Chapter 10 - THE BOARDROOM WHERE HE LOST CONTROL
The Halston Meridian board convened an emergency meeting on a Thursday morning.
I wasn't a director.
But I was invited to provide information relating to the foundation and the company's involvement in its administration.
Evelyn accompanied me.
Derek sat at the far end of the conference table.
He looked pale.
Sienna wasn't present.
Her attorney had informed the board that she was cooperating with the investigation.
The chairwoman, Margaret Ellison, opened the meeting.
"We're here to review allegations concerning the misuse of charitable funds and related corporate transactions."
Derek leaned back.
"These accusations are exaggerated."
Margaret didn't react.
"Then the independent audit should resolve them."
A forensic accountant presented the preliminary findings.
Payments from the foundation had gone to Aster Lane.
Some were supported by completed work.
Others lacked sufficient documentation.
Several transactions were followed by transfers to North Pier Development Partners.
North Pier had significant financial difficulties.
The accountant also identified inconsistencies in the approval records attributed to me.
Derek interrupted.
"Claire authorized those."
I felt every eye turn toward me.
Evelyn placed a hand on my arm.
The accountant continued.
"Several authorizations were submitted from devices associated with Mr. Halston's executive office."
Silence.
Derek's expression changed.
"That doesn't prove anything."
"No," Margaret agreed. "But it requires explanation."
He looked at me.
"Claire, tell them."
I stared.
"Tell them what?"
"That we discussed the restructuring."
I felt something inside me go cold.
"No."
His face hardened.
"Claire."
I looked at Margaret.
"I did not authorize the payments identified in those documents."
Derek slammed his palm against the table.
"You're lying!"
The room went silent.
Margaret straightened.
"Mr. Halston."
He stood.
"She's trying to destroy me because of a personal disagreement."
I stared at him.
Eleven years.
Eleven years of accommodating his moods.
Smoothing over his mistakes.
Making excuses for his absence.
And now he was shouting at me in a room full of executives because I wouldn't accept responsibility for his decisions.
I stood slowly.
"Derek."
He turned.
I held his gaze.
"You can tell whatever story you want about our marriage."
My voice remained steady.
"But you don't get to rewrite the financial records."
Silence.
I continued.
"And you don't get to use my mother's name to make your lies sound charitable."
Margaret called for a recess.
When the board reconvened, Derek was placed on administrative leave pending further investigation.
He wasn't convicted of anything that day.
He wasn't arrested.
But he lost the authority he'd used to control the narrative.
As we left, he caught up with me in the hallway.
"Claire."
I stopped.
His eyes were red.
"Please."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"Don't let them take everything."
For a moment, I remembered the man I'd married.
The young executive who used to bring me coffee when I worked late.
The father who cried when Grace was born.
The husband who once promised we'd grow old together.
Then I remembered Maya Thompson.
The scholarship recipient whose grandmother had taken out a loan because promised money never arrived.
I swallowed.
"Derek, I didn't take anything from you."
He stared.
I continued.
May you like
"You're finally being asked to account for what you did."
Then I walked away.
