Chapter 14 - The Midnight Vote.
Patrick Sloan did not answer immediately.
That was the first victory of the night.
For two days, everyone connected to Belladonna had tried to define Isabella before she entered a room.
Maid.
Heir.
Threat.
Problem.
Now Patrick simply stared at her.
Vincent pulled out the chair beside him.
Isabella sat.
Janet Keene and Belladonna's general counsel took seats along the wall.
Dominic remained near the door.
Carlo DeMarco looked irritated rather than worried.
That concerned Isabella.
Men like Carlo were most dangerous when they believed everyone else was late to information they already possessed.
Patrick folded his hands.
"This meeting concerns the governance of Belladonna Holdings."
Isabella nodded.
"Which is why I'm here."
"Your claim has not been recognized."
"Neither has your permanent proxy."
Patrick glanced at Janet.
"Counsel should advise her not to make defamatory statements."
Janet smiled politely.
"Counsel advises you to avoid relying on a document notarized by a woman who was not yet a notary."
Two directors shifted in their seats.
Patrick's expression tightened.
"A clerical defect does not invalidate Teresa's intent."
Janet placed copies of the blue carbon agreement on the table.
"Then perhaps you can explain why the signature on your permanent renunciation is a perfect reproduction of a signature from a temporary six-month proxy."
The directors began reading.
Carlo stared straight ahead.
Patrick did not touch the copy.
"This is theater."
Vincent leaned back.
"You called the meeting."
Patrick ignored him.
"The immediate question is whether Vincent can continue as chairman while undisclosed family claims threaten the company."
Isabella looked at Vincent.
"Were my mother's shares undisclosed to you?"
"Yes."
"Did Patrick vote them in your favor before?"
"Apparently."
Patrick's voice sharpened.
"The proxy was valid under the records available to the board."
Isabella turned toward him.
"For six months."
"Not twenty-eight years."
One director, Margaret Chen, removed her glasses.
"Patrick, did you know the original proxy was temporary?"
Patrick looked at her.
"I knew Teresa had relinquished her interest."
"That wasn't the question."
The room shifted.
Patrick had spent years controlling conversation through confidence.
Now every answer created another question.
Carlo finally spoke.
"You are all letting a family melodrama distract from the company's stability."
Isabella looked at him.
"You offered me fifty million dollars this afternoon."
Every face turned toward Carlo.
Vincent's eyebrows lifted.
Carlo's expression remained smooth.
"A settlement offer is not an admission."
"No."
Isabella smiled faintly.
"But it is a strange amount for a family melodrama."
Margaret Chen looked at counsel.
"Was the board informed of this offer?"
"No," general counsel said.
Carlo leaned back.
"It was a private proposal from my family office."
"Conditioned on Isabella surrendering the locket," Janet added.
Silence.
Another director, Raymond Cole, frowned.
"Why the necklace?"
Carlo looked at Isabella.
"Sentimental property."
"Then why pay fifty million for it?"
Carlo had no answer worth giving.
Patrick struck the table lightly with his palm.
"Enough."
"I move that Vincent Moretti be temporarily suspended as chairman pending investigation into undisclosed beneficial ownership and governance irregularities."
A director seconded the motion.
Vincent did not react.
Isabella leaned toward him.
"You knew this was coming."
"Yes."
"Can he win?"
"Maybe."
She looked at him.
He almost smiled.
"I know."
"Bad word."
The corporate secretary began calling votes.
Three directors voted for suspension immediately.
Two voted against.
Margaret Chen abstained.
The balance moved slowly.
Patrick's block appeared likely to carry the motion.
Then the boardroom doors opened.
Vivian entered.
She wore the same cream suit from that morning and carried no purse.
Carlo stood.
"What are you doing here?"
Vivian looked at him.
"Something late."
"But not too late."
Patrick's face hardened.
"This is a board meeting."
"I know."
Vivian handed Janet a folder.
"Copies of communications between Patrick and my father discussing the Teresa proxy."
Carlo's face went pale.
"Vivian."
She did not look at him.
"There are also messages about the Belladonna security employee Patrick paid this week."
Dominic straightened.
Patrick stood.
"This is fabricated."
Vivian laughed softly.
"You should have used a different private email account."
The room erupted in controlled conversation.
Patrick demanded adjournment.
Margaret Chen demanded the documents.
General counsel asked everyone to stop speaking at once.
Vincent remained seated.
Isabella watched Vivian.
The woman who had stood over her with a riding crop now stood against her own father in a room where nobody was impressed by diamonds.
