“We swapped the medication, Naomi,” Arthur interjected over the line. “Your father was never in danger. The hospital stay was a controlled simulation orchestrated with the help of federal authorities who have been building a grand jury indictment against Gavin’s secret offshore shell companies.”
The weight of the realization washed over me like a tidal wave. My father was alive. The funeral had been a masterpiece of strategic misdirection, a grand stage designed to lure Gavin and his mother into exposing their full scheme before they could cover their tracks. Gavin had spent three days playing the grieving son-in-law, eager to claim a crown that was never actually vacant.
“He thinks he controls sixty percent of Summit, Dad,” I said, leaning over the desk as my hand tightened around the brass box. “He produced transfer documents bearing my signature.”
“He controls sixty percent of a shell corporation that bears a remarkably similar name,” my father chuckled softly over the line. “Summit Enterprise Holdings was created three weeks ago as a decoy. The real holding company, Albright Global, remains entirely in your name under a irrevocable trust established the day you turned twenty-one. Gavin just legally assumed liability for three hundred million dollars in bad debts that were attached to that decoy entity.”
A slow, cold smile spread across my face as the full brilliance of the plan crystallized in my mind. Gavin hadn’t just walked into a trap; he had sprinted into it with open arms, driven by his own arrogance and greed.
“Tomorrow morning at eight o’clock, the annual shareholder emergency assembly is scheduled to take place at the downtown headquarters,” my father said, his voice hardening into pure steel. “Gavin believes he is going to walk into that boardroom, announce his takeover, and cement his position as CEO. Instead, he is going to find the federal authorities waiting for him, along with the complete paper trail of his attempt to defraud the estate.”
“No,” I said quietly, looking down at the brass key in my hand. “I don’t want the authorities to take him right away.”
There was a brief pause on the line. “What are you thinking, Naomi?” Arthur asked.
“He threw me out into the rain and called me a nobody,” I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “He humiliated my family in our own home. I want to walk into that boardroom myself. I want to see his face when he realizes that every contract he signed tonight was his own arrest warrant. I want to look him in the eye when his empire crumbles.”
Over the speaker, my father laughed—a deep, resonant sound full of pride. “That’s my daughter. Arthur, make sure she has everything she needs. Get a car to the lower gate immediately, along with a team to clean up that scrape on her head. Tomorrow, the Barretts learn what happens when you try to tear down an Albright.”
