Chapter 25
Seraphina Chapman senses the fear the very moment the boardroom door swings open before her and all conversation around the rectangular table dies down abruptly. Everyone present seems to have gathered to witness a public execution.
Adrian Beckett sits at the head of the table with an air of self-importance that is downright insulting.
Seated around him are the fund’s major investors, several board members, and two outside legal representatives who have flown in from London.
None of them holds Seraphina’s gaze for more than two seconds as she enters the room.
Seraphina closes the door behind her without any hurry. She is wearing a perfectly tailored black suit, and her hair is pulled back with the same precision she wore before she was forced out. She has barely slept three hours in four days, but there is no visible trace of it on her face.
Adrian clears his throat with obvious theatricality.
“Well. Since Ms. Chapman has deigned to show up to formalize the changes…” he begins.
Seraphina doesn’t take a seat; she sets her purse on the table and fixes him with such icy calm that Adrian unconsciously breaks off his sentence.
“Before this meeting continues…” Seraphina states, looking at everyone present, “I want to make something very clear. I will not answer any questions about my private life, my sexual orientation, or the photographs that were illegally leaked to the press. I am not here to defend my privacy. I am here to discuss serious financial crimes.”
The impact is immediate. Two board members exchange a tense glance. One of the investors shifts in his seat, visibly uncomfortable. Adrian smiles in disbelief, though Seraphina detects the first glimmer of unease in his eyes.
“Seraphina, I don’t think you understand the gravity of your current situation,” he replies.
“I understand it perfectly,” she replies without losing her composure. “It’s you who still doesn’t understand yours.”
Adrian’s jaw tenses for a fleeting moment. Seraphina takes a seat at one end of the table and connects her laptop to the main screen. The projector illuminates the central panel with documents filled with figures and bank transactions. The atmosphere in the room shifts palpably.
Seraphina rests both hands on the table and begins to speak.
“Over the past eight months, thirty-seven fragmented transfers were authorized from the Hale Medical investment fund to four shell companies registered in Luxembourg and other parts of Europe. All of them are linked to law firms through legal intermediaries.”
Adrian leans back in his chair with a dismissive gesture.
“This is completely absurd,” he protests.
Seraphina presses another key.
“No, it isn’t,” she corrects him calmly. “What would be absurd is to think that no one would check for duplicate billing before the end of the audit. Do you want me to continue?”
One of the investors frowns with obvious concern.
“Duplicates? Please explain.”
“Cloned invoices,” Seraphina explains without taking her eyes off Adrian. “Same item, different internal numbering. They were used to divert funds in amounts below the automatic threshold. A very clever, almost elegant practice, I’ll admit. But it didn’t go unnoticed.”
Adrian stops smiling. Seraphina notices it in the way his fingers release the pen, in the tension beginning to show in his neck, and in his breathing. For days, fear was all she knew. And now, she knows she’s in control.
“Seven and a half million pounds,” Seraphina continues under the watchful eyes of the others. “Disguised as sports consulting fees linked to the Premier League’s expansion. Money systematically diverted to shell companies just before the investors’ audit.”
One of the legal representatives speaks, visibly agitated.
“Are you formally accusing Mr. Beckett of embezzlement?”
“I am presenting documentary evidence of ongoing financial embezzlement,” Seraphina replies. “And I have much more.”
Adrian slams his open palm on the table.
“This is nothing more than a desperate act of retaliation because they caught you sleeping with a clinic employee,” he spits out angrily.
The words hit her hard. But Seraphina doesn’t flinch.
“No. This is what happens when a corrupt man uses a woman’s sex scandal to cover up a multimillion-pound hole before a merger. Did you really think I wouldn’t follow the trail?”
The ensuing silence is devastating. Seraphina begins moving around the table as she projects more documents.
“The leak of the photographs wasn’t a simple attack by Mr. Beckett,” she explains.
“It was a smokescreen designed to halt the merger before the auditors detected the fraud. The board suspended the deal because of my conduct, the press focused on the scandal, and no one scrutinized the accounts in depth. A brilliant move, Adrian. Truly brilliant. But not perfect.”
Adrian jumps to his feet, his face flushed.
“This proves absolutely nothing,” he insists.
Seraphina switches to the next slide, which displays the contractual clause—the infamous Reputation Clause that he himself used against her.
“Article Twelve, Section Four,” Seraphina reads. “Any executive whose conduct poses a serious financial, criminal, or reputational risk to the assets of the merger may be removed immediately to protect the fund’s viability.”
Seraphina looks up at the investors, who are now watching her with renewed attention.
“The real risk was never my photographs. It was the man who was stealing money from the fund while using my private life as a media distraction. Don’t you find that ironic?”
No one looks at Seraphina as a fallen executive anymore. Now all eyes are on Adrian, and he knows it. The arrogant confidence that dominated his demeanor crumbles in her presence.
