Chapter 11 - The Arrest
Richard tackled Arthur, sending them both crashing over the leather executive chairs.
Fists flew blindly. Glass shattered as the water pitchers were overturned. Board members scrambled backward, shouting for security.
Eleanor stood perfectly still, watching the patriarch of the Vance dynasty get pummeled by his own son. Blood splattered across the proxy voting forms scattered on the floor.
Within minutes, private security and the NYPD swarmed the room.
Richard was dragged off his father, his knuckles bloodied, his suit torn. He was handcuffed. Arthur lay on the carpet, gasping for air, clutching a fractured jaw.
Eleanor picked up her phone. She checked the stock ticker.
The rumor of a physical brawl in the boardroom had already leaked. The IPO was dead on arrival. The stock was in freefall.
Her phone buzzed. It was Chloe.
Eleanor answered, putting it on speaker.
"El?" Chloe's voice was frantic, accompanied by the sound of jet engines in the background. "The pilot won't let me board the G6. He says Vanguard's accounts are frozen. What did you do?"
"I filed an injunction with the SEC thirty minutes ago," Eleanor said smoothly. "Corporate funds used for illicit personal real estate. The feds are freezing everything attached to Arthur."
"You can't do this! I'm pregnant!"
May you like
"You're a liability," Eleanor corrected. "Enjoy the tollbooth, Chloe."
She hung up.
