Marissa turned toward him. "Paul, we discussed confidentiality."
"We also discussed getting a court order. You said you had it handled."
"I did have it handled."
"There was no order."
The statement hung there.
Then Laurel disclosed the consulting arrangement.
She did it carefully. She did not accuse Marissa of bribery. She simply said records indicated Crowley Community Strategies had a financial agreement connected to successful corridor access for the Northgate project, and that she believed the full board had never been informed.
Residents began shouting questions at once.
"You were getting paid?"
"How much?"
"Did our dues fund your private deal?"
"Did you use our HOA to take that man's building for money?"
Marissa stood. "This is defamatory. My private consulting work was lawful and separate."
"Then why didn't you disclose it?" Laurel asked.
Marissa looked at her former treasurer ally with pure anger. "Because it was none of your business."
A resident near the front said, "It became our business when you spent sixty-eight thousand dollars of our money."
The insurer's reservation-of-rights letter had arrived that afternoon and made everything worse. Gareth summarized it in cautious terms: coverage was not guaranteed for intentional misconduct, fraud, or undisclosed self-dealing. If the carrier denied significant portions of the claim, the association could face substantial uninsured legal expenses.
Someone asked whether dues would increase.
No one could answer.
That was when Marissa lost the room completely.
The motion to remove her as president came from Neal Foster, the same vice president who had supported her for years.
"I move that Marissa Crowley be removed as president effective immediately pending the criminal and civil investigations, and that all financial authority associated with her office be suspended."
Paul seconded.
Marissa stared at Neal. "You know exactly what we were trying to accomplish."
"I knew we were negotiating access," he said. "I did not know you were going to break into a warehouse."