As the heavy double doors closed behind them, a profound silence fell over the room.

The scent of her expensive lavender perfume still lingered in the air.

Mr. Sterling cleared his throat and tapped his pen on the table.

“We still have an open motion on the floor,” he said.

He looked around the table at the remaining board members.

“The motion is to remove Eleanor Vance from the board of directors, effective immediately,” Mr. Sterling said.

“All those in favor?”

One by one, hands began to rise around the mahogany table.

The head of marketing raised his hand first.

Then the chief financial officer.

Within seconds, every hand in the room was in the air.

“The motion carries unanimously,” Mr. Sterling said, making a neat notation on his pad.

Nathan stood up and adjusted his suit jacket.

“Thank you,” Nathan said. “Now, we must address the vacancy in the majority voting block.”

He reached into his leather briefcase and pulled out a thick stack of blue-bound documents.

He placed them in the center of the table.

“These are the original trust agreements from my grandfather,” Nathan said.