At that moment, Daphne enters the room accompanied by one of the external financial analysts.
She is carrying several file folders and hard drives.
Adrian visibly pales for the first time.
And Seraphina feels a bitter wave wash through her.
After everything she has lost, victory leaves only an icy void inside her.
One of the investors stands up decisively.
“I want immediate access to all those files. Now.”
Another advisor turns toward Adrian with a hardened expression.
“Is this true? Answer honestly.”
Adrian looks around for allies, but he has none left. Financial sharks tolerate many things, but losing money is not one of them.
Seraphina watches as the room quickly turns its back on him. Just an hour ago, they were willing to sacrifice her. Now they need different blood to save the fund. That’s how that world works. It has always worked that way.
“Mr. Beckett, I recommend that you make no further statements until we review…”
“No,” Seraphina interrupts authoritatively. “We’re not going to turn this into another whitewash. I want it noted in the minutes that Adrian Beckett is immediately dismissed as legal counsel and that a formal criminal complaint be filed for embezzlement and financial fraud.”
Adrian glares at her with hatred.
“You can’t decide that,” he growls.
Seraphina holds his gaze without flinching.
“It’s the last thing I’m going to ask for before I get the hell out of here.”
The statement leaves the room silent as she closes her laptop.
“I’m standing by my resignation as CFO.”
The chairman of the board stands up, surprised.
“Seraphina, after this, perhaps we should reconsider…”
“No,” she replies. “I’ve spent years building this institution.
And the moment some private photographs surfaced, everyone was ready to sacrifice me without waiting for a single explanation.
And that’s why I can’t stay here,” she clarifies with a faint smile.
“But I do intend to make sure Adrian Beckett doesn’t destroy these clinics as well.
The merger can still be saved if the board immediately reports the internal discovery of the fraud and cooperates fully with the other auditors. ”
One of the investors nods immediately.
“We’ll proceed that way.”
Then Seraphina turns her gaze toward the medical leadership.
“And I want one more thing. All employees suspended or removed during this crisis must be reinstated immediately, including Dr. Nerissa Ashcombe. Her surgical contract must be protected against any retaliation stemming from this scandal.”
Adrian lets out a dry, bitter laugh.
“Unbelievable. After all this, you’re still thinking with your pussy.”
Seraphina turns her head toward him. Contempt crosses her face.
“No,” she replies very slowly. “For the first time in years, I’m thinking without fear. And that, Adrian, is something you’ll never understand.”
Two security guards appear by the side door, accompanied by legal representatives. The board isn’t even debating it. The machinery has moved too quickly. Adrian realizes he’s finished.
“This isn’t over,” he threatens.
Seraphina watches him gather his documents while security discreetly escorts him toward the exit.
When the door closes behind him, Seraphina picks up her laptop and leaves the room without waiting for applause or any kind of acknowledgment.
The outer hallway is silent. Nerissa waits by the lobby windows with her hands tucked into her jacket pockets.
“Is it all over now?” she asks her.
Seraphina nods slowly.
“Yes.”
The surgeon takes another step closer.
“How are you feeling?”
Seraphina feels a tight knot in her throat.
“I don’t know yet,” she admits honestly. “I’m exhausted, Nerissa. But I’m also relieved.”
Nerissa strokes her wrist with a small, human, genuine gesture. Outside, several journalists and photographers are waiting. But when Nerissa intertwines her fingers with Seraphina’s, Seraphina feels a surge of confidence.
“Are you ready for this?” she whispers.
Shortly afterward, they step outside together, and the flashes start going off immediately. Seraphina walks slowly beside her, cutting through the noise with an almost unreal serenity. Then they get into the car and drive away from that damn hell.
*
The restaurant in the Northern Quarter is filled with lively conversation. It takes Seraphina several seconds to process where they are. She watches as the waitress approaches, sets down two menus, and walks away as if it were perfectly normal.
Nerissa watches her intently from across the table.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
Seraphina lets out a shaky sigh.
“I can’t remember the last time I sat down somewhere without thinking about how to escape.”
Nerissa reaches across the table and intertwines her fingers with hers.
“You don’t have to run anymore, Seraphina. We’re here, together, and no one is going to separate us.”
Seraphina looks down at their joined hands.
She feels the warmth of her skin, the calm it conveys.
And for the first time since Chester, since Adrian, since the photographs and the collapse of everything she knew, the food doesn’t make her feel nauseous.
They order a bottle of red wine and share warm, freshly baked bread.
Because after all the horror, this still exists. They still exist.
Minutes later, the waitress sets the plates on the table, and the warm aroma of the food fills the space between them. Seraphina takes the first bite. Then another. And then another.
“Is it good?”
Seraphina nods, and tears begin to well up in her eyes.
“Yes. It’s delicious. For the first time in weeks, I’m really hungry.”
Nerissa gives her the sweetest smile in the world and then says confidently:
“Then eat. You deserve it after what you did today.”