Chapter 17 - The Final Boardroom
At 8:00 AM sharp the following morning, the grand ballroom of the Hilton Manhattan was packed to absolute capacity. Over five hundred institutional investors, shareholders, media reporters, and corporate employees sat in rows of chairs facing the main stage.
Sitting on the far right side of the front row was Raymond Vance, wearing a smirking, arrogant expression. Next to him sat his legal team, grinning smugly as they looked at their watches.
"The official proxy voting portal closed at 7:59 AM," Raymond boasted loudly to a reporter nearby. "Avery Sloan doesn't have the numbers. By 9:00 AM, Blackwell Group will be under my direct receivership."
At 8:05 AM, Eleanor Price stepped up to the main podium on stage, her expression stoic and unreadable.
"Welcome, shareholders," Eleanor announced clearly into the microphone. "We are here to officially tally the final proxy votes for the appointment of Avery Sloan as permanent Chief Executive Officer and the ratification of the 2026 Restructuring Plan."
A huge digital screen behind Eleanor lit up, displaying the live voting percentages:
*FOR AVERY SLOAN: 44.2%*
*AGAINST: 48.8%*
*UNCOMMITTED: 7.0%*
Raymond Vance chuckled quietly, crossing his legs. "It's over," he whispered to his lawyer. "She lost."
"Before we declare the final official result," Eleanor continued smoothly into the microphone, "we have one final hand-delivered proxy ballot to process into the system."
Eleanor turned to her left.
Avery Sloan walked onto the stage, dressed in a breathtaking, tailored navy blue suit. She held a single white envelope in her hand. The crowd instantly erupted into loud whispers.
Avery walked over to the independent election inspector standing beside the podium and handed him the white envelope. The inspector unsealed the envelope, scanned the official document inside, and typed the verified authentication code into his computer terminal.
The digital screen behind Eleanor suddenly flickered and updated in real time:
*FOR AVERY SLOAN: 51.2%*
*AGAINST: 48.8%*
*UNCOMMITTED: 0.0%*
*RESULT: MOTION PASSED - AVERY SLOAN CONFIRMED AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.*
The entire ballroom exploded into wild, deafening cheers and thunderous applause! Hundreds of employees and small shareholders leaped to their feet, cheering wildly for Avery!
Raymond Vance’s mouth dropped open in complete, absolute horror. He stood up from his seat, shouting frantically at the stage. "This is impossible! Where did those shares come from?!"
Avery stepped up to the microphone, her calm, powerful voice echoing clearly over the roaring applause.
"Those shares came from Owen Mercer, Raymond," Avery announced, looking directly down at him with a victorious smile. "A man who actually cares about the future of this company."
Raymond’s attorneys frantically pulled on his sleeve, whispering that the vote was legally binding and unappealable. Raymond slammed his briefcase shut in pure rage and stormed out of the ballroom, surrounded by laughing news photographers.
Avery raised her hands gently, waiting for the wild applause to subside. When the room finally fell quiet, she looked out over the massive crowd of employees, investors, and supporters.
"Thank you," Avery said, her voice rich with deep emotion. "For two years, people in high places believed that quietness meant weakness. They believed that integrity was secondary to corporate power. Today, you proved that truth, honesty, and hard work will always triumph over arrogance."
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The crowd erupted into another massive standing ovation. Eleanor Price walked over and wrapped Avery in a warm, motherly embrace. Claire Cross stood in the front row, wiping tears of joy from her eyes as she clapped proudly.
The long, painful corporate war was officially over. Avery Sloan had not merely survived the attack—she had conquered her world.
