Chapter 8
Elisa made the hardest decision three weeks after the wedding.
The Hale family still controlled a legitimate company worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
She owned twelve percent of Hale Heritage Group and held one board seat. Preston remained executive chairman, while Lucinda still held economic ownership even though her voting rights had been delegated under the old proxy arrangement.
The company was negotiating a major refinancing.
If the Westbridge investigation expanded into corporate coercion, record falsification, or undisclosed executive misconduct, lenders could ask questions.
Directors could resign.
Insurance carriers could reserve rights.
Elisa’s lawyers gave her the cautious option.
Cooperate with police on the crash.
Keep corporate review narrow.
Let investigators subpoena what they specifically needed.
Instead, Elisa asked the board for an independent special committee with authority to review every Hale Heritage action connected to Westbridge, Preston’s proxy control, the old settlement, company vehicles, executive expenses, and any records used to conceal the Bentley.
Then she did something harder.
She placed her own twelve-percent voting block into an independent voting escrow for every matter involving Preston, Lucinda, Westbridge, or the special committee.
She could not use the investigation to seize control of the company from her siblings.
If Preston fell, Elisa would not automatically become chair.
If Lucinda’s proxy was invalidated, Elisa would not become kingmaker.
An independent fiduciary would vote her shares on those issues until the review ended.
Her attorney warned:
“You may hate what the committee decides.”
“I know.”
“They may sell assets.”
“I know.”
“They may conclude your mother or father exposed the company too.”
“I know.”
“You cannot take the votes back because the answer becomes inconvenient.”
“That’s why I’m doing it.”
Sebastian made his own decision.
His punch to Preston had been treated as defensive based on video.
His slap to Lucinda was not.
Prosecutors offered a misdemeanor diversion program because the strike was isolated, Lucinda suffered only minor injury, and Sebastian had immediately cooperated.
Counseling.
Community service.
Medical restitution.
Dismissal after successful completion if he remained offense-free.
Sebastian accepted.
Leo heard about it and protested.
“But she was trying to steal the envelope.”
Sebastian sat beside him.
“She was.”
“So why are you in trouble?”
“Because I had already stopped her.”
Leo frowned.
“That’s stupid.”
“Sometimes rules feel stupid when you’re angry.”
“Was Uncle Preston allowed to hit me?”
“No.”
“Then you hitting him was okay?”
“He swung at me first.”
Leo considered that.
Sebastian continued.
“The point isn’t who we hate. The point is what was happening when force was used.”
That answer was less satisfying than revenge.
Sebastian preferred that.
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By the end of Part 8, Elisa had surrendered her ability to control the corporate aftermath, Sebastian had accepted legal accountability for his own retaliation, and the Hale family could no longer decide internally which records mattered.
The investigation belonged to outsiders now.
