Chapter 13 - The Deadline at Sterling Tower
By Friday morning Sterling Tower was wrapped in banners welcoming shareholders to an emergency briefing.
Television trucks filled the curb.
Victor's team had rented the largest ballroom and arranged a stage with Renee's name on it, although they had made no provision for her to speak.
Renee arrived with Marisol, her independent medical advocate, and two security professionals selected outside the Mercer network.
Her physicians had cleared only a limited appearance.
Every minute cost her strength, but she insisted on coming.
"They've spent weeks talking as though I'm dead," she said. "They can listen to me while I'm alive."
Victor met her at the entrance. "Renee. This isn't wise."
"Neither was taking money from Northlight."
His expression flickered.
Cameras caught it.
Inside, shareholders asked questions about the proposed restructuring.
Victor spoke about continuity, stability, and duty to employees.
He presented an elegant plan that kept almost all operational control with the same people.
Renee asked to address the room.
The chair initially refused, citing her medical condition.
Marisol produced the applicable governance provisions and an opinion confirming that Renee retained the right to speak within the meeting's procedures.
Renee stood with assistance.
Her voice was thin but steady.
"My illness is real. The transfer approvals under investigation are also real. I'm asking you not to confuse one with the other."
She presented the existence of independent reviews and requested an adjournment of the asset sale until those reviews were complete.
She did not make accusations that the evidence could not yet support.
Victor signaled the audio technician.
Renee's microphone died.
A murmur ran through the room.
The technician looked down at his console, confused.
Marisol approached the stage and asked that the meeting record reflect the interruption.
A shareholder in the front row raised his voice.
"Let her finish."
Others joined.
The chair reluctantly restored the microphone.
Renee's hands trembled on the lectern. "You don't have to trust me because I'm sick. You have to verify the numbers because you're responsible for the company."
A director moved to postpone the sale.
The vote was close, then succeeded when Margaret Hale cast her proxy against Victor's proposal.
The room erupted.
For the first time, Victor was not controlling the sequence of events.
But success lasted less than an hour.
Outside, a news organization published a leaked recording apparently showing me offering to fabricate evidence for money.
It used authentic fragments from my conversations with Renee, rearranged to sound like a confession.
Within minutes Victor's allies demanded a criminal investigation into me.
Torres had already preserved the original call records and requested independent audio analysis, but the leak's timing was designed to eclipse Renee's vote.
At the hospital, Renee watched the report with exhausted disbelief. "They'd rather burn the company than let anyone inspect it."
I felt my phone vibrate.
A message from an unfamiliar number contained three words.
ASK RUSK WHY.
Then another followed.
May you like
HE IS COMING FOR YOU.
