He had used her to build his new public image, and now he was leaving her in the wreckage.

I stepped out of the shadows and walked toward the stage.

Arthur Pendelton saw me first, his eyes widening.

He stood up from his front-row seat and walked quickly over to me, his hands shaking.

“Shelby,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “We had no idea.”

“The board had absolutely no knowledge of what he was doing to you at that clinic.”

“I know, Arthur,” I said quietly, smoothing the front of my coat.

“But the company is bleeding right now.”

“We need to call an emergency meeting,” he said, looking at the reporters who were still broadcasting live.

“The stock is going to drop twenty percent by the time the morning bell rings.”

“We will call the meeting,” I said.

“But we do it on my terms.”

My lawyer, Marcus, appeared at my side, holding a black leather briefcase.

He looked at Arthur with a calm, steady expression.

“Mrs. Harlan is prepared to step in,” Marcus said.