Chapter 5 - The Shadow of the Boardroom
The sudden return of Nathan’s scattered memories brought joy, but it also triggered a dangerous storm. As Nathan began to remember fragments of his past life, the news of his survival could no longer be kept a secret from the high circles of Hawthorne AeroSystems.
A week after Nathan’s first breakthrough, Ava was called into an emergency meeting at the corporate headquarters in downtown Denver.
The boardroom was filled with cold faces. At the head of the table sat Julian Vance, the ruthless vice-chairman who had managed the company's financial operations since Nathan's disappearance. Over the last eight years, Julian had steadily consolidated power, steering the company away from Nathan’s humanitarian goals and toward lucrative military defense contracts.
"Ava," Julian said, his voice smooth like oil. "There are rumors circulating in the financial markets. Rumors that your late husband has been found alive in a charity facility. The stock price dropped four points this morning out of sheer uncertainty."
"It's not a rumor, Julian," Ava said, sitting at the table, her posture commanding and icy. "Nathan is alive. He is recovering at a private medical facility. His memory is returning."
The board members exchanged panicked, frantic looks. If Nathan returned, his original legal status as the majority shareholder of the company would instantly invalidate the corporate restructuring Julian had executed over the past decade. Billion-dollar contracts would be thrown into legal chaos.
"Ava, let’s be realistic," Julian leaned forward, a dark, threatening smile on his face. "The man is mentally incompetent. He has brain damage. He’s been living like a transient handyman for eight years. If you attempt to bring him back into this company, the board will legally declare him unfit, and we will move to strip you of your management rights for endangering the shareholders' interests."
"Are you threatening me, Julian?" Ava stood up, her eyes blazing. "Nathan founded this company. His blood and sweat built these laboratories!"
"And his death allowed us to become a multi-billion-dollar empire," Julian snapped, dropping his polite facade. "Keep your ghost in his hospital bed, Ava. If he enters this building, we will destroy his reputation, your reputation, and ensure he is locked away in a state asylum for the rest of his miserable, broken life."
Ava walked out of the boardroom, her blood running cold. She realized that Nathan wasn't safe. Julian and his powerful allies would do anything to protect their wealth.
When she returned to the hospital, she found Daniel waiting outside the room. He noticed her pale face immediately. "What happened, Ava?"
She explained the board's threats, her voice trembling with a mixture of rage and fear. "They have deep connections, Daniel. They can bribe doctors, manipulate the press, forge legal documents. They want to prove Nathan is insane to keep control of the company."
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Daniel looked through the glass window at Nathan, who was currently laughing as Lily showed him how to build a tower of plastic cups.
"They think he's weak because he's broken," Daniel said, his rough hands clenching into fists. "But they don't know what Arthur—what Nathan—is made of. They think he's just an old man. They don't know he’s a man who survived an avalanche and eight years of exile. We don't fight them in their boardroom, Ava. We fight them with the truth."
