Chapter 19 - The Last Vote
The final Moretti board meeting looked nothing like the first.
Victor attended in custody through a monitored video connection.
Brittany was in detention.
Nathan had accepted a plea agreement contingent on full cooperation.
Derek waived privilege and turned over every communication he possessed.
My father submitted authenticated M-17 records.
My mother testified about Room 417.
And I walked into the boardroom without Grace.
That decision mattered.
They wanted to see the baby.
I refused.
“She is not attending meetings about money.”
The chairman frowned.
“She is central to the trust determination.”
“She is six days old.”
“Her legal interests—”
“Can be represented by counsel.”
I sat down.
“For the rest of her childhood, none of you will use her as theater.”
Nobody argued after that.
The DNA findings established Grace as a biological descendant within the Moretti family line through Nathan and Marco.
But another surprise waited.
The trust did not automatically transfer control to Grace.
The original clause required an adult guardian to accept on the child’s behalf.
I could refuse.
Victor stared through the screen.
“You won’t.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because it’s eight hundred million dollars.”
“You still don’t understand me.”
“You’ll take it.”
“No.”
The room erupted.
Luka looked at me.
I continued.
“I will not give my daughter control of a company built around the system that violated her conception.”
The chairman stared.
“What are you proposing?”
“Dissolve the succession trigger.”
“Impossible.”
Luka spoke.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
“It isn’t.”
He placed documents on the table.
He controlled enough voting shares to force restructuring if combined with Grace’s beneficial interest.
My attorney presented the plan.
The trust would be divided.
Grace would receive protected financial assets.
No operational voting control until adulthood.
A large portion of disputed biomedical holdings would fund independent compensation for victims of unauthorized reproductive procedures.
All archived genetic material would move to external oversight.
No Moretti family member could control the system alone again.
Victor laughed.
“You’re giving away billions.”
Luka looked at him.
“I have enough.”
Victor stared at me.
“You poisoned him.”
I almost smiled.
“I met him six days ago.”
Then my mother spoke.
“No, Victor.”
“You poisoned everyone.”
That ended him.
The board approved restructuring.
Moretti Biomedical executives implicated in Room 417 were removed.
Mercer Reproductive Center was placed under investigation.
Victims began receiving notification.
Dozens.
Then hundreds.
Lives built on secrets started reopening.
Victor faced conspiracy, evidence tampering, financial fraud, obstruction, and renewed investigation into Claire Holloway’s death and Elena’s crash.
Brittany faced kidnapping and reproductive-fraud charges.
Nathan accepted responsibility.
Derek did too.
His cooperation reduced his eventual sentence.
Before leaving the boardroom, he stopped beside me.
“Our divorce papers are ready.”
I nodded.
“I signed.”
He looked down.
“I’m sorry, Emma.”
“I know.”
“I loved you.”
“Part of you did.”
He looked at me.
“That’s worse, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Because cruelty from someone who never loved you is simple.
Betrayal from someone who did is much harder.
He walked away.
At the elevator, he turned.
“Tell Grace…”
He stopped.
He had no right to ask.
He knew it.
Finally, he said,
“Never mind.”
I answered anyway.
“I’ll tell her the truth when she’s old enough.”
He nodded.
“And I’ll make sure she knows you eventually told it too.”
Derek cried.
Then the elevator doors closed.
Our marriage ended without revenge.
Without screaming.
Without victory music.
Just truth.
That night, I returned to Luka’s estate.
He was sitting beside Grace’s bassinet.
Again.
“You know she has a mother.”
I said.
“I’m aware.”
“You’re staring at her.”
“She makes strange noises.”
“She’s a baby.”
He nodded seriously.
“I’ve researched that.”
I laughed.
Then he looked at me.
“What happens now?”
I knew what he meant.
Us.
Grace.
The strange family none of us had chosen.
May you like
I sat beside him.
“Now we stop letting dead men and bad decisions write the next chapter.”
