Chapter 6 - The Boardroom Fall
The emergency shareholder meeting of Thorne Dynamics took place on Friday morning in the glass boardroom overlooking Wall Street.
Robert walked into the room wearing an unpressed suit, looking pale, defeated, and hollowed out.
He hoped to make one final plea to the board members—men he had known for a decade—begging them to approve a emergency restructuring loan.
Instead, when he stepped inside, he found Julian Davenport sitting at the head of the long mahogany table.
Flanking Julian were the six principal directors of the board, along with two federal prosecutors holding certified grand jury indictments.
"Julian...?" Robert stammered, his voice dropping into a desperate, trembling whisper. "What are you doing in my chair?"
"It’s not your chair anymore, Robert," Julian said, his voice smooth, calm, and absolute.
"Davenport Capital purchased one hundred percent of your company's voting shares at auction two hours ago for pennies on the dollar."
Julian slid a single sheet of paper across the table.
"This is your official termination notice as Chief Executive Officer. And these..." Julian gestured toward the prosecutors, "...are federal marshals."
The senior prosecutor stepped forward, holding up a pair of steel handcuffs.
"Robert Thorne," the prosecutor declared, "you are under arrest for federal wire fraud, securities falsification, grand larceny, and felony domestic assault."
Robert looked around the room at his former board members. Not a single man met his gaze. They looked away in absolute disgust.
As the steel cuffs clicked around Robert’s wrists, he turned to Julian, tears finally streaming down his face.
"Julian... please," Robert begged. "Tell Jennifer I'm sorry! I was out of my mind! I love her!"
Julian stood up, adjusting his cuffs, looking at Robert with an unyielding coldness that made the air in the room freeze.
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"You didn't love her, Robert," Julian said softly. "You loved her name, her money, and the prestige she gave you."
"And now... you have nothing."
