CHAPTER 11: The Company Still Answers Him

The attorney’s voice came through the truck speaker, clear and formal.
By emergency vote of the independent trustees, Preston Vale’s access to Mercer Freight accounts had been suspended. Camilla’s charity transfers were frozen pending review. Every fleet card connected to Preston’s office was locked while they stood on the road.
Preston looked at his phone as the messages arrived one after another.
Bank counsel. Board secretary. Warehouse director. Private security.
He had believed power lived in the corner office with glass walls and imported coffee. Elias had known better. Power lived in the men who answered at dusk when an old dispatcher code came through the line.
The trucks idled behind Caleb, steady as a verdict.