At 9:15 AM, the Maybach pulled out of the underground garage and merged into the morning Chicago traffic. The storm had passed, leaving the city washed clean and gleaming in the cold autumn sunlight.
My phone buzzed. Another text from Harrison.
My lawyer sent the papers to your email. Sign them by noon, or I'm retracting the fifty grand and you get nothing. Don't make this ugly, Nora.
I turned the phone off and dropped it into my leather bag.
At 9:45 AM, we pulled through the heavily guarded iron gates of the Vanguard Holdings corporate campus. It was a sprawling complex of glass and steel. As the Maybach approached the VIP entrance, the security guards, who hadn't seen me in two years, immediately snapped to attention.
Marcus escorted me through the private executive elevators. We bypassed the lobby, bypassing the hundreds of employees, rising straight to the fiftieth floor—the executive boardroom.
The hallway was lined with thick acoustic glass and dark wood paneling. Two armed corporate security officers stood by the massive double oak doors of the boardroom. When they saw me, they both swallowed hard and stepped back, clearing the way.
I stopped a few feet from the doors.
Through the heavy oak, I could hear the muffled, amplified voice of David, my interim CEO, speaking through the boardroom microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the board," David's voice echoed. "After reviewing the remarkable quarterly growth of the Midwest division, I am pleased to officially propose our new Vice President of Regional Sales. A man whose aggressive tactics have reshaped our logistics network. Please welcome Harrison to the executive tier."
A round of applause broke out inside the room.
Then, I heard Harrison’s voice. It was dripping with the exact arrogant, self-satisfied tone he had used when he threw my clothes onto the wet concrete.
"Thank you, David," Harrison said through the microphone. "It has been a long road. I’ve always believed that to reach the top, you have to cut the dead weight holding you back. You have to be willing to do what others won't. I promise you, as your new Vice President, Vanguard will see profits like never before."
More applause.
I looked at Marcus. He placed his hand on the brass handle of the heavy oak doors.
"Ready, Ms. Vance?" Marcus asked softly.
I placed my hand on my stomach, took one deep, steadying breath, and nodded.
"Open it."
CHAPTER 4
The massive oak doors swung open, hitting the rubber stops with a heavy, resounding thud that echoed like a gunshot through the cavernous room.
The applause died instantly.
The Vanguard boardroom was a massive theater of power. Twenty of the wealthiest board members in the country sat around a gleaming sixty-foot mahogany table. At the far end, David stood near the podium.
And seated in the chair of honor at the right hand of the podium, wearing his sharpest suit, was Harrison. Sitting directly behind him in the guest gallery, grinning like she had won the lottery, was Chloe.
Every head in the room turned toward the entrance.