Chapter 37 - The Ghost in the Boardroom Awakens
When I walked into the recovery room, Lucas looked smaller than I had ever seen him. The arrogant, untouchable golden boy of the Bradley family was gone. In his place lay a broken young man hooked up to intravenous drips, his leg encased in a heavy orthopedic cast.
As soon as he saw me, tears welled in his sunken eyes.
"Elaine..." he croaked, his voice cracking. "Did she... is she dead?"
"They found no body in the ruins," I said softly, pulling a chair to his bedside. "The fire department confirmed the basement tunnel was forced open from the inside. Bernice escaped through the old drainage conduit before the roof caved in. The state police have issued an APB for her arrest."
Lucas closed his eyes, a shudder racking his entire frame. "I'm sorry. God, Elaine, I'm so sorry. I let her poison me against you for years. I thought... I thought you were the one taking everything from me."
"Lucas, look at me," I commanded gently.
He opened his eyes, filled with shame.
"You didn't take anything from me, and I didn't take anything from you," I said firmly, placing the photocopied birth certificate into his trembling fingers. "Bernice lied to both of us. We aren't even blood siblings. But you are the only brother I have ever known, and she used both of us to protect an empire that was built on my mother's grave."
Lucas read the document, his breath catching in his throat. His knuckles turned white against the paper as the full weight of Bernice's deception settled over him.
"She used my gambling debts," he whispered, horrified. "She told me she was paying off the cartels to save my life. But the transfers... she was moving the trust money out of the country."
"Yes," I said. "And today, at nine in the morning, the emergency board meeting of Bradley Holdings convenes. Bernice’s proxy attorneys are going to attempt an emergency liquidation of the company's foreign assets. If they succeed, the entire trust will be drained, and Bernice will disappear forever."
Lucas pushed himself up against the pillows, pain etching deep lines into his forehead, but a fierce, unfamiliar light ignited in his gaze.
"Not if I sign an affidavit," Lucas said with steely determination. "I am still the named vice-chairman on the corporate registry. I have the power to freeze all outbound transactions until a legal audit is performed."
"You would testify against her?" I asked. "In open court? In front of the board?"
Lucas reached out and took my hand, squeezing it with all the strength he had left.
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"She burned your wedding dress, Elaine," he said, tears spilling down his cheeks. "She tried to shoot you in that basement. She isn't my mother anymore. She's a criminal. Get Ruiz in here. Get the lawyers. We’re going to tear down her empire before the sun reaches noon."
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