The council assembled forty-eight hours later.<\/p>\n
Same walnut table.<\/p>\n
Same six chairs.<\/p>\n
Different Dominic Vale.<\/p>\n
He entered without assistance.<\/p>\n
The brace remained on his leg, correctly adjusted under Dr. Mercer\u2019s supervision.<\/p>\n
His cane touched the floor.<\/p>\n
Once.<\/p>\n
Every conversation stopped.<\/p>\n
Arthur sat at the far end beside his attorney.<\/p>\n
His temporary detention had ended while investigators continued building the case, but he had made the mistake of believing that meant he was safe.<\/p>\n
Dominic sat.<\/p>\n
Julian stood behind him.<\/p>\n
Vincent remained near the door.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
Dominic placed a folder on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wanted a vote.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dominic looked around.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor three weeks, several people in this room were told my health was deteriorating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was true.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s smile widened.<\/p>\n
Dominic continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the reason was false.\u201d<\/p>\n
He placed photographs of the brace mechanism on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy rehabilitation equipment was deliberately altered.\u201d<\/p>\n
One council member frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur Voss and Peter Sloan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s attorney immediately spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat allegation is disputed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dominic nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen let\u2019s discuss evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angela entered.<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
She described everything.<\/p>\n
The questions.<\/p>\n
The bribe.<\/p>\n
The threats.<\/p>\n
The brace.<\/p>\n
The maintenance room.<\/p>\n
Then Vincent presented access records.<\/p>\n
Security gaps.<\/p>\n
Messages.<\/p>\n
Financial transfers.<\/p>\n
Raymond Pike\u2019s statement regarding the crash.<\/p>\n
Finally Dominic placed his father\u2019s notebook on the table.<\/p>\n
Arthur stared at it.<\/p>\n
For the first time, genuine fear appeared in his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you get that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dominic smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou recognize it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur realized his mistake.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
The room became silent.<\/p>\n
Dominic opened the notebook.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father discovered financial theft inside the organization before his death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis meeting is over.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the council members spoke.<\/p>\n
It was Thomas Reed, the oldest man at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou demanded this vote, Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked around.<\/p>\n
Nobody moved to leave.<\/p>\n
Thomas folded his hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cSit down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur sat.<\/p>\n
For decades, Arthur had manipulated men through secrets.<\/p>\n
Now his own secrets surrounded him.<\/p>\n
Dominic looked at the council.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be no vote transferring authority to Arthur Voss.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t decide that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dominic looked around the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke for several seconds.<\/p>\n
Then Thomas pushed Arthur\u2019s prepared transfer document away.<\/p>\n
Another council member did the same.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
Arthur watched his support disappear.<\/p>\n
Not because Dominic threatened them.<\/p>\n
Because Arthur\u2019s deception had made him impossible to trust.<\/p>\n
The final man closed the folder.<\/p>\n
Arthur had lost.<\/p>\n
But Dominic wasn\u2019t finished.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe old organization ends here.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised everyone.<\/p>\n
Julian looked at him.<\/p>\n
Dominic continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo hidden accounts. No intimidation. No protection arrangements. No businesses operating outside the law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think you can wash the Vale name clean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dominic looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I can decide what it means from now on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll destroy everything your father built.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father built enough fear to poison his sons.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian lowered his eyes.<\/p>\n
Dominic continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not preserving that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re weak.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dominic looked down at the brace.<\/p>\n
Then back up.<\/p>\n
\u201cA four-year-old noticed something none of us did because she wasn\u2019t afraid to look closely.\u201d<\/p>\n
He leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The council assembled forty-eight hours later. Same walnut table. Same six chairs. Different Dominic Vale. He entered without assistance. The brace remained on his leg, correctly adjusted under Dr. Mercer\u2019s supervision. His cane touched the floor. Once. Every conversation stopped. Arthur sat at the far end beside his attorney. His temporary detention had ended while […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","class_list":["post-412","sr_chapter","type-sr_chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/sr_chapter\/412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/sr_chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/sr_chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/sr_chapter\/412\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}