A journalist asked whether she expected forgiveness from Darien. "No," Victoria said. "I asked him for a business opportunity, not the right to demand that he make me feel better about what I did. I hope the commitments we make are meaningful, but that judgment doesn't belong to me."
The press conference lasted forty minutes. Some questions were hostile, and several exposed gaps in Victoria's understanding of the company's own complaints process. She did not answer everything well. But she stayed until the moderator closed the event, then walked offstage without pretending that the statement had finished the work.
That evening, the board completed its emergency leadership vote. Richard called Victoria and told her she was being removed as CEO effective immediately. Marcus Brooks would serve as the new chief executive, and the board would hire an independent chief financial officer to support the restructuring. Victoria could remain as a nonexecutive director for an initial six-month period, subject to review and the outcome of the culture investigation.
"This isn't what I wanted when I started the company," she said. Richard's voice remained steady. "What you wanted isn't our only responsibility. Three thousand people work here. We need a leader they can trust to make decisions in their interests."
After the call ended, Victoria sat alone in an office that already felt borrowed. She expected tears and found herself too tired for them. On her desk was a photograph from the company's early days, showing her standing beside a small group of engineers and laughing over a prototype. Marcus was in the picture, partly hidden behind two taller colleagues.
She studied it and wondered how many times she had allowed the people keeping the company alive to stand in the background.
Marcus began his first day as chief executive by moving a standing executive meeting from the glass conference room to the auditorium where employee briefings were usually held. He asked department leaders to bring people who worked directly with customers, not only managers who prepared reports. Then he stood on the stage and admitted that the company was in danger. No one in the audience seemed surprised; employees had already understood the danger from delayed hiring, postponed reimbursements, and the sudden silence around expansion plans.
"We have enough cash to operate for approximately eleven weeks at our current rate of spending," he said. "That is not an acceptable condition for a company employing three thousand people. We are negotiating financing, but it is not guaranteed, and no one should tell you it is until the documents are signed and the conditions are met." A nervous movement passed through the room. Marcus kept speaking instead of waiting for the anxiety to disappear.