Chapter 6 - THE BOY DANIEL TRIED TO SAVE
Aaron’s father was the second man killed in the Ashford accident.
Daniel created the scholarship because he knew both families were in danger. Aaron grew up believing Merrick charity paid for his education. In truth, the money came from Roland’s illegal rebates.
Vanessa found Aaron two years before the gala. She showed him fragments of the Ashford archive and convinced him Evelyn and Roland jointly caused their fathers’ deaths. Together, they planned to expose Evelyn and seize the company long enough to release the full record.
Then Roland approached them.
He offered access, board codes, and the ballroom plan. Vanessa believed he wanted to confess. Aaron suspected a trap but continued because he wanted proof.
“Why the drug?” investigators asked.
Vanessa admitted authorizing the sedative in Evelyn’s champagne. She denied ordering anything dangerous through the vents. The mist, she said, was meant to frighten passive directors into witnessing the succession instead of leaving.
It was still assault, false imprisonment, and conspiracy.
Vanessa’s confession did not make her innocent. It did clarify Roland’s goal. He switched the harmless haze canister for the stronger compound, intending to incapacitate the entire board. During the chaos, forged consents would authorize the sale of Merrick Systems to a private fund he secretly controlled.
The sale documents were found on his nephew’s server.
Roland had planned to blame whichever Merrick woman remained conscious.
He fled before agents could arrest him.
Naomi Blake called an emergency board meeting. Without Evelyn or Vanessa voting, directors had to decide whether to sell assets, seek bankruptcy protection, or trust the company long enough for the investigations to finish.
Then a ransomware attack froze Merrick’s manufacturing network.
May you like
A message appeared on every terminal:
Approve the sale by midnight, or every Ashford file becomes evidence against all of you.
