She had spent the drive telling herself the betrayal could not become deeper than what she had witnessed beneath the chandeliers.
She had been wrong.
Dominic had used their marriage as camouflage while he dismantled her position from inside it.
Arthur waited.
“What do you want to do?” he asked.
Eliza looked at the forged signature again.
“Let them come to the board meeting.”
At 6:42 the next morning, Dominic entered Stone Capital’s headquarters through the underground garage.
His executive badge failed at the elevator.
A security officer approached with an apologetic expression and escorted him to the public lift.
Two junior analysts watched from the lobby as Dominic, the celebrated chief executive whose portrait filled the annual report, stood waiting like a visitor.
Sierra arrived four minutes later wearing a white suit and dark glasses.
She removed them when she saw Dominic.
“You told me this was handled.”
“It is.”
“Your name disappeared from the company’s leadership page.”
“Temporary legal posturing.”
“My Mercer Vale account is frozen.”
Dominic lowered his voice.
“Stop panicking.”
“You said Eliza didn’t know what she owned.”
“She doesn’t understand the company.”
The elevator doors opened.
Eliza was already inside.
She wore a black suit without jewelry.
Arthur stood beside her holding the Event Horizon file.
For a moment, no one moved.
Sierra recovered first.
“Eliza,” she said, almost gently.
“Last night became more public than any of us intended.”
Eliza looked at her.
“You stood beneath six television cameras.”
Sierra’s expression tightened.
Dominic stepped into the elevator.
“We should discuss this privately before the meeting.”
“We had twelve years for private discussions.”
The doors closed.
During the ride to the forty-second floor, Dominic adopted the tone he had used whenever he wanted Eliza to doubt her own memory.
“You’ve been unhappy for a long time,” he said.
“We both know that.
What happened last night was painful, but it doesn’t justify destroying the company.”
Eliza watched the floor numbers rise.
“The company is not being destroyed.”
“You froze operating accounts.”
“I froze your discretionary access.”
“You’re acting emotionally.”
Arthur glanced at him.
“That phrase appears in the removal proposal your office drafted three weeks ago.”
Dominic fell silent.
The boardroom doors opened at 6:59.
Every director was present.
Some had attended the gala and could not meet Eliza’s eyes.
Others had spent the night receiving documents from Arthur’s office and now sat with grim expressions beside sealed evidence packets.
Marcus Bell occupied a chair near the far wall.
He looked as though he had not slept.
Sierra stopped when she saw him.
