The sale to Monarch Holdings is legitimate, but Oliver doesn't know who's behind Monarch. His brow furrowed in confusion. I don't understand. I am Monarch Holdings, I stated simply.
Elizabeth Windsor is my maiden name. I established the company 6 months ago when Richard first suspected financial irregularities. Marcus stared at me, shock giving way to something that looked remarkably like delight. You've purchased the company from Oliver?
Yes, using the evidence of financial manipulation he himself provided during the negotiations with my representatives. A slow smile spread across Marcus's face. Richard would have loved this. He helped design it, I confirmed, before his stroke made communication impossible.
Marcus shook his head in wonderment. What do you need from me? Delay the intellectual property transfer without raising suspicion. After tomorrow's board meeting, new security protocols will be implemented immediately.
I paused, considering. And I may need your testimony regarding these irregular directives. You'll have it, he promised without hesitation. The entire engineering department will stand with you.
We've just been waiting for someone to stand with.
After Marcus left, I sat in Richard's chair for a long while, processing this latest development. Oliver's desperation was escalating, his tactics becoming more reckless. The quiet corporate fraud had evolved into blatant theft. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.
My phone rang. Jonathan again. We may have a problem, he said without preamble. Oliver has called an emergency pre-meeting with select board members tomorrow, 8:00 a.m., 2 hours before the official session.
Henderson and Patterson, I guessed, naming Oliver's allies on the board. And Westfield, Jonathan added grimly. The deciding vote on any emergency actions. The implications were clear.
Oliver was attempting to secure board support for emergency measures, perhaps suspending the sale, removing intellectual property from the transaction, or worst of all, invoking a rarely used provision to declare me unfit to hold shares due to alleged cognitive impairment. We need to get ahead of this, I said, mind racing through options. What time does the building open? 7:00, Jonathan replied.
Security arrives at 6:30. Then we'll be there at 6:15, I decided. I believe it's time Elizabeth Windsor made an early appearance.
The Bradford Precision Technologies headquarters rose 15 stories above the surrounding industrial park. Its glass and steel facade gleaming gold in the early morning light. Richard had overseen every detail of its construction 12 years ago, insisting on a design that balanced modern efficiency with subtle nods to traditional craftsmanship, much like the company's products themselves. Mrs.