An hour later, the massive mahogany doors of the Vance Enterprises boardroom swung open with a loud thud.
Twelve wealthy board members in dark suits turned in their leather chairs, their conversation dying out instantly. At the head of the long conference table, sixty-year-old Arthur Vance stood up, his face flushed red with anger.
Arthur: Ryan! How dare you interrupt an executive voting session!
Ryan walked into the room wearing his dark navy suit, holding four-year-old Toby in his left arm and holding Emily's hand with his right. Leo and Sam walked proudly beside them, wearing matching miniature navy suits with silk ties.
Ryan: I am interrupting this session because the primary beneficiary of the Vance estate has arrived to claim his seat.
Board Member 1: Ryan, who are these children? What is the meaning of this?
Ryan: These are my three biological sons: Leo, Toby, and Sam Vance. And this is my fiancee, Emily.
The entire boardroom erupted into loud chatter and murmurs. Arthur slammed his fists onto the mahogany table.
Arthur: Silence! All of you, quiet down! This woman is a fraud! She disappeared five years ago after accepting a private financial settlement!
Emily: I never took a single cent from you, Arthur! And I brought the original bank records from Seattle to prove it!
Emily stepped forward, placing a thick folder of certified bank statements directly onto the conference table.
Emily: These statements show my exact income for the last five years. I worked forty hours a week as an accountant while raising three boys alone!
Board Member 2: Arthur... you filed a legal tax credit claiming two hundred thousand dollars was paid to Miss Emily Vance five years ago!
Arthur: That... that was an administrative routing error! It has nothing to do with this meeting!
Ryan: It wasn't a routing error, Arthur. You forged Emily's signature, transferred the trust funds into a shell company in Nassau, and used it to cover your personal stock market losses!
Ryan pulled a black flash drive from his pocket and tossed it onto the center of the table.
Ryan: On that drive are the complete forensic audit files provided by the federal financial crimes division. The police are downstairs in the lobby right now.
Arthur's face turned completely white. He sank back down into his leather executive chair, his hands shaking uncontrollably.
Arthur: Ryan... please... we are family! We can settle this inside the family!
Ryan: You stopped being my family five years ago when you lied to me and forced the mother of my children to flee the city in fear!
The double doors opened again, and two uniformed police officers stepped inside the boardroom.
Officer: Arthur Vance?
Arthur: This is a corporate misunderstanding! You have no right to arrest me in my own boardroom!
Officer: You are under arrest for grand larceny, wire fraud, and forgery. Place your hands behind your back, sir.
The board members watched in complete silence as Arthur was cuffed and led out of the room, his expensive leather shoes dragging against the carpet floor.