Julian pointed toward me with a shaking hand.
“You can’t fire me. My contract guarantees five years of compensation.”
For the first time that evening, I smiled.
“Only if you are dismissed without cause.”
Aurelia’s general counsel opened the black folder.
She listed the findings without drama.
Fraudulent expense reports.
Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
Improper vendor payments.
Missing audit emails.
Misuse of company funds.
Because Aurelia supplied components connected to federal contracts, the board had already referred the relevant findings for outside review.
Camilla grabbed Julian’s sleeve.
“You said the invoices were protected.”
His head snapped toward her.
“Be quiet.”
That single exchange traveled through the ballroom faster than any speech could have.
Malcolm then read the board resolutions.
Julian was terminated for cause, effective immediately.
His unvested equity was canceled according to the applicable agreements.
Aurelia would seek recovery of compensation tied to falsified financial results.
Camilla was suspended pending further proceedings.
Both were barred from company systems and property.
The security director held out his hand for Julian’s badge.
Instead, Julian stared at me.
“You planned this.”
His voice shook with anger.
“You let me stand here and make a fool of myself.”
“I asked you three times about Camilla.”
He said nothing.
“You lied three times.”
I continued.
“I asked about the missing money. You told me I was too stupid to understand corporate finance.”
His gaze moved briefly toward my shoulder.
“Tonight, I gave you one final chance to behave like a decent human being.”
The room remained silent.
“And you struck me.”
Hotel security approached with two police officers.
What happened near the champagne table had been captured by ballroom cameras and witnessed by several guests.
I gave a statement.
Julian insisted it had been a “private marital misunderstanding.”
The officers continued handling the matter according to what the witnesses and recordings showed.
Camilla attempted to leave through the kitchen.
Company investigators stopped her long enough to preserve company-controlled devices and records covered by the litigation hold.
She turned toward me.
Her confidence was gone.
“He told me you were nobody.”
I looked at her.
“That was the story you preferred.”
Julian was escorted from the ballroom before dessert.
Employees moved aside without saying anything.
Their silence was no longer fear.
It was judgment.
The divorce petition was filed the following Monday.
Our prenuptial agreement protected Northstar and my separate holdings.
The financial investigation continued.
Evidence connected to the false invoices, transfers, and vendor arrangements eventually became part of criminal and civil proceedings.
Julian ultimately pleaded guilty to charges related to the fraudulent scheme.
He was ordered to repay part of the missing money and received a prison sentence.
Camilla cooperated during the investigation, which affected the outcome of her case, but her career at Aurelia was over.
The company pursued additional recoveries through civil proceedings.
The company survived.
That mattered more to me than seeing either of them punished.
Eight hundred employees had spent eighteen months wondering whether their jobs would disappear because executives treated corporate money like private property.
They deserved better.
