Stolen Founder's Crown

In the lobby of Vanguard Group's New York headquarters, Liam blocked my way in front of the revolving doors.

"Chloe, I already let Serena take your place at the co-founder award ceremony. How much money do you want? Name your price."

I froze for a moment, then looked at him with an amused smile.

"Do you know how many years you can get in federal prison for forging corporate governance documents and usurping a founder's rights?"

Liam smiled dismissively and pulled a cigar from his pocket.

"Chloe, naivety comes with a price. My family's legal team handles more lawsuits in a year than you'll see in a lifetime. If you really dare to make a scene, you might be the one signing a plea deal in the end."

I didn't waste another breath on him. I turned around and walked straight to the Group's Legal and Corporate Secretariat. Facing the staff at the reception desk, I spoke calmly.

"Hello, my name is Chloe Whitfield. I hold the company's Class F Founder Special Shares, certificate number FS-0257. I need the Corporate Secretary to immediately pull the original shareholder register and my signature archive. Someone has altered the beneficial ownership registration without my authorized signature. This constitutes unauthorized information disclosure. Could you please contact Mr. Davis for me?"

When the receptionist heard the words "Class F Founder Special Shares" and "unauthorized beneficial ownership change," the professional smile on her face froze instantly. Having worked in this industry for five years, she knew exactly what those words meant. She abruptly stood up straight.

"Please... please wait a moment. I will contact the Legal and Compliance Department right away."

After saying that, she grabbed the intercom phone, her voice trembling slightly.

In less than five minutes, the head of Legal and Compliance, along with the Corporate Secretary, came jogging over. Before the sweat on their faces even dried, they personally escorted me into a small conference room.

"Ms. Whitfield, please have a seat." The Corporate Secretary said as he flipped through the tablet in his hands to confirm. "The FS-0257 you mentioned... we do have a record of it on our shareholder register, and the registered holder's signature matches the name you provided."

He paused, and lowered his voice.

"Could you tell me exactly what happened? If there really is an unauthorized change, we must evaluate within twenty-four hours whether we need to report it to the regulators."

I nodded.

"The person who took my place at the award ceremony and is publicly calling herself a co-founder is Serena, my ex-boyfriend Liam's current girlfriend."

That woman was also the mistress who had wedged herself between Liam and me back when we were together.

The compliance director's hand jerked, and he nearly dropped his tablet. He clearly hadn't expected that the person behind this was Liam—the only son of Vanguard's largest external shareholder family in North America. And Serena, who had recently been frequenting high-level banquets and flaunting her "co-founder" title, was the canary he kept.

This put him in a difficult position. On one hand, he had the shareholder register record that perfectly matched the certificate number and signature in his possession; on the other hand, there was Liam's family, deeply rooted in the Manhattan business world for decades and holding a massive amount of voting proxies. According to regulations, any abnormal change in beneficial ownership had to be reported to the Chief Legal Officer immediately. But reporting it meant pointing the spear directly at the company's largest external shareholder. One wrong step could end his career. Unsure of how to phrase things, he simply decided to wait until Davis arrived.

I sat holding my warm coffee and watched him squirm. I didn't say a word; I just waited quietly.

Half an hour later, the conference room door was pushed open. The compliance director sprang up from his chair instantly.

The newcomer was Davis, the Senior Partner of the North American division. In his early fifties, his silver-gray hair was combed immaculately. Without even glancing at the compliance director, he strode directly toward me and extended his hand.

"Chloe, sorry to keep you waiting. I apologize for the injustice you've suffered."

I stood up and shook his hand.

"Mr. Davis, thank you for coming down personally."

"It's my duty."

He turned to look at the compliance director, and his tone turned grim.

"Has the shareholder register record for FS-0257 been verified? How was the beneficial ownership change processed without the owner's signature? Who approved the change of the award ceremony candidate?"

More sweat beaded on the compliance director's forehead, and his voice sounded tight.

"Davis, the shareholder register record is authentic, and the signature comparison is fine. As for the candidate change... Liam's team submitted the application directly through the expedited channel. At the time... the dual-signature confirmation wasn't strictly enforced."

"Liam?" Davis frowned fiercely. "Which Liam has the authority to bypass dual-signature confirmation and mess with a licensed shareholder's beneficial ownership registration?"

"It's..." The compliance director swallowed hard and forced the name out.

Davis's face darkened visibly. He said nothing more, but simply pulled his phone from his pocket. His tone was as cold as ice.

"Notify the CTO. Bring Liam and Serena to this conference room within ten minutes. Tell him to print out the system's backend operation logs, the permission change records, and the electronic signature verification logs of the approver, and bring them all here."