His gaze remained fixed on me, his chest rising and falling beneath his bespoke gray suit.

“Take it, Elias,” I said.

My voice sounded quiet in the vast, high-ceilinged room.

The rain was tapping against the floor-to-ceiling glass of the penthouse, overlooking a gray Manhattan skyline.

Elias turned his head slowly toward the young man.

“What does it say, Marcus?” Elias asked.

His voice was devoid of its usual authority.

“The chairman called an emergency session, sir,” Marcus said.

He kept his eyes lowered, looking at the polished oak floor.

“They have issued a formal request for your resignation.”

The words hung in the cold air of the office.

Elias took a slow step forward.

He snatched the tablet from the courier’s hand.

His thumb swiped across the glass screen, the blue light illuminating the sharp lines of his face.

“They can’t do this,” Elias muttered. “I built this firm.”

“They are citing the federal investigation into Daniel,” Marcus said softly.

“Daniel is the one who took the bribes,” Elias said, his voice rising. “Daniel is the one who falsified the offshore accounts.”