You formed a personal attachment to yes," Helena said. That silenced her. I'm not going to deny it," Helena continued. She looked around the table, not performing certainty, just holding it. I fell in love with a man who refused to give up on me when I had given up on myself.
"That's true, and I'll stand behind it. " She let that sit for a moment. What I won't allow is for that truth to be used as a substitute for the other truth, which is that Bridget Kaine has been dismantling this company from the inside to position it for a discounted acquisition by an organization she has a financial relationship with. Those are two separate matters. Only one of them belongs in front of this board today. Then she reached forward, locked the wheels of her chair, and placed both hands flat on the table.
She stood. It was not easy. Her right knee trembled and her jaw was tight and the effort of it was visible in a way that she did not try to conceal. She took one hand off the table. She steadied.
She took the other one off. She stood unsupported for a breath and then she took one step forward, then another. Across the room, Quentyn remained exactly where he was standing at the wall, hands loose at his sides, watching her the way he had watched her through every session present, steady and far enough away that the distance was hers to cross, not his to close. It was the same posture he'd held since the first morning she'd stood in the frame. Some distances, he understood, could only be crossed by the person who needed to cross them.
She stopped after two steps. She gripped the back of a chair. "I'm not standing up to prove I belong in this room," she said. Her voice was level.
"I belong in this room because I have run this company to its highest margin in its history, and I have done that from a wheelchair, and I will continue to do it from a wheelchair when that's what's needed. " She looked at Bridget. I stood up to show you what Bridget has been using against me. A process of recovery conducted properly, supervised, professionally documented completely. She turned my injury into a liability because that was the only card she had.
I'm asking you to see it for what it is. The vote to reject the Northgate proposal was 8 to2. Bridget Kaine was asked to surrender her building access before leaving the floor. The legal referral went to the DA's office before the end of the week.
Quentyn's suspension was lifted the following morning. Dr. Carol Meyers called him personally to confirm that his session documentation with Helena Carr had been accepted as the primary case study for his graduation thesis. He graduated on a Saturday in May. Nia sat in the third row in a blue dress she had picked.