Vanessa went pale.
“That’s compensation.”
The CFO cleared his throat.
“Not according to the approval records.”
Daniel snapped,
“Mark, shut up.”
The board chair’s face hardened.
Miriam shared the accounting trail: apartment payments, private travel, jewelry reimbursements disguised as recruitment costs, and legal bills for Vanessa’s future equity package.
Then came the email.
Once Claire signs the tax forms, she’ll never know what happened until we control enough votes.
Daniel stared at the screen.
Vanessa whispered,
“You said those emails were deleted.”
The board heard her.
I finally spoke.
“You didn’t betray me because you fell in love. You betrayed me because you thought I was stupid.”
Daniel’s voice cracked.
“Claire, please.”
“No.”
“You can’t destroy everything over a marriage problem.”
“This stopped being a marriage problem when you used company money to finance it.”
The vote took only minutes.
Vanessa was terminated for cause, pending civil recovery claims.
