the shares. He takes the company. He takes Elias's inheritance."
"I will not let him near Elias," Tristan growled. "I will bankrupt him. I will drown him in litigation. I will tie his lawyers up in civil court for the next ten years."
"Julian does not want a civil trial," I realized. The pieces of his strategy snapped into place.
I pulled away from Tristan’s embrace. I turned to face him. The desperation hung thick in the space between us.
"Julian wants a criminal trial," I said. The terrifying scope of his plan materialized in my mind. "He framed me as an infiltrator. He told the press I committed fraud to steal the Serrano Trust. If he proves I knew about my DNA before the merger finalized, the federal prosecutors will charge me with corporate espionage."
Ricardo looked up from his tablet. "Mina, if they charge you with espionage, they freeze your personal assets. They seize the penthouses. They seize the bank accounts."
"They seize my freedom," I finished.
Tristan stared at me. The reality of the threat shifted. Julian did not want to fire me. He wanted to lock me in a cage. He wanted to punish me for defeating Thomas Whitmore.
"He is using Harriet Montgomery's playbook, but he holds the legal standing to execute it," I said. I paced the length of the table. My mind raced, searching for an exit in a burning room. "He is Thomas Whitmore's recognized heir. He can petition the court for an emergency hold on the Johnston assets. We have days before the marshals show up at our door."
"We move the money," Tristan stated. The ruthless billionaire logic engaged. He switched from husband to warlord in a fraction of a second. "We shift the liquid assets to untraceable accounts. We secure Elias. We leave the capital."
"No," I stopped pacing. I looked at him. "If we run, we prove him right. We prove we are criminals holding stolen goods."
"If we stay, they put you in handcuffs," Tristan argued. He crossed the room. He grabbed my shoulders. "I let you walk into the eastern sector mill, and it almost got you killed. I will not let you walk into a federal courtroom to be slaughtered by a Whitmore proxy."
"I am a Whitmore," I said.
The words tasted like poison. I said them out loud for the first time. The truth echoed in the quiet room.
Tristan flinched.
"I carry his blood," I continued. I held his gaze. "My mother ran from him to protect me. She hid in the slums because she knew the things he could do. I spent my whole life outrunning his shadow. But running does not stop monsters, Tristan. It just makes you tired."
I reached up and touched Tristan's face. His jaw was tense, tight as a drawn bowstring.
"Julian wants to use the law to break me," I said. "He thinks the truth ruins my power. We are going to prove him wrong."
"How?" Ricardo asked from the corner of the room. "The public opinion is poison. The stock is bleeding. The board is turning on you."
"We give them a better story," I stated. "Julian went to the press to call me a fraud. We go to the press and tell them the rest of the truth. We tell them what Thomas Whitmore did to my mother. We tell them about the hitmen. We tell them about the shadow syndicate."
"You expose the family secrets," Tristan realized.
"I expose all of them," I agreed. "If Julian wants a war in the daylight, I will give him the sun. I will burn the Whitmore name to the ground, and I will make sure he goes down with the ashes.”