Chapter 5 - The Attorney’s GambitMr. Harrison stepped into the light of the main podium, replacing the birthday playlist with a document projected onto the massive dual screens behind the pool—the screens that were originally meant to show a montage of Lila’s modeling highlights.
Instead, the screen displayed a legal decree from the state supreme court, stamped forty-eight hours prior.
"As the legal representative of the late Evelyn Vance," Harrison stated, his voice echoing with absolute finality, "I am here to execute the true succession clause of the Vance Trust. Grandmother Evelyn knew her daughter-in-law's ambition was dangerous. She left a contingency: if any member of the executive board was found guilty of criminal negligence or fraud against a family member, their shares would be immediately forfeited and redistributed to the injured party."
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VANCE BOTANICALS TRUST REALLOCATION
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PREVIOUS HOLDINGS:
- Helen Vance: 25%
- Richard Vance: 25%
- Lila Vance (Pending 18): 25%
- Nora Vance (Pending 18): 25%
CURRENT REALLOCATION (EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY):
- Nora Vance: 100% (Controlling Interest & Voting Rights)
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The board members in the audience—wealthy venture capitalists who had kept the company afloat during its recent expansion—immediately began moving away from Helen and Richard. One of them, a stern woman named Victoria Sterling, stepped forward.
"Nora," Victoria said, her eyes scanning the young woman with a mixture of corporate calculation and genuine awe. "If you hold one hundred percent of the voting shares, what is your first directive for the board?"
Nora lowered her microphone slightly, looking at her parents, then at the sister who had thought a silver bikini and a crowd of followers could hide a legacy of theft.
"My first directive," Nora said, her voice dropping to a low, powerful register, "is the immediate suspension of Helen and Richard Vance from all corporate properties, effective immediately. And my second directive... is the complete audit of every product Lila has endorsed for the past three years."
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Lila looked up, her face streaked with mascara, her eyes wide with terror. "Nora, please! The brand is everything I have! I have five million followers! I have contracts with cosmetics houses in Tokyo!"
"Then you better hope those cosmetics houses like the look of truth, Lila," Nora said. "Because the brand is no longer yours."
