Chapter 13: The Woman in Emerald

The Whitmore board meeting was supposed to be private. That was why Scarlett arrived unannounced.

She entered the conference room in an emerald suit tailored perfectly to her seated frame. Alexander walked beside her, followed by two attorneys carrying files thick enough to make every director at the table sit straighter.

Richard rose immediately. 'Scarlett, this is not appropriate.'

'Neither was removing me from the board while I was hospitalized,' she replied.

Victoria sat near Richard's right hand, her smile stiff. 'You were not well enough to participate.'

Scarlett turned her chair toward her. 'I was disabled, Victoria. Not dead.'

No one spoke.

Her attorney, Grace Bellamy, placed documents in front of each board member. 'Miss Whitmore retains voting rights through shares inherited from her late grandfather. Any decisions made without proper notice to her may be legally challenged.'

Richard's face darkened. 'This is family business.'

Alexander's voice was calm. 'Then you should not have committed corporate fraud.'

A director coughed. Another avoided Richard's eyes.

Scarlett opened the folder in front of her. 'I am requesting a full financial audit, suspension of Victoria Whitmore's acting director appointment, and review of all transfers from my personal trust.'

Victoria laughed. 'You think you can walk in here and take control?'

The cruel word walk hung in the air.

Scarlett felt the sting, but she did not bleed where Victoria could see.

'No,' Scarlett said. 'I think I can roll in here and do it.'

One of the older directors hid a smile.

Richard slammed his hand on the table. 'Enough.'

Scarlett met his anger with calm. 'No, Father. This is where enough begins.'

The vote did not restore everything, but it opened the door. The audit passed by a narrow margin. Victoria's appointment was temporarily frozen. Richard looked at Scarlett as if she had become a stranger.

Maybe she had.

Outside the building, reporters waited. Scarlett faced them with steady eyes.

'Miss Whitmore, are you declaring war on your family?'

She glanced at Alexander. He gave the smallest nod.

Scarlett turned back to the cameras. 'No. I am reclaiming what was always mine.'

By evening, the woman in emerald was trending across every platform in New York.