My knees shook slightly, but I stood up anyway.

Nathan saw the expression on my face and didn’t argue further.

He went to the small closet and retrieved my wool coat and my handbag.

Ten minutes later, we walked out of the hospital lobby and into the damp Seattle air.

The sky was the color of wet slate.

Nathan drove his dark sedan through the midday traffic, his hands tight on the steering wheel.

The windshield wipers scraped rhythmically against the glass, clearing the light drizzle.

“Evelyn has the board members on a conference line,” Nathan said, looking straight ahead.

“Who else is participating?” I asked.

“Marcus and Aris,” he said. “They hold the remaining seats. They’ll vote whichever way we advise.”

“And the shares?”

“Without your proxy, Victor only controls forty percent,” Nathan said. “He is completely powerless.”

We turned the corner onto Bellevue Way.

The sleek glass tower of Hayes Development loomed ahead of us.

Even from a block away, I could see the flashing yellow lights of a local news van parked curb-side.

Three reporters stood under large black umbrellas near the revolving doors of the building.