It did not erase anything.
But it changed something.
Carlo walked toward Vivian.
"You have no idea what you've done."
Vivian finally looked at him.
"You have said that to me since I was fifteen."
"I am tired of pretending it sounds like love."
Carlo stopped.
For one second, he looked old.
Then the hardness returned.
Patrick gathered his papers.
"I am leaving until counsel reviews this circus."
Margaret Chen stood.
"Sit down."
Patrick stared at her.
"Excuse me?"
"You called an emergency meeting to remove the chairman."
"Now evidence appears that you manipulated voting records and compromised company security."
"You do not get to leave before we address that."
Patrick's face reddened.
The corporate secretary whispered with general counsel.
A new motion was proposed.
Immediate suspension of Patrick Sloan's board privileges pending independent investigation.
This time, votes came quickly.
Eight in favor.
Two against.
Three abstentions.
Patrick stared around the table as if betrayal had happened to him rather than because of him.
"You think she saves you?" he said to Vincent.
Vincent looked at Isabella.
"No."
"I think records finally caught up with you."
Patrick turned toward Isabella.
"You don't know these people."
"Neither did my mother."
"Look what happened to her."
The room went silent.
Dominic stepped forward.
Isabella lifted a hand before he could speak.
"Was that a threat?"
Patrick smiled.
"It was history."
"Then learn from it."
Patrick's smile disappeared.
He left with counsel escorting him.
Carlo remained seated.
"My daughter has made an emotional mistake."
Vivian looked at him.
"No."
"My emotional mistake happened in the ballroom."
She glanced at Isabella.
"This is paperwork."
Isabella almost admired the line.
Almost.
The meeting should have ended there.
Instead, Margaret Chen looked at Vincent.
"Patrick's suspension does not resolve your position."
"We still have disputed control."
Vincent nodded.
"I know."
"Do you intend to remain chairman while your niece asserts a potentially controlling trust interest?"
Vincent looked at Isabella.
The entire room followed his gaze.
Isabella felt a familiar irritation.
"Why is everyone looking at me?"
Margaret answered honestly.
"Because if your claim is recognized, you become one of the largest individual voting beneficiaries."
"And because Patrick's proxy has been deciding close votes for years."
"Your position matters."
Isabella leaned back.
"Then here's my position."
She looked at Vincent.
"I don't know if you should stay chairman."
Several directors exchanged looks.
Vincent did not flinch.
"Fair."
"But I know Patrick shouldn't replace you."
"Also fair."
"And if my mother's shares are recognized, I won't use them to protect anyone just because they're family."
Vincent nodded.
"You shouldn't."
Isabella turned to the board.
"If you want my support for temporary stability, I want conditions."
Margaret folded her hands.
"What conditions?"
Isabella had not planned the answer until that moment.
Maybe Teresa had taught her more than she realized.
"Independent forensic audit of every trust vote since 1998."
"Full review of Belladonna security."
"No retaliation against staff who cooperate."
"Payment of every outstanding wage complaint filed against any Belladonna property in the last five years."
Vincent raised an eyebrow.
Isabella looked at him.
"You owe me wages."
"Noted."
"And one more thing."
"Go ahead."
"A worker representative gets a permanent seat on the foundation ethics committee."
Margaret Chen looked impressed.
Raymond Cole nodded slowly.
Vincent did not hesitate.
"Agreed."
Isabella frowned.
"You didn't ask your lawyers."
"I don't need a lawyer to tell me unpaid wages are bad policy."
The board voted to maintain Vincent as interim chairman for thirty days under independent oversight while the trust claim was reviewed.
It was not a victory.
It was breathing room.
At twelve-thirty in the morning, the meeting ended.
Isabella walked into the hall exhausted.
Dominic approached with a troubled expression.
"What now?"
"Metropolitan Trust called."
Isabella looked at him.
"Box 317?"
"They completed review of the old access protocol."
"We can open it tomorrow morning."
Vincent exhaled.
"Finally."
Dominic did not look relieved.
"There is another problem."
Isabella's shoulders dropped.
"Of course there is."
"The bank says Box 317 was accessed once after Lucia died."
Vincent stared at him.
"You said the last access was fourteen years ago."
"The branch manager was reading the old physical log."
"The archive team found a supplemental access record."
"When?"
"2017."
Isabella's pulse quickened.
"By who?"
Dominic looked at her.
May you like
"The signature says Marco Romano."
THE LOCKET OF BELLADONNA HOUSE
