Chapter 5 - THE BOARD WITHOUT THE FAMILY
Maya separated David from the investigation.
Formally.
No board interviews.
No evidence review.
No direct contact with the special committee.
David protested.
Maya did not care.
“You are a major shareholder and Emily’s father. You are conflicted.”
Emily respected her immediately for saying it.
The board created an independent transaction committee to review Jessica’s contracts, North Vale, the condo sale, and Michael’s disclosures.
Emily would receive trust notices but no investigative authority.
Good.
Michael’s first board interview was strong.
He admitted the affair.
Admitted promising Jessica the condo would become available.
Admitted approving her consulting contract.
But he denied knowing about Harbor Ridge.
Then he attacked the theory behind the investigation.
“The acquisition stands on its own economics.”
He was right.
North Vale had strong recurring revenue and technology Carter Meridian genuinely needed.
Asked whether he would still buy it without Jessica, Michael answered instantly:
“Yes.”
The committee’s banker agreed.
Then the consulting fees.
Of $3.4 million:
$1.2 million had strong work support.
$700,000 was arguable.
$1.5 million appeared vague, duplicative, or tied to Michael’s discretionary success bonuses.
Michael defended those too.
“Jessica saved the integration model.”
A senior operations manager partly agreed.
Again, nothing was easy.
Then the committee reviewed the divorce release.
Michael’s personal lawyer claimed responsibility for drafting it.
“I used broad language to avoid future overlap between marital disputes and company matters.”
Maya asked:
“Did Michael request that language?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He was concerned Emily’s family trust might use the divorce to interfere with closing.”
There.
Not illegal.
Not innocent.
Then metadata arrived from the law firm’s draft history.
The release clause had first appeared three weeks before Michael served Emily divorce papers.
Author comment:
Need clean waiver before North Vale notice.
Michael claimed his lawyer wrote it.
The metadata showed something else.
Source text had been pasted from an email.
Sender:
Michael Carter.
The committee requested his company-device archive.
May you like
Michael’s face changed for the first time during questioning.
And Maya noticed.
