Chapter 4 - The Proxy War
The reality of my empty bank accounts hit me like a physical blow to the stomach.
Grant had cut off all my financial access while our son was still connected to expensive life support machines.
He was trying to starve me out, forcing me to drop the police charges against Rachel in exchange for survival.
He vastly underestimated the lengths a mother would go to when her child was threatened.
I walked over to the hospital window, watching the morning traffic crawl along the Baltimore streets below.
I dialed Arthur Vance again, ignoring the warning beep indicating my cellular data plan had just been suspended.
"Arthur, Grant just locked me out of the family trust and canceled the medical insurance," I reported quickly.
Arthur let out a low whistle of appreciation for the ruthless tactic.
"He is moving faster than I anticipated, which means he is scared," the veteran lawyer analyzed calmly.
Arthur instructed me to formally execute the digital signature on the proxy document immediately to counter the freeze.
I opened the secure folder, entered my encrypted passcode, and authorized the transfer of the company shares.
Within sixty seconds, I legally possessed seventy percent voting control of Whitmore Enterprises.
"I am filing the proxy with the state registry right now, but Grant will undoubtedly fight this in the boardroom," Arthur warned.
I promised Arthur I would handle the board of directors, hanging up just as Eli began to stir in his bed.
My son opened his eyes, wincing in pain as the heavy cast on his leg settled against the blankets.
"Mom, I am really thirsty," he croaked, his voice raw from the breathing tubes they had removed earlier.
I helped him drink from a small cup of water, smoothing his messy hair back from his warm forehead.
"You are incredibly brave, Eli, and we are going to be perfectly fine," I promised him with absolute conviction.
A nurse entered the room carrying a large stack of discharge papers and a wireless payment terminal.
She looked incredibly apologetic as she explained that the administration required a deposit for uninsured patients.
Before I could figure out how to pawn my wedding ring, my phone buzzed with an urgent alert.
It was an automated calendar notification for an emergency meeting of the Whitmore Enterprises board of directors.
Grant had called the meeting to officially remove me as a beneficiary of the corporate estate due to mental instability.
I asked the nurse to watch Eli for two hours, promising I would return with a cashier's check for the hospital.
I borrowed a spare scrub jacket from a friendly doctor, wearing it over my wrinkled clothes as I hailed a cab.
I arrived at the towering glass skyscraper of Whitmore Enterprises just as the meeting was scheduled to begin.
I bypassed the shocked security guards, marching straight into the massive glass-walled boardroom on the top floor.
Grant was standing at the head of the long mahogany table, holding a stack of legal documents with a smug smile.
"Mara, you are trespassing on corporate property," he declared loudly for the benefit of the seated board members.
I slammed my phone down on the center of the table, displaying the approved proxy confirmation from the state registry.
"I am the majority shareholder of this company, Grant, and you are officially fired," I announced to the silent room.
The chairman of the board, an older man named Richard, cleared his throat awkwardly and adjusted his glasses.
"I am afraid there is a significant complication with your proxy, Mrs. Whitmore," Richard stated softly.
May you like
He slid a newly minted corporate ledger across the polished wood toward me.
"Grant legally transferred fifty percent of the entire corporation into Rachel Palmer's name yesterday afternoon."
