Chapter 6 - The Meeting Lydia Couldn’t ControlLydia Bellamy entered the boardroom at 8:47 Friday morning.
She wore cream.
Pearls.
No visible anxiety.
She stopped when she saw Evelyn already seated at the head of the table.
“Evelyn.”
“Aunt Lydia.”
“I thought you’d be with Adeline.”
“She’s safe.”
Lydia lowered her voice.
“This meeting can wait.”
Evelyn almost admired the performance.
“You’ve spent six months saying it couldn’t.”
Directors entered.
Rebecca Sloan sat beside Evelyn.
Two independent counsel representatives joined remotely.
Lydia noticed.
Her expression tightened.
“What is this?”
“Governance.”
The meeting opened at nine.
Evelyn did not mention the lake first.
She discussed the Arden transaction.
Then Rebecca spoke.
“Before any vote, counsel has identified a potential undisclosed financial conflict involving Lakebridge Advisory.”
Lydia’s head turned.
Evelyn watched her.
Rebecca continued.
“Based on documents provided by Arden Capital, Lakebridge stands to receive a six-million-dollar transaction fee.”
One director frowned.
“Who owns Lakebridge?”
Rebecca looked at Lydia.
“An investment trust beneficially controlled by Vice Chair Bellamy.”
Silence.
Lydia leaned back.
“That is not accurate.”
“We have the disclosure.”
“It’s a consulting vehicle.”
“You did not disclose it.”
“I was not required to until closing.”
Rebecca’s expression remained calm.
“You are a director advocating for the transaction while financially benefiting outside your shareholder interest.”
Lydia’s voice sharpened.
“Be careful.”
Evelyn spoke.
“No.”
Everyone looked at her.
“You’ve told people to be careful for too long.”
Lydia stared.
Evelyn continued.
“The sale vote is postponed pending independent review.”
“You can’t do that alone.”
“I don’t need to.”
Two directors immediately seconded the motion.
Another requested Lydia recuse herself.
Lydia’s composure cracked.
“This is because of what happened to Adeline.”
Evelyn’s blood went cold.
Nobody had mentioned Adeline.
Lydia realized the mistake.
Too late.
One director asked:
“What does Adeline have to do with this?”
Lydia corrected quickly.
“I mean Evelyn is obviously under extraordinary emotional stress.”
There it was.
The argument.
Evelyn took a folder from Rebecca.
“Would you like to discuss my emotional fitness?”
Lydia smiled thinly.
“I think everyone here knows this is not the week for you to make irreversible decisions.”
Evelyn opened the folder.
“Then let’s discuss why an email account impersonating me was created from this floor.”
Lydia’s smile disappeared.
Rebecca spoke:
“Law enforcement is investigating.”
A director stood.
“Should we adjourn?”
Evelyn nodded.
“Yes.”
Lydia snapped:
“No.”
Everyone froze.
Her voice had changed.
“We are not letting family hysteria destroy a ninety-six-million-dollar transaction.”
Evelyn stared.
“Hysteria?”
Lydia realized she had gone too far.
Again.
Evelyn closed the folder.
“The meeting is adjourned.”
Directors began leaving.
Lydia remained seated.
When the room was almost empty, she said:
“You have no idea what your father sacrificed to build this company.”
Evelyn turned.
“I know exactly what he sacrificed.”
“No.”
Lydia’s eyes burned.
“You inherited the chair. I helped build it.”
“You received shares.”
“A fraction.”
“You received a board seat.”
“Under your father.”
“My father was your brother.”
“He treated me like staff.”
Evelyn finally saw something beneath the transaction.
Six million dollars mattered.
But resentment was older.
“How long have you hated him?”
Lydia laughed.
“Charles?”
“Yes.”
“I loved my brother.”
“Then why are you trying to dismantle what he built?”
“I’m trying to stop you from worshipping it.”
Evelyn walked closer.
“Did you tell Walter to hurt Adeline?”
Lydia’s face became still.
“No.”
The answer came too fast.
Evelyn watched.
“Did you know he would?”
“No.”
“Did you tell him to break me?”
Lydia stood.
“I told him you needed to step away.”
“That isn’t what Mara recorded.”
Lydia’s pupils shifted slightly.
Mara.
Now she knew the witness had more than the lake video.
Evelyn saw the fear.
“You know who Mara is.”
“I know every senior estate employee.”
“She isn’t senior.”
Silence.
Lydia turned toward the door.
Evelyn said:
“Detective Mercer will want to speak with you.”
Lydia stopped.
“You think Walter will protect you?”
Lydia slowly turned back.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Evelyn let that sit.
“But I know he was afraid when he realized someone saw him.”
Lydia’s voice lowered.
“Walter is a disturbed old man.”
“You trusted him yesterday.”
“I employed him years ago.”
“He worked for my father.”
“He worked for the family.”
Evelyn looked directly at her.
“Not anymore.”
Lydia left.
In the elevator, she removed her phone.
She called a number stored under no name.
The call went to voicemail.
“Walter.”
Her voice was quiet.
“Do not talk.”
She ended the call.
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What Lydia did not know was that Walter’s second phone had already been seized.
And investigators had just received a warrant for its cloud records.